Les dons de sperme et d'ovules et leur récente augmentation (document en anglais)

In the last decade, donations of sperm and eggs have increased exceedingly. It is one of the ways that have given the opportunity to some sterile couples to have children. However, there is the anonymity problem that always raises questions and issues. The argument of this paper is essentially that donors either females or males should not benefit from anonymity at any stage of the donation process. In the following paragraphs, this paper will show that children have the right to know the identity of their biological parents and next it will demonstrate how such practices will result in creating a new market of sperms and eggs and other issues.

To begin with, every child has the right to know the identity of his/her biological parents. It is considered as one of the main rights that every human should have. According to Caroline Rubin, “you are not donating your eggs, you are donating your heart” is one of the phrases used by sperm and eggs banks to encourage such donations (Rubin 314). However, how can donors’ children enjoy the heart of their biological mother if her anonymity is totally protected and her identity unknown? Such a problem is an issue with which the child will live throughout his/her life. Asking questions about their biological parents and the genetic aspects linking him/her to them will always bother and haunt them throughout their lives. From a financial point of view, anonymous donation of gametes can change the humanitarian motive of helping infertile families to move essentially to a profit driven market.

Next comes the point related to the market of sperm and eggs donation and how it resulted in creating a market in which profit is the main driving element of such practice. “The tissue given exchanged in gamete donation is given in exchange for money” (Rubin 318). Indeed, unlike organ and blood donation, males donating their sperm or females donating their eggs have financial motivations to help couples suffering from infertility to start a family promised that their identity will remain anonymous. For instance, fertile men or women in need of money can easily go to the nearest donation agency from them to donate their gamete in order to get huge amounts of money with the assurance that their identities will not be revealed. The sense of humanity that people are filled with can easily disappear to be replaced by profit incentives with the creation of organs’ market.

In a nutshell, anonymous donations of sperm and eggs help in fighting against infertility of some couples. However, this anonymity prevents children from having the opportunity to know their biological parents and participates in creating a new market of donations that is profit driven and nothing else. For this reason, anonymity of gametes donations should be deleted and such practices should be less profit driven and more controlled by the government. A touch of humanitarian motives should for sure lead the gamete donations.

...