Conceptualizing Reproductive Donation: Developing Models of Egg and Sperm Donation and the Implications for Regulating Information Giving

Abstract There is little consensus on how to regulate information giving in reproductive donation – using donated gametes (eggs, sperm) to have children. Should gamete donors be anonymous or should donor-conceived individuals have access to their donor’s identity, and at what age? What information should be available about donor siblings and other donor relations? And, crucially, how should this information giving be appropriately managed and regulated? Before we can answer these questions, we need to first understand what reproductive donation is . This paper sets out options for how reproductive donation can be conceptualized and develops a typology of different approaches, by categorizing reproductive donation into two main models: the biomedical and the psychosocial. These models provide a conceptual framework, a useful heuristic, for both understanding reproductive donation and critiquing regulation and oversight. The purpose of this paper is not to take a stand on which model is optimal; this is a matter for further debate. Rather, it provides clarification of what is at stake, and this can form the basis for coherent and justifiable approaches to the oversight and regulation of reproductive donation, instead of the patchwork of provisions that currently exist in many jurisdictions.