Israeli court preserves sperm donor anonymity — Jerusalem Post

Israel’s High Court of Justice has rejected a petition seeking to abolish sperm donor anonymity. As a result, the rule remains in force under which children conceived with donor sperm cannot learn the identity of their biological father, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Petition against anonymous donation

The petition was filed by the organizations Choosing Family and B’Tzalmo, which oppose anonymous donation. They argued that the provision guaranteeing donors anonymity violates children’s right to know their biological parents.

Only anonymous sperm donation is permitted in Israel. Under health regulations, disclosing information that could identify a donor is prohibited. Each donor signs a form confirming the anonymous nature of the procedure and the ban on providing identifying information to the woman receiving the sample.

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Record-keeping of donor procedures

A woman who wants to conceive a child with a man she knows must submit a parenthood agreement between them. It takes precedence over other arrangements, making non-anonymous donation impossible without the man’s commitment to parenthood.

Last year, the Ministry of Justice published rules for an egg donation registry. It will also record whether fertilization took place using donor sperm; in such cases, the donor’s code will be registered. The publication of these rules was preceded by a petition filed by Choosing Family and B’Tzalmo five years ago. The organizations demanded the creation of a registry to prevent marriages between relatives, as a donor may donate sperm at several banks and there was no orderly record-keeping of donors.