Photo/Illutration Yukari Senba, center, head of Donor Link Japan, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on April 11. (Natsumi Adachi)

A group of doctors and those born through donated sperm or an egg have launched an organization that connects such individuals with their donors to help exchange information.

“Knowing one’s origin is a fundamental human right,” said Yukari Senba, the head of the organization, at a news conference in Tokyo on April 11.

The general incorporated association called Donor Link Japan was established in December 2022. Lawyers are also taking part as advisers.

The organization plans to mediate between registered donors and individuals born through sperm or egg donations, as well as their potential siblings. Upon request from such individuals, the organization will proceed with mediation after a DNA test.

For the time being, however, the testing is limited to people who have donated sperm and those born through third-party sperm at medical institutions that conduct artificial insemination using a donor’s semen and are registered with the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The organization also plans to create opportunities for donors to interact with one another. It plans to hold similar gatherings for individuals born through donations as well.

Even donors or those born from donations who are not subject to the DNA test can register as members and participate in exchanges with other members.

There are growing calls for ensuring the “right to know one’s origin” so that people born using third party sperm or an egg can learn about their donor’s information when they reach adulthood.

An additional clause of an assisted reproductive technology law enacted at the end of 2020 stipulates that discussions regarding this issue should proceed.

A nonpartisan group of lawmakers’ outline states that public institutions should store donor information and only disclose it to those born through donation if consent is obtained.

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