Anonymous Gamete Donation in Iran: Lineage Revisited

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) were legitimized in Iran through the rulings (fatwa) of some of the Shia Islamic jurists, who, in allowing third-party gamete donation, specified that the resulting child will belong to its biological parent from whom it will take its lineage and inherit. However, three decades on and in practice, the recipients of gamete are increasingly resorting to seeking third-party gamete from anonymous donors, an act which defies the above rulings. Currently, a proposal including legalizing anonymous gamete donation is examined by the parliament and the question of anonymity remains in flux. This article examines the factors leading to the emergence of the preference by both the infertile couples and the practitioners for anonymous donation. It further examines the implications of anonymous gamete donation for lineage and biological relatedness, which form the cornerstone of family and kinship, and which are paramount in Islam and in Iranian culture.