Donor conception
Parents of people conceived using donor eggs or sperm may or may not choose to tell them about their genetic origins. Is this a private family matter, or are there wider public interests at stake? What kind of information might donor-conceived people and their parents need about their genetic origin? What interests do donors have in receiving information?
This short project will explore the ethical issues that arise around the disclosure of information in connection with donor-conceived people.
read more »Donation
Donated bodily material for medicine and research, such as organs, eggs and sperm, are in high demand, and current levels of donation fall short of need.
This report sets out guidance to help people consider the ethical acceptibility of various ways of encouraging people to donate, both for treatment of others and for scientific research.
read more »Mitochondrial donation
The treatment of inherited mitochondrial abnormalities in human embryos using donor mitochondria is an advancing area of research. The techniques involved could have profound implications for future generations.
This project will explore the ethical issues relevant to affected families, potential donors, researchers, medical professionals and others trying to understand and respond to the therapeutic possibility of mitochondrial transfer.
read more »Donor conception - Call for evidence now closed
The call for evidence on donor conception: ethical aspects of information disclosure closed on 15 May 2012.
The Council would like to thank everyone who contributed their views. The responses are being considered by the Working Party, and a report with recommendations for policy will be published in Spring 2013.
Where permission has been granted, the responses will be available to download after the Working Party has published its report.
read more »Donor conception video
Dr Rhona Knight, Chair of the Nuffield Council inquiry on donor conception, introduces some of the ethical questions the Council would like to hear people's views on.
read more »Should children be told they were donor-conceived?
Is the decision to tell children they were conceived using donor eggs or sperm a private matter for the family, or is this information so important that health and social care professionals should get involved? The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has today launched a call for people’s views on this and other ethical questions related to information about donor conception.
read more »Donor conception - Key issues
In February 2012, the Council began an inquiry on the ethical issues that arise in connection with the disclosure of information about genetic origin in the context of families created through assisted reproduction using donor gametes (eggs or sperm), embryos, or surrogacy.
read more »New Working Party on donor conception and information
The Council has set up a Working Party to consider the ethical issues raised by the disclosure of information about genetic origin in the particular context of families created through assisted reproduction using donor gametes (egg, sperm or embryos).
read more »Donor conception - About the Working Party
Membership of the Working Party
Download the register of interests for the Working Party
Read the Working Party's terms of reference
read more »Donor conception - Terms of reference
In the context of families created through assisted reproduction using donor gametes, the Working Party will consider the impact of the disclosure/non-disclosure of information about a child’s genetic origins, with particular reference to:
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the wide range of stakeholders involved, the complexity of the relationships between them, and the ethical values at stake;
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the quality of the evidence currently available as to both the medical and social importance of genetic information in this context;