This article aims to address the issue of the donation of gametes and the anonymity involved in this act of medically-assisted reproduction. It briefly discusses the technical aspects of the donation and selection of gametes and the need for specific legislation on the issue in various countries that have adopted this method, in view of the plurality of different social systems in the world today. The article addresses the legal and ethical issues that are currently being aired in Brazil, and the rulings contained in the Federal Medical Council Resolution 1,358/93, which rules on the conduct of physicians in Brazil and defines, among other things, an act of donation and anonymity, in a way that addresses the question of autonomy. The need for the protection of subjects by way of terms of informed consent or informed refusal, ensuring that necessary information and clarification is made available both to the couple that decide to submit themselves to medically-assisted reproduction and to the donor, who should, in turn, give written assurance of his or her free consent and willingness to cede any rights regarding the gametes to the institution that has taken responsibility for them. All of this, in combination with veracity and confidentiality, are essential if anonymity between donor and recipient is to be upheld. This question of anonymity has been much discussed by scholars from various fields and various parts of the world.
Reproduction; Gametes; Insemination; artificial; heterologous