Your Child & Donor-Conceived Siblings: What You Can Know

If you have a baby with the help of a Semovo sperm donor, did you know you’re entitled to find out if they’ve helped anyone else to have a child too?

These would be your child’s donor-conceived ‘siblings’, who are genetically-related to your child.

A single sperm donor can help to create up to 10 individual families, with no limit within these families, so it’s possible that they may already have existing donor-conceived children or some on the way.

Finding out details of your child’s donor-conceived siblings

As someone who’s successfully conceived with the help of a sperm donor, you can apply to the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) for information. The HFEA keeps a record of successful births from every registered sperm donor.

You can find out the number, sex and year of birth of the other children your donor has created. You won’t be given any identifying details.

Using the information about donor-conceived siblings

In the future, if you know your child has donor siblings, they have the opportunity once they reach the age of 18 to contact and potentially meet related brothers and sisters through the HFEA’s Donor Sibling Link (DSL).

As it’s entirely voluntary to join, contact is dependent on your child’s donor siblings joining too. It’s possible that although your child does have genetic siblings, they’ve not joined the Donor Sibling Link either because they’re unaware of their origins, or have chosen not to register.

Counselling and licensed fertility treatment

Tackling future issues including the potential for genetically-related siblings is something that will be discussed through counselling at your fertility clinic as part of the treatment process.

All licensed fertility clinics are required to offer counselling to those conceiving with the help of donors, so you can prepare for your future and that of your child.

The importance of counselling can’t be understated – and it’s yet another reason to have treatment at a licensed clinic if you need donor sperm.

Choose a Semovo sperm donor with confidence

“Thanks to Semovo our family has been gifted with two beautiful children, we will be forever grateful for all the support in helping us to find such a good donor match and reserving our family slot so we could bring our little humans to life.”

Helen & Rosie, A Donor Treatment Success Story from Hebden Bridge

All Semovo sperm donors are registered with the HFEA and are fully identifiable to your child in future.  If you’d like to have a baby with donor sperm start searching for your perfect sperm donor now by browsing our profiles online.

Once you’ve chosen your sperm donor, we’ll ship their sperm straight to your clinic for use in your treatment.