There are strong views on all sides about this issue and it is right that we carry out a full consultation before deciding how to proceed

Yvette Cooper, Health Minister

They can ask, at 16, whether they may be related to someone they wish to marry, and two years later can ask if they were born as a result of treatments using donor eggs, sperm or embryos.

However, as these rights were only introduced in 1990, and are not retrospective, the first request for information will not be allowed for some years.

A clinic can also tell the couple involved a little about the donor, such as physical characteristics, medical history and personal background, but are not allowed to pass any information which could identify him or her.

The consultation document asks whether, in future, more comprehensive information should be made available, or even if the identity of donors should in future be made available to the child.

Health Minister Yvette Cooper, launching the document, said: "There are strong views on all sides about this issue and it is right that we carry out a full consultation before deciding how to proceed.

Demand for information

"The development of fertility techniques means that tens of thousands of children will be born as a result of sperm, egg or embryo donation.

"We need to consider whether those children should have access to information about the donor, as well as assessing the views of donors themselves about how much personal information should be provided."

If a sudden change in policy led to a drastic fall in the number of donors prepared to come forward, this would be undesirable

Donor Conception Network, position statement

Any changes to the regulations arising from this consultation would also not be retrospective - and would apply only to children conceived after the date of the new regulation, meaning that it would be at least another 16 years before more comprehensive information could be passed on.

The consultation states: "Regulations could not be made under the 1990 Act to permit the identification of existing donors.

"Such a step would require primary legislation and this is not the intention of the government."

Donor worries

Fertility organisation have mixed feelings about any changes.

The Donor Conception Network, which represents hundreds of couples who have conceived a child through donor gametes or embryos, said that a period of consultation was important.

A position statement from the group said: "It seems likely that the question of access to origins information would need to be decided authoritatively before long."

However, it adds: "If a sudden change in policy led to a drastic fall in the number of donors prepared to come forward, this would be undesirable."