Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004

Information about donors of donated embryos or donated cells and donor offspring - Information about donors

50: Access by donor offspring to information about donors kept by providers and Registrar-General

You could also call this:

"People born using a donor can ask to see info about their donor when they turn 18."

Illustration for Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004

If you are 18 years or older and were born using a donor, you can ask to see information about your donor. The agency keeping this information must tell you if they have any details and, if so, let you see them. You can ask to see this information if you are a guardian of a child under 18 who was born using a donor. If you are under 18 and were born using a donor, you can also ask to see information about your donor, but you will only be able to see details that do not identify your donor.

The agency can refuse to give you information about your donor if they think it might put someone in danger. When you get to see information about your donor, the agency will tell you it is a good idea to get counselling. If the agency gives you information that identifies your donor, they will let your donor know. The agency's decision to refuse information for safety reasons is more important than their duty to give you the information. In this case, the agency that keeps the information can be a provider or the Registrar-General.

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This page was last updated on 6 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM319371.

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Healthcare servicesFamily and relationships > Children and parentingRights and equality > Privacy

49: Access by donors to information about them kept by providers, or

"Donors can see the information providers keep about them"

51: Restriction on access to information about donors, or

"Who can see information about donors for babies born using special help"

Part 3Information about donors of donated embryos or donated cells and donor offspring
Information about donors

50Access by donor offspring to information about donors kept by providers and Registrar-General

If asked to do so by a donor offspring who is 18 years or older, the relevant agency must tell the offspring whether the relevant agency is keeping any information about the donor or, as the case requires, the donors and, if so, give the offspring access to it.
If asked to do so by a guardian of a donor offspring who is under 18 years, the relevant agency must tell the guardian whether the relevant agency is keeping any information about the donor or, as the case requires, the donors and, if so, give the guardian access to it.
If asked to do so by a donor offspring who is under 18 years, the relevant agency must tell the donor offspring whether the relevant agency is keeping any information about the donor or, as the case requires, the donors and, if so, give the donor offspring access to as much of that information as is not identifying information.
The relevant agency may refuse to give a person access to information about a donor if satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that the disclosure is likely to endanger any person.
The relevant agency that gives a person access to information under this section must advise the person of the desirability of counselling.
The relevant agency must advise the donor concerned whenever a person is, under this section, given access to identifying information about the donor.
Subsection (4) overrides subsections (1) to (3).
In this section, relevant agency means a provider or the Registrar-General.