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21 September 2010

21 September 2010

Summary of request

The HFEA was asked for the following infomation:

1. for each of the three donors whose sperm has, through licensed treatment, led to the highest number of donor-conceived births recorded on the Authority’s statutory register, the number of children, their sex and the year of birth.

2. for each of the three egg donors whose eggs have, through licensed treatment, led to the highest number of donor-conceived births recorded on the Authority’s statutory register, the same information

3. for each of the donors in (1) and (2) the donor’s year of birth and any other biographical information that the Authority can release.

HFEA Response

The information requested in the first part of parts (1) and (2) of your request is set out in the attached file except the year of birth.  This gives, for each donor, the number of babies born as a result of licensed treatment using their gametes, and the number of those children of each sex. 

Your request for the years in which the children of the donors referred to in parts (1) and (2) of your request were born, as well as the information specified in part (3) of your request, is refused.  In the Authority’s view, there is a reasonable possibility that to release this information could lead to the identification of a person to whom the HFEA owes a duty of confidentiality when combined with information to which a member of the public may reasonably have access.  Such a disclosure may therefore result in a breach of the provisions of section 33A of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended). This information is therefore exempt from the general entitlement to disclosure provided by section 1 of the FOIA under section 44 of that Act. This information also constitutes ‘personal data’ within the meaning given in section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (‘DPA’).  It is therefore exempt from disclosure under sections 40(2) and 40(3)(a)(i) of the FOIA.  It is the Authority’s opinion that disclosure of such information would be in breach of the first data protection principle (fair and lawful processing) as set out in Schedule 1 to the DPA since none of the conditions set out in Schedule 2 to the DPA is met.  In reaching this decision, the Authority has had regard to relevant guidance and decisions of the Information Commissioner (Reference: FS50243084) and to documented cases of the deductive identification of anonymous donors in other jurisdictions using biographical information. 

• 2010-09-21 Extract of male and female donors producing the most children (181 Kb)

Page last updated: 09 August 2012

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