Washington:
Katrina Clark is in her 20's and lives in Washington, DC She was raised by a single mother and never knew her father.
Clark is also part of an increasingly outspoken generation of donor offspring.... who want to transform the dynamics of sperm donation.
" I don't know my biological father. Nor anything about him, medical information, etc. So I decided to try contact Fairfax Cryobank to find out as much information as possible about him as I could or medical information that I believe that I was entitled to in 2006, after a few weeks of internet research she discovered the identity of her father. She sent him an e-mail and got a prompt, friendly reply, with a photograph included.
"When I saw the picture I just burst into tears because it was, it's inexplicable the familiarity , the feeling of seeing your own face in somebody else that you never even knew existed".
They also did a DNA test. Since then, however, their communication has been pretty much nonexistent and they have not met face-to-face. Clark admits to being frustrated by the impasse.
Most sperm banks now offer identity-release policies.....in which donors agree to let their offspring contact them when they turn 18. But many donors still opt for anonymity.
Dr Jamie Grifo who works at New York University's Fertility Center.... feels children's rights must be balanced against the interests of donors and the parents who will raise the child.
"The couple or individual who has the child enters the contract somewhat in desperation.
They want to have a child, nothing else is working. They need this situation, this donor gamete to help them have their child, and have their family and they make a choice. And the child is not involved in that choice.
But the reality is a child is never involved in the choice of whether or not they're going to be born nor who their parents are nor what the configuration of their family is. It's not a right, it's not a right you are born with".
He says a ban on anonymous donations would deter donors and hurt families desperate for children.
A recent study by the Commission on Parenthood's Future, titled My Daddy's Name is Donor surveyed 485 donor offspring and concluded they were depression-prone and recommended an end to anonymous sperm donation.
pretty much nonexistent and they have not met face-to-face. Clark admits to being frustrated by the impasse.
Most sperm banks now offer identity-release policies.....in which donors agree to let their offspring contact them when they turn 18. But many donors still opt for anonymity.
Dr. Jamie Grifo who works at New York University's Fertility Center.... feels children's rights must be balanced against the interests of donors and the parents who will raise the child.
"The couple or individual who has the child enters the contract somewhat in desperation. They want to have a child, nothing else is working. They need this situation, this donor gamete to help them have their child, and have their family and they make a choice. And the child is not involved in that choice. But the reality is a child is never involved in the choice of whether or not they're going to be born nor who their parents are nor what the configuration of their family is. It's not a right, it's not a right you are born with".
He says a ban on anonymous donations would deter donors and hurt families desperate for children.