HART Register Now Holds Data For More Than 3500 Sperm And Egg Donors

Since August 2005, the Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies – or HART – register has been collecting information on donor-conceived people, their parents, and donors with a cumulative 3,337 births of donor-conceived people now registered.

As of January 2023, there are 3557 recorded donors across the motu, with 1454 egg donors and 2073 sperm donors.

Established by the Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies Act 2004, the purpose of the register is to ensure donor-conceived people can find out about their genetic history and for donors of sperm, eggs, or embryos to know about their genetic offspring.

The register is held by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages at Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs. Since 2005, fertility clinics have been required to register information after a child is born following the donation of sperm, eggs or embryos at a New Zealand clinic. Information is recorded about the child, their parents and the sperm or egg donor.

The register also includes voluntary registration of information by donors and people born from donations made at a clinic before 22 August 2005

Jeff Montgomery, Register-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, says that “by publishing these statistics, we hope to raise the profile of the register and increase awareness among people who were donor-conceived or who have donated at a New Zealand clinic that they can register and access information.”

“Managing this register is one of the ways the Department helps people access the information they need and build a sense of belonging in our communities.”

Donor-conceived people can access information from the Fertility Clinic or the Registrar-General when they turn 18 or apply to the Family Court to approve access to their information from the time they turn 16. Before then, their parents or guardians can access the information on their behalf.

The first 28 donor-conceived people to benefit from mandatory registration turned 16 last year, with growing numbers expected to seek information in coming years, reflecting an increase in donor-conception over the years.

“We look forward to continuing our work with Donor Conceived Aotearoa and fertility service providers over the coming months to prepare for an expected increase in interest from donor-conceived young people,” says Jeff Montgomery.

It’s not too late to add information to the voluntary register. Sperm or egg donors who donated at a New Zealand clinic before 22 August 2005, and people born from clinic donations made before then can register their own information voluntarily, either at the clinic (if they know it) or by contacting BDM on 0800 22 52 52 or bdm.nz@dia.govt.nz.

The HART register develops a sense of inclusion across Aotearoa by helping people build their personal history through access to information.

Note – only children who are conceived via fertility clinics benefit from registration. Children born of informal donations made outside a clinic are not currently able to have their information registered.

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