Family Law

Colorado Donor-Conceived Person Protection Law Opens Public Comments On Proposed Rules

The first of four Zoom sessions is on November 1.

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Asian Chinese Mother bonding time with her baby boy toddler at homeOn May 31, 2022, Colorado was the first state in the country — and the only one to date — to sign into law wide-ranging regulations focused on protecting “donor-conceived persons.” That law, entitled the Donor-conceived Persons and Families of Donor-conceived Persons Protection Act, is slated to go into effect on January 1, 2025.

In the meantime, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has been hard at work engaging in regulatory rulemaking. Recently, the CDPHE published a set of proposed rules to implement the law and has invited stakeholders to submit comments, either through four upcoming scheduled live Zoom sessions or through submitting written comments. And, assuming you read this the day it is published, the first session is tomorrow, November 1!

Remind Me What This Law Does?

Well, a lot. This law makes Colorado the first state in the country to place firm requirements on identity disclosure in egg and sperm donations, and moreover, limits the number of families that can receive donations from a single donor, as well as the number of egg retrievals a donor can undergo. Among the requirements of the new law are:

  • Licensure. All fertility clinics, gamete banks, and gamete agencies matching recipients with egg or sperm donors unknown to the recipients at the time of donation in Colorado or to Colorado residents must be licensed under the new law.
  • Elimination of fully anonymous donation. All donors after the effective date must agree to have their identities released to donor-conceived offspring upon such person reaching 18 years of age.
  • Collecting and updating medical history. Responsible entities covered by the new law must collect a comprehensive medical history from each donor and attempt to update that medical history at least once every three years.
  • Written materials. Fertility clinics, gamete banks, and gamete agencies are required to provide written materials to recipients and donors that have been developed by the CDPHE in conjunction with mental health professionals to address, for recipients, the needs and interests of donor-conceived persons, and, for donors, the emotional and social impacts of donating gametes, among other enumerated points.
  • Limiting each donor to no more than 25 families. The regulated entities must make efforts to know how many families have received donations from the same donor and must not facilitate donations from the same donor beyond 25 families.
  • Egg donors limited to six retrievals. Egg donors are subject to a lifetime limit of six cycles per donor, with possible exceptions for a family wishing to conceive an additional child with the same donor.

To name a few.

How Can I Comment?

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The CDPHE welcomes comments from all stakeholders — no need to be a fertility doctor or assisted reproductive technology-specialized attorney. Although those professionals may especially want to weigh in. The CDPHE’s four live Zoom rulemaking hearings will each focus on discussing different parts of the bill.

  • Session 1:Wednesday, November 1, 2023 (Noon to 2 p.m. MT). This session is scheduled to focus on the introductory sections of the proposed regulations, specifically those on purpose and authority, definitions, and licensing.
  • Session 2: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 (Noon to 2 p.m. MT). This session is scheduled to focus on donor consent, tracking donor information, and donor information disbursal.
  • Session 3: Wednesday, November 29, 2023 (Noon to 2 p.m. MT). This session is scheduled to focus on educational materials and licensing processes.
  • Session 4: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 (Noon to 2 p.m. MT). This session is scheduled to focus on certain family limits and retrieval limits on donations of genetic material.

For those who wish to participate, all sessions require pre-registration. Separately, as noted above, if you have a little bit of stage fright or didn’t get a chance to share all your thoughts in a Zoom meeting, CDPHE accepts written comments on the proposed rules. All written comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. Mountain time, Friday, December 29, 2023.

The more stakeholder eyes are on these rules, and the more constructive feedback that is provided to the CDPHE, the better. So regardless of your viewpoint, I hope to see you tomorrow!

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Ellen TrachmanEllen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcast I Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at babies@abovethelaw.com.

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