Resources
Published: April 2018
Fertility & infertility, Assisted reproduction treatment (ART), Donor conception, Donor conception register services
2018 Louis Waller Lecture looks back on the early days of donor conception in Victoria
Headline: 2018 Louis Waller Lecture looks back on the early days of donor conception in Victoria
More than 160 people attended the 2018 Louis Waller Lecture, ‘Looking back: the early days of donor conception in Victoria’, making it VARTA’s largest Louis Waller Lecture to date.
The evening, launched by the Victorian Minister for Health the Hon Jill Hennessy MP by video, and compèred by VARTA Chairperson Kirsten Mander, was particularly special because the keynote speech was delivered by Emeritus Professor Waller himself.
Published: November 2015
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Donor conception, Donor conception register services
A donor's wife's perspective
I have always known that my husband was a sperm donor while at university in the 70s.
It was undertaken on a strictly confidential basis and over the years we really did not give it much of a thought.
All this changed when my husband saw an advertisement in a National newspaper announcing that sperm donor children now had the right to find out who their biological fathers were and asked for people to come forward if they felt they wanted to assist in this process.
Published: September 2016
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Donor conception
A gift from the heart: why we can't pay donors
For people seeking to create a family using donor eggs or sperm, it is important to understand the laws governing the process; and in particular, to know that, in Australia, donations can only be made on an altruistic basis – in other words, donors cannot be paid for use of their eggs or sperm.
Following Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes investigation Baby Business, broadcast on Sunday 18 September, it appears that confusion exists about this issue and the way in which the law defines payment.
Published: January 2019
Video
Fertility & infertility, Assisted reproduction treatment (ART), Donor conception, Donor conception register services
A mother reflects on her experience of donor treatment in the late 1970S and early 1980s
Elizabeth, a parent of three donor-conceived adults born as a result of donor treatment in the late 1970s and early 1980s at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, recounts her experience of early donor treatment and having donor-conceived children.
Published: June 2015
Assisted reproduction treatment (ART), Donor conception, Donor conception register services, Regulation
A right to know your identity - Victorian Government's committment
The Victorian Labour Government is committed to giving all donor-conceived people the right to access identifying information about their donors regardless of when they were born.
Proposed measures are outlined in a discussion paper released 29 June, 2015.
Published: September 2016
Hardcopy/pdf
Assisted reproduction treatment (ART), Donor conception, Donor conception register services
A statistical snapshot of data from the donor registers
The Victorian donor registers consist of the Central Register and the Voluntary Register. Both registers were managed by the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The Registrar provided VARTA with data for the period of 30 June 2016 from the donor registers for monitorin and public education purposes. A statistical snapshot of the numbers of people who have accessed the Central Register and Voluntary Register, as well as some information about their applications is provided for download.
Published: August 2015
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Assisted reproduction treatment (ART), Donor conception, Donor conception register services
ABC ‘Sperm Donors Anonymous’ gets to the heart of issues in donor conception
The issue of anonymous sperm donation has been under the spotlight of late in Victoria, partly due to changes in legislation, partly as a result of VARTA’s exhibition, ‘Donor conception: towards openness’, and now because of the ABC documentary ‘Sperm Donors Anonymous’.
Published: August 2014
Hardcopy/pdf
Donor conception, Donor conception register services, Regulation
ART further amendment legislative changes Q&A briefing
Victorian Parliament passes donor information amendments
New legislation giving Victorians conceived through donor sperm donated before 1988 the right to access identifying information about their donors with their donor's consent was passed on August 21, 2014, and took effect 29 June 2015.
Q&A briefing
The Q&A briefing provides more information on the amendments and their implications.
Published: January 2019
Video
Assisted reproduction treatment (ART), Donor conception, Donor conception register services
About the Voluntary Register
Journal: Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
Year: 2015
DOI: 10.1080/02646838.2015.1015115
External Link
Donor conception
Age when learning about mode of conception and well-being among young adults conceived with ART
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the age at which young adults recalled learning about being assistive reproductive technologies (ART)-conceived and the association with subjective well-being and parental relationship.
Background: The use of ART is increasing. Parents are encouraged to tell children about the way they were conceived when they are young. Little is known about whether age when learning about being ART-conceived influences adult well-being.