Belgian Hospitals See Surge in Egg Donors After Shortage
Belgian fertility centers are reporting a spontaneous surge in new egg donor registrations following widespread media coverage of a critical donor shortage. The renewed interest comes as several hospitals confirmed that women stepped forward after hearing the story of Ine (38), who had to put her child wish on hold because of the dwindling supply of anonymous egg donors.
According to VRT NWS, UZ Brussel received three emails from women interested in donating: two who had previously donated anonymously and want to do so again, and one who completed her own fertility treatment and now wants to help others. “Every email begins with the fact that they read the news that there is a shortage,” said Shari Mackens, fertility doctor at UZ Brussel.
A Dramatic Drop in Donors
The surge follows months of alarming declines in donor registrations across the country. UZ Gent saw anonymous egg donor registrations fall from 46 in 2025 to just 4 in 2026, according to fertility doctor Frauke Vanden Meerschaut. ZOL Genk dropped from 15 to 3, while UZ Brussel went from 197 registrations in 2025 to 81 between January and July 2026.
The decline has been widely attributed to the federal government’s draft law, approved on February 27, 2026, which abolishes anonymity for sperm and egg donors. Under the proposed legislation, donor children can request non-identifiable information from age 12 and identifiable data—including name, birth date, and nationality—from age 16. The law must enter into force by June 30, 2027.
Personal Stories Drive Change
Ine’s testimony, broadcast by VRT NWS on August 16, proved to be a turning point. After surviving breast cancer and undergoing chemotherapy that severely reduced her egg supply, Ine needed an anonymous egg donor. But UZ Gent informed her they could no longer help due to the shortage. “My world collapsed when I read the email,” she told VRT NWS. “You’ve already been through a whole process against breast cancer. Then you start a real IVF trajectory, which is also not an easy choice. And suddenly everything seems to have been for nothing.”
The impact was immediate. UZ Gent received three new candidate donors the day after the news broke—compared to only four registrations for the entire rest of the year. Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (ZOL) confirmed three new spontaneous registrations since Sunday morning. Spokesperson Jurgen Ritzen called it “very exceptional.”
Donors Embrace the New Reality
For donor Maaike, who has already donated three times anonymously, the shift toward identity-release donation is welcome. “For me it’s no problem at all if I would evolve from anonymous donor to an ID-release donor, so that the child can learn certain data about me,” she said. “I understand very well that donor children have a need for knowledge about their roots.”
Maaike said the wishes of donor children must take precedence over those of donors and intended parents. When asked what she would do if a donor child ever contacted her, she replied simply: “Then I would go have coffee with them.”
Policy Tension and Concerns
The surge in registrations offers some hope, but fertility doctors caution that it won’t immediately solve the crisis. “These 3 women are not going to solve the shortage yet, but we know we can find people,” said Mackens. “If anonymity falls away, the profile of donors changes a bit, but that profile is certainly also findable.”
The Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics has warned that the government is moving too fast, recommending a phased approach that would temporarily allow donors to choose between full identity release or partial anonymity. The Belgian Society for Reproductive Medicine (BSRM) has also expressed concerns that the law threatens accessibility to sperm and egg donation, noting that Belgium is 85% dependent on foreign sperm banks.
What’s Next
Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke’s cabinet has announced a national information campaign about the new regulations and the rights of all involved parties. Fertility centers will also be allowed to run recruitment campaigns, though they must submit them in advance to the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG).
The law still needs to be submitted to the Council of State and parliament before it can take effect. As the transition to identity-release donation unfolds, the key question remains whether enough new donors will come forward to meet the needs of women like Ine who are waiting for help.
“A national government campaign in which people are called upon to donate via the ID-release system is necessary if we want to address the donor shortage,” Mackens said. The recent surge in registrations suggests that public awareness can make a difference—but sustaining that momentum will be the real challenge.