Journal of Research and Development in Comparative Law

Journal of Research and Development in Comparative Law

Comparative study of the nationality of children born from donated gametes in the legal systems of the U.S.A and the U.A.E

Articles in Press

Document Type : scientific research paper

Authors
Ali Boloori
Mohammad Roshan
Family Institute/ Shahid Beheshti University/ Tehran/ Iran
10.22034/law.2026.2084739.1760
Abstract
Spread of childbearing using donated gametes requires that legal systems adopt various measures to guarantee all the rights of children born from donated gametes in order to reduce discrimination between these children and other children. The right to nationality is one of the fundamental rights of children. Guaranteeing this right for children born from donated gametes guarantees other rights of these children, such as the right to education, the right to access health services, etc.

Although states are free to enact nationality Acts and determine their own nationals, but they must regulate their Acts in such a way as to prevent the statelessness of people as much as possible. Many Countries practice the Jus Sanguinis in granting nationality. This means that if a child is recognized as a blood child of one of the nationals of this country, he/she will also benefit from the nationality of that country. Considering that today many children are born from donated gametes and do not have a blood relationship with the receiving father or mother, the application of this system can sometimes lead to their statelessness. Meanwhile, the different regulations regarding gamete donation in each of the legal systems of the United States and the United Arab Emirates have created a different situation in applying the Jus Sanguinis to grant nationality to children born from donated gametes.

In these two legal systems, the implementation of the Jus Sanguinis requires obtaining the blood relationship between the child and the parents. American laws have established a special ruling regarding obtaining the parentage of children born from donated gametes and explicitly considered these children to be attributed to the recipient parents and rejected any relationship between the child and the gamete donor. Therefore, the nationality of the gamete donor in the United States will not affect the determination of the child's nationality. However, the laws of the United Arab Emirates do not have a special provision in this regard. Lack of determining in this regard can always dispose the child to the threat of statelessness.
Keywords
Nationality
Gamete Donation
United States of America
United Arab Emirates
Jus Sanguinis
Subjects
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Journal of Research and Development in Comparative Law

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 May 2026