A recent article by Dr Grace Halden and Hayley King in BioNews looks at the development and implications of the increasing use of direct-to-consumer DNA databases and social media platforms in the UK which is enabling parents of donor conceived children to connect with donor-related half siblings outside the HFEA-regulated framework – before their children are 18. They argue for regulated access to identifying information about genetic siblings during early childhood, so that making such connections is ‘easier, safer, and fairer’.

The HFEA’s proposals to government at the end of 2023 to modernise the regulation of fertility treatment recognised the growing popularity and implications of direct-to-consumer DNA testing and social media, and the need for the law to keep pace with these developments. The importance of donor sibling relationships was a key theme in their report. The government is currently considering their 15 proposals for the fertility industry as a whole, which included the recommendation that identifying details about the donor be available earlier, potentially from the birth of a donor conceived child.