Information for people who were conceived using a donor

Your rights if you were conceived using a sperm donor in Norway after 1 January 2005 

If your parents underwent fertility treatment using donor sperm in Norway after 1 January 2005, you are entitled to know who the donor is. For this reason, sperm donors cannot be anonymous. 

You have the right to request information about the identity of your donor if 

• The treatment took place after 1 January 2005. 
• You have turned 18 years of age. 

You need to log in to the Egg and Sperm Donor Register to request information about the donor’s identity.

Only the people who were born following treatment using donor eggs or donor sperm can request information about the identity of the donor and only if they want access to the information. The mother/parent of a child who was conceived using a donor will not receive any information that could identify the donor. 

Information about donors will be stored in the register for at least 100 years. You can look up information in the register after you have turned 18 years of age and throughout your life. From 2036, individuals who were conceived using donors will be able to obtain information from the register from the date on which they turn 15 years of age. 

If you were conceived using donor sperm after 2005, your parents will have received information about the importance of telling you about this. From 2021, parents who have conceived a child with help from a donor have a duty to tell their child about this. 

Your rights if you were conceived using an egg donor after 1 January 2021 

Egg donation to couples was legally recognised in Norway in 2021. Egg donors also cannot be anonymous. If you were conceived following treatment with egg donations performed in Norway, the register will contain information about the identity of the egg donor. If you were conceived following treatment with egg donations, you can request information about the donor from the date on which you turn 15 years of age. This means that a corresponding scheme to provide information about the identity of egg donors will be in place from 2036. 

Information about sperm donors in the register 

If the donor sperm originates from a Norwegian sperm bank, you can obtain the following information   

• The name of the donor  
• The donor’s date of birth  
• The donor’s national identification number 

If the Norwegian clinic used donor sperm from a sperm bank abroad, you can obtain the following information   

• The name of the donor  
• The donor’s date of birth   
• The donor’s social security number or another unique identifier  
• The donor’s country of origin  
• The name of the sperm bank abroad that supplied the sperm 

If you receive the donor’s national identification number, please be mindful that this constitutes confidential information that must not be disclosed to others. 

Why register donors? 

The purpose of registering donor identity is for people who were conceived through fertility treatment using donor sperm or donor eggs to be able to access information regarding the donor’s identity. 
 
The law does not provide you with the right to access information about other children who were conceived using sperm or eggs from the same donor. 

Some things to consider before seeking information 

• What are your expectations? 
• Will you have anyone to talk to when you have received an answer? This could be family members, friends or your GP. 
• How will you react to the information you receive? 
• If you have siblings, they may also have been conceived using the same donor. Your siblings will also have the right to choose whether or not they want information about the donor. How will you deal with this?   
• If you want to contact the donor, it is important to remember that they do not have a duty to respond to you.   
• In some cases, the donor may be someone you know. 
• You might also learn that the donor has passed away. What are your thoughts about this? 

What does it mean to be a donor? 

• A donor donates sperm or eggs to help people who are unable to conceive naturally. 
• The donor does not know whether any children have been born using the sperm or eggs they have donated. They do not have the right to access information about you or your parents.   
• The donor has consented to children who have been born using their sperm or eggs receiving information about their identity and has consented to being contacted if the children wish to get in touch. However, they have not committed to responding.  
• The donor will not be notified that you have accessed information about their identity.   
• Only those who were conceived using donor sperm or eggs are entitled to learn the identity of the donor. 
• The donor has no legal obligations in relation to you. You are not, for example, entitled to receive any inheritance from the donor. 
• The donor must inform the doctor at the clinic about their health and whether there are any hereditary diseases in their family. If the clinic finds that there is a risk that a donor may have or is a carrier of a serious hereditary disease, the donor will not be accepted. 

Rean more about what it means to be a donor (in Norwegian)

Who to contact if you have any questions? 

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is responsible for the register, see the Egg and Sperm Donor Register (fhi.no)

The Norwegian Directorate of Health can answer questions regarding the regulations applicable to the Egg and Sperm Donor Register. You should not submit any sensitive personal data via email. 

Log in to search the register 

If you do not have BankID, you can log in to the Altinn website via the ID portal and complete a form there.

If you were conceived using a donor before 2005 or if you were conceived outside of Norway 

It was legal to use anonymous donors in Norway until 2005. If your parents received treatment with donor sperm before 1 January 2005, there will be no information about your donor in the register.  

The Norwegian register also does not include any information about donors if your parents received treatment using donor sperm or donor eggs abroad.  

Do you need someone to talk to? 

There are several options available to you if you want to speak to someone other than your family and friends. 

Could there be errors in the register? 

The clinic at which your parents received treatment was responsible for recording information about the donor and ensuring that the information was correct. They also need to record your mother’s national insurance number and the date of treatment. This means that the information about your donor should be correct. The Norwegian Directorate of Health has established an electronic solution to record information so that the organisations can comply with the registration requirements.  

The Norwegian Directorate of Health has created a circular that explains the duties of the organisations and how to perform registrations.  The solution includes mechanisms designed to prevent incorrect registrations. Nevertheless, there can never be a 100 per cent guarantee against errors being made on the part of clinics. The Norwegian Directorate of Health can help rectify any errors identified by clinics. 

Hvordan snakke med barn om deres genetiske opphav

Dersom du har fått barn ved hjelp av egg- eller sæddonasjon, har du plikt til å fortelle barnet om hvordan det ble til. Det er fint å begynne tidlig.

Illustration: Shalamov Mostphotos