The government today ruled out giving children of sperm donors the right to trace their biological fathers.

A Department of Health spokesperson confirmed that: "We can categorically say we are not going to remove anonymity for donors and we will be making an announcement on the subject shortly."

Guardian Unlimited has learned that, at a meeting of health ministers three weeks ago, not a single minister expressed support for the proposal. The health secretary, Alan Milburn, and the minister responsible for fertility issues, Hazel Blears, were present at the meeting.

Ministers found it difficult to accept that the actions of a sperm donor are comparable to the actions presently defined as those of fatherhood.

Asked about weekend reports of an end to donor anonymity, one health official told Guardian Unlimited: "this is a unfortunate case of premature speculation".

This scepticism will disappoint experts within the Department of Health who are pressing for the change. They believe that the need for children to know their genetic background and true identity outweighs the rights of privacy of sperm donors.

The human fertilisation and embryology authority (HFEA), which regulates IVF clinics in Britain, is also believed to back a change in the law. After a consultation exercise it concluded that, though the number of donors could decline if they lose the right to anonymity, the right of children to know must come first.

A HFEA spokeswoman said that the organisation "was not in a position" to react to the decision until it had heard the confirmation from the government officially.

However, the spokeswoman said: "When the authority considered the question of donor anonymity it felt that it was important that donor anonymity should be ended.

"It felt that it was appropriate for people to have access to information about their genetic parents.

"However we are aware that the consultation has been a lengthy and very difficult one with a number of organisations and individuals in the field arguing that an end to donor anonymity would lead to a shortage of donors.

"We are aware that it has been a very difficult thing for the government to balance."

Around 1,100 children are born a year in Britain as a result of donor insemination (DI), a technique pioneered in the 1950s. Donors are paid about £30 per donation, and the majority of them are believed to be medical students.

The review of the law on DI follows a legal victory last July by two children of sperm donors. Lawyers for Joanna Rose and a 6-year-old girl argued successfully that they had a right to learn their genetic background.

Ministers are believed to be open to the idea that greater genetic information be available to children conceived by DI. This could include a change to their birth certificates. At present, the partner of the child's mother is legally his or her father, and his name is included on their birth certificate. In future, "donor" could be written into the box marked "father".

Despite being unconvinced of a child's right to know, ministers are understood to be considering the creation of a voluntary register, which donors could join if they are happy for their details to be passed onto their children.