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Making History: Colorado SB 22-224

As the sun rose on May 11, 2022, it brought the dawn of a new day for donor conceived people in the United States. The night before, around 10:30 p.m. MT, during a marathon Colorado State Senate session, SB 22-224, the “Donor-Conceived Persons and Families of Donor-Conceived Persons Protection Act,” passed unanimously.

With the bang of the gavel, Colorado made history by passing the first act of its kind within the United States—an act that would abolish anonymous egg and sperm donation. Under the law, for gamete donations made on or after January 1, 2025, donors would have to agree to the release of their identifying information, upon request, to any person conceived through their donations once that person turned 18. Other necessary regulations would kick in as well, including a limit on the number of families established per gamete donor.

The backdrop for Colorado’s action is this: Although similar requirements exist in other Western democracies, including Australia and the United Kingdom, in the United States, third-party assisted reproduction is a largely unregulated multi-billion dollar industry.

What Supporters Say about Colorado SB 22-224

U.S. Donor Conceived Council is proud to have collaborated with and obtained support from a variety of experts and stakeholders during the progression of Colorado’s “Donor-Conceived Persons and Families of Donor-Conceived Persons Protection Act” (SB 22-224) from initial draft to adoption by the Colorado General Assembly.

U.S. Donor Conceived Council Makes History and Protects Donor Conceived People Through Passage of Bipartisan Colorado Bill

U.S. Donor Conceived Council is thrilled to celebrate Colorado’s landmark passage of the “Donor-Conceived Persons and Families of Donor-Conceived Persons Protection Act,” the first act in the United States focused on protecting the rights of people conceived using sperm, eggs, or embryos provided by unknown third parties.

The act will give adult donor conceived people the ability to obtain the identity of the donor used to conceive them and sets an enforceable limit of 25 families (in or outside of Colorado) for any one gamete donor, with no limit on the number of children born per family. The act will be prospective from 2025 with no impact on prior donations.

Other notable provisions of the act will require gamete agencies, banks, and fertility clinics to obtain a Colorado license and periodically request updates from donors on their medical history and contact information. Additionally, records on sperm and egg donors will be subject to permanent retention. This will help ensure that donor conceived persons will have ongoing access to their updated family medical history.