Department of Health

Changes to donor-conceived laws: Chloe's story

  • Duration: Length 1:30

  • Transcript

    When I heard about the legislation change that might be coming in I was really, really happy that the government is seeing that this is something that really needs to happen for Victoria, and hopefully for the rest of Australia. This is really important for donor conceived people to know where we've come from and I think it's important for anyone to know and that their understanding that is a really great thing.

    I've always felt like the black sheep and I'm just wondering if my donor is that missing piece and that he shares these traits with me as well. I love to dance, I love everything artistic and creative. Have these come from him? And, yeah, I think that's vital information that really would help me understand myself more.

    I only have three blood relatives that I'm aware of at the moment so having only three people to base my medical history on is really not sufficient for me. So I think having that medical history for myself and if I have children in the future would be a really, really good thing that I need to have. If a donor was worried that a donor conceived person was going to contact them I would say that they're not wanting to intrude on your family life, they're not wanting to intrude on anything. All they're wanting is a yes or no answer, whether you would like contact. If not, we really want to respect their wishes.

Listen to Chloe Alworthy's story - Victoria will become the first state to give donor-conceived people the right to access information about where they came from.

Reviewed 18 February 2016

Health.vic

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