- Parents who have babies using donor sperm or eggs will have to tell kids
- Currently many parents ‘keep mum’ about their child’s true parentage
- But fertility doctors say the rising popularity of affordable DNA tests is threatening to blow the lid on their secrets
Stephen Adams Health Correspondent For The Mail On Sunday
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Popular: DNA ‘relative finder’ kits can be bought for as little as £69, and prices are falling
Parents who have babies using donor sperm or eggs will soon have no choice but to tell their children about how they were conceived because of the growing popularity of cheap DNA tests, say experts.
At the moment, many parents ‘keep mum’ about their son or daughter’s true parentage, never even telling the child the truth.
But fertility doctors say the rising popularity of affordable DNA tests is threatening to blow the lid on their secrets. Companies such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA offer ‘relative finder’ tests for as little as £69 – and prices are falling.
Joyce Harper, professor of reproductive genetics at University College London, said: ‘If you are parents who have used donor eggs or sperm to conceive, what if you haven’t told your child, and they then go and do a 23andMe test?
‘More than likely, they will find out that they are not who they thought they were.’
There is no UK law requiring parents to tell their child they were conceived with donor sperm or eggs, although national guidance states fertility clinics should advise them to do so.
More and more people are using DNA test kits, curious about their ethnic make-up and family connections around the world. Some tests also reveal health information. At least three million people are on such genetic databases worldwide, and the numbers are growing fast.
Those conceived using donor sperm might find out they had half-brothers and half-sisters, Prof Harper said, which would cast doubt on their own paternity. Others might discover something was amiss if their DNA test results showed they had an unexpected relative, such as an uncle.
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She has written about the issue in the journal Human Reproduction, saying: ‘It is likely a large number, perhaps even the majority, of donor-conceived offspring are not informed of their status.
‘Parents using donor conception need to be fully informed that their children’s DNA will identify that they are not the biological parents.
‘Furthermore, they should be encouraged to disclose the use of donor gametes [sperm or eggs].’
Secrets: Cheap DNA tests mean parents should tell children the truth, say experts
Professor Allan Pacey, a fertility specialist at Sheffield University, said: ‘I don’t think there should be a law change [forcing parental disclosure]; it’s for families to decide what to do. But disclosure should be encouraged and families should be supported in how to do so.’
He said another implication of widespread DNA testing was that more naturally conceived children would find out their father was not the man who raised them.
Studies indicated this affected one in 30 children, he said.
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