[Current trends in gamete donation - psychosocial and ethical issues].

OBJECTIVE: To overview contemporary knowledge of legal and psychosocial rules in gamete donation. Previously, anonymous donation was preferred and recommended by experts but currently, with respect to the right to know the genetic origin of individuals, the relation to donor anonymity was reconsidered in many countries. There is a growing tendency to introduce the open identity system in gamete donation. Such system may guarantee that the child born after gamete donation may have receive the identification data of the donor of gametes.

DESIGN: A review.

SETTING: Clinic of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology Zlin.

METHODS: An overview of recent literature evaluating the influence of donor anonymity vs. open identity on psychosocial development of children born after gamete donation as well as on the quality of the relationship between parents and children in such families.

CONCLUSION: New medical technologies usually overtake the developmental speed of ethics and psychology, and their impact on human society. Current trend to open identity is strong but there is no clear evidence that the open identity is of real importance for the healthy psychosocial development of a child born after gamete donation. Furthermore, there is no evidence that anonymity and secrecy of the gamete donation is harmful. In case of the consideration of the change in legal regulation in anonymity/open identity in gamete donation we would suggest the thorough consideration of all consequences.