Belgium's federal cabinet has approved plans to allow future donor-conceived children to know the identity of their sperm or egg donor.
Until now, gamete donation has been anonymous in Belgium. Under the new system, donor-conceived children will be able to receive non-identifying information, such as physical characteristics, about their donor from age 12. From age 16, they will be able to request identifying information, including name and nationality.
'Many donor children have questions about their origins, and they have a right to an answer. Knowing where you came from is a human right,' said health minister Frank Vandenbroucke after the meeting.
Vandenbroucke has spearheaded this change, originally submitting a proposal to the government in November 2025. His original plan would have allowed donor-conceived children to access identifying information about their donor from age 12.
Fertility patients using donor gametes will be informed about the new rules before starting treatment, and will be able to access medical information about the donor. After age 16, donor-conceived people will also be able to find out how many donor siblings they have, and there will be a mechanism to put them in contact with any consenting siblings who are also aged 16 or over.
Belgium already has a centralised donor register, Fertidata, which was launched in 2024. It is already used to ensure that clinics comply with legal limits on the number of families per sperm donor. An Institute of Donor Data is also being set up to handle donor information storage and requests from donor-conceived people. However, it is unclear whether this will be separate from – or part of – Fertidata.
The new rules will not apply retroactively. Past donors will be contacted to ask if they wish to waive their anonymity, but will not be forced to do so. A six-month transition period will allow fertility clinics to use existing stocks of anonymous donor gametes, after which anonymity will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances.
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