We hold information on all fertility treatments involving a donor since 1 August 1991. Learn more about what you can find out about your or your child’s donor and genetic siblings.
Since 1991, we've held a database of information about every fertility treatment carried out in the UK, called the Register.
Donor-conceived people and their parents can apply to us for information held about their donor and genetic siblings on the Register.
We also have a dedicated support service for donor-conceived people who are considering, or are actively getting in touch with, their donor or donor-conceived siblings.
Find out more about accessing information from the Register and our support service below.
For enquiries, contact openingtheregister@hfea.gov.uk.
Before you start the process of finding out information about your donor or genetic siblings you may want to take some time to prepare. Getting support from family and friends and thinking through some key questions will ensure you’re ready to take the next step.
Find out more about Preparing to request information.
You can apply to us for some non-identifying information about your child's donor and genetic siblings. Find out what you can request.
If done honestly and at the right time, talking to your child about their origins need not be a difficult subject to broach.
Find out more about Talking to your child about their originsApplying for information from us is completely free. Find out how to apply for information about your donor or donor-conceived siblings.
Find out more about Applying for information from usPeople who donated before April 2005 now have the chance to remove their anonymity. So even if you’ve requested information about your donor in the past and been turned down, you may now be able to get that information.
Find out more about Asking for information about your donor having done so before
Home DNA testing and matching websites have implications for donor-conceived people. Using one of the home DNA tests these sites offer plus opting in (or not ‘opting out’) of their ‘matching services’, could mean that your donor, or donor-conceived genetic siblings become identifiable to you and vice versa. It’s also possible that a donor-conceived person might be identified by inference, if they have a close genetic relative using home DNA testing and matching services. Even if the donor-conceived person has not used such a service themselves, the information from the matching service may be able to be combined with other publicly available information about the relevant person, and their donor conceived status and/or their identity could be possible to infer.
It’s natural to have questions about your origins. Depending on when you were treated you may be able to apply to us for information about your donor.
Finding out about your donor and genetic siblingsThe Donor Conceived Register helps to connect donor-conceived people who were conceived before 1 August 1991 with their donor and siblings. The administration of the DNA testing along with the counselling service is provided by the Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust.
Finding out about your donor and genetic siblingsIf you're donor-conceived, you could have one or more donor-conceived genetic siblings in up to nine other families, or you could have none.
Finding out about your donor and genetic siblingsIf you’re over 18, you can join our Donor Sibling Link and potentially get in touch with your donor-related siblings.
Donor Sibling Link (DSL)Support for donor-conceived people and their families (Donor Conception Network)
Donor information from before August 1991 (Donor Conceived Register)
Publication date: 4 September 2023
Review date: 4 September 2025
