Anonymous donor? Good luck!

When I first started as a fertility counselling, it was still possible to be an anonymous sperm donor.

A couple of years later, the Australian guidelines for fertility treatment (including donor conception) changed, and true anonymity was no longer possible.

More recently, some Australian states have changed their legislation to permit access for donor conceived people to identifying information about their donor, even if that donor had donated anonymously – effectively resulting in retrospective removal of anonymity.  This legislative world-first was designed to increase the rights of donor conceived people to access to their biological identity but did cause an enormous furore, both in Australia and overseas.

But in 2019, anyone who thinks it is possible to remain anonymous as a gamete/embryo donation is delusional.  The incredible success of home DNA testing has forever changed the landscape of donor identity.  This article provides some clear examples of DNA discovery of past anonymous donor and shows that donor identification must be seen as a reality for anyone exploring either being or using a donor https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-home-dna-doom-anonymity-sperm.html