Breaches of the HFEA's donor 'ten family' limit - who should be told what?

In late August 2014, two national newspapers - the Daily Mail (1) and The Telegraph (2) - reported Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) data showing that donations from nine sperm donors had produced 21 or more children each, while another six donors had produced 20 children (see BioNews 768).

These reports prompted two linked, but independent, Freedom of Information requests (3,4) by us to the HFEA. Subsequent email communication (5) also enquired about breaches of the 'ten family' limit introduced by the HFEA on 1 April 2006, and to what extent affected donors, recipients, and (where they were eligible) donor-conceived individuals had been advised of any breach.