Urgent Appeal to Preserve Essential Donor-Linking Services, Education to Families, and In-House Specialised Counselling for Donor Conceived Families.

Next year, when a baby is born through donor conception:

• her parents will not receive education on open disclosure and keep her conception a secret. 
• Then when she experiences the trauma of learning she is donor conceived as an adult, who will help her?
• She won't have a counsellor help her to meet her donor
• she won't have the united interdisciplinary teamwork of the VARTA specialist counsellor and case manager.

stop this from happening.

Two months ago, I found out I was donor-conceived, this painful experience was made bearable by the counselling, support and compassion from the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA) now the government plans to disband Victoria’s world-renowned Reproductive Treatment Services through a Bill that will actively harm current and future donor-conceived children and their families.

The Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill 2024 proposes the removal of supported donor meetings and the disbanding of the specialist in-house counselling service at VARTA. This will make an already painful experience potentially more traumatic through unsupported contact with donors and no specialist counsellors to readily talk to. Additionally, disregarding mandated education for future parents about the importance of open disclosure may result in long-term harm to babies conceived through donor gametes. 

We specifically request the retention of the following critical provisions:

1. Public Education Requirements: The proposed elimination of mandatory public education on donor conception to prospective parents is deeply troubling. My own experience reveals the pain caused by misinformation—the Victorian healthcare system previously encouraged secrecy relating to an individual’s donor-conceived status, resulting in years of confusion and distress for both the parents and the children when they inevitably find out. Without proper education, future families will lack essential information to make informed choices about disclosing donor conception to their children, perpetuating unnecessary harm and suffering.  Research shows late disclosure leads to worse psychological outcomes (Talbot et al., 2024). This decision will undoubtedly cause pain to future Victorians with no one advocating at the time for their needs.
2. Mediated Donor-Linking Services: Removing facilitated face-to-face meetings between donors and recipient families will profoundly impact Victorians. Discovering that you are donor-conceived disrupts your sense of identity and causes you to desperately seek answers about your genetic risks and heritage. VARTA’s current services allow for the initial meeting of a donor in a safe, private, supported manner to help facilitate a positive experience with successful information sharing. The Bill proposes replacing this with an impersonal online platform which will only increase the emotional and logistical barriers of engaging donors. By removing the human element and attempting to automate such a delicate situation, the government reduces the likelihood a donor may be willing to share their personal information. Placing the health of donor-conceived people at risk by being unable to access critical health information. Particularly when there is no other avenue to find out our genetic risks in Victoria. 
   
   
3. In-House Specialist Counselling Services: The bill proposes outsourcing counselling to external entities, which could result in fragmented care and less personal support. VARTA’s in-house counsellors provide specialised, compassionate, vital care during such a sensitive period. Removing this continuity of care increases the likelihood of individuals falling through the gaps. Losing this direct support means additional stress and confusion for individuals navigating their donor conception journey.

The proposed changes will erode the support systems vital for donor-conceived individuals and their families, worsening their emotional and psychological well-being. 

We urge you to:

1. Retain facilitated face-to-face donor-linking services to provide essential support and access to health information.
2. Maintain public education requirements to protect the best interests of children and families affected by donor conception.
3. Preserve VARTA’s in-house counselling services to ensure consistent and compassionate care.

Please sign this petition to protect the rights and well-being of all future Victorians born through donor conception.