Gamete and Embryo Donation
Medical practitioners and specialist fertility clinics can provide donors information on the medical aspects.
Counsellors will explore the social and emotional issues associated with making a decision about donating sperm, eggs or embryos.
There are also important legal rights and responsibilities that fall to donors and recipients, as well as legal implications regarding any resulting child(ren).

Things to consider
If unsure about what the implications are, intending donors or recipients should seek independent counselling and legal advice before entering into any arrangements. While general information is available via a number of resources (including Health Law Central!) only independent legal advice will provide information about the law in a way that is applicable to a person’s individual circumstances.
The following information sets out the general rights and responsibilities of donors and recipient parents, as well as the rights of donor conceived people.
Donation is altruistic (non-commercial) in Australia
In Australia, it is an offence to intentionally give, receive or offer to give or receive money or other things of value for the supply of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo. This includes that people are not permitted to receive any inducement, discount, or priority for the provision of services in exchange for gametes or embryos.
Reimbursement for reasonable expenses related to the collection, storage or transport of the egg, sperm or embryo, is permitted. Clinics vary in what they will reimburse, but generally, people may be reimbursed for travel, accommodation, and time spent.
Donation is not anonymous in Australia
Donors must now consent to the recording and release of identifying and non-identifying information when they donate.
The information will be held by clinics, and reported to any register that exists in the state in which the sperm, eggs or embryos are used. Identifying information will be released to a donor-conceived person when they reach the legal age for asking for such information in their state (or earlier with the donor’s and recipient parent’s consent).
Non-identifying information about the donor may be released to recipients. This may include past medical and family history, details of physical characteristics, other characteristics as available, and information about the number of people conceived using the gametes of the donor.
Donors are also entitled to some information about the offspring born. On request, clinics can provide non identifying information about live births, gender of the child, number of the children and any abnormalities.
Donors who donated in the past are encouraged to place their information on voluntary registers, and or contact the clinic at which they donated to give consent to sharing information with donor-conceived people. A significant number of donors have already registered on such registers, seeking to exchange information with the offspring that were born as a result of their donation.
For more information regarding laws and guidelines in each state concerning information release see the Health Law Central page on Access to Information.
Limits regarding use of gametes
The exact limit varies depending upon the state/territory in which the law applies.
Table: Limits concerning the use of donor gametesLAWS | RTAC Technical Bulletin No 5. | |
---|---|---|
NSW | 5 women | |
Victoria | 10 women | |
Western Australia | 5 families | |
South Australia | x (10 families)* | |
Northern Territory | x (10 families)* | |
Queensland | x (10 families)* | |
ACT | x (10 families)* | |
Tasmania | x (10 families)* | |
(nb. *applies worldwide.) |
For more information regarding laws and guidelines in each state concerning family limits see the Health Law Central page on Family Limits.
Legal Parentage
The donor has no legal rights to, or responsibilities for the child. (They are not financially responsible for the child, the child cannot claim inheritance, and the donor does not have a right to apply for visitation or access to the child).
Note however that the law can be complicated. For example, there have been conflicting views in Family Law matters concerning children born to unmarried women using a known donor. In Groth v Banks [2013] FamCA 430, a known donor was successful in his application to the Family Court for parenting orders in circumstances in which the mother was single when the donation took place, the donor was a ‘known donor’ (with whom she had a previous relationship), there was an intent for the donor to play a parental role in the resulting child’s life, and the donor did in fact play a role in the child’s life.
People’s circumstances differ, and therefore if in doubt, potential donors and recipients should seek independent legal advice from a Family Law expert prior to entering into any arrangement.
For a further summary of laws regarding legal parentage where assisted reproduction and donor conception have been used, see the Health Law Central page on legal parentage.
Further reading

Blyth, E, Frith, L, Paul, M and Berger, R (2011). Embryo relinquishment for family building: How should it be conceptualized? International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 25(2): 260-285. Abstract at http://lawfam.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/2/260.abstract
De Lacey, S (2007). Decisions for the fate of frozen embryos: Fresh insights into patients’ thinking and their rationales for donating or discarding embryos. Human Reproduction, 22 (6): 1751-1758. Abstract at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17416918
Rodino IS, Burton PJ, Sanders KA (2011) ‘Donor information considered important to donors, recipients and offspring: an Australian perspective’ (2011) Reprod Biomed Online 22(3) pp 303-11. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2010.11.007. Abstract at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21269882