Information for Patients about Sperm or Egg Donation
At IVF Hammersmith we offer treatment to people who need either a sperm or an egg donor for medical reasons if it has been recommended by a consultant. We recognise that there are many issues to consider before choosing this way of creating a family and so we ensure that people have as much time as they need and are well informed before going ahead with the treatment itself.
We also offer a monitoring and counselling service for our patients having treatment with overseas centres.
Donors
Donors are men or women who provide sperm or eggs altruistically to enable others to have the family they long for. They may be unknown to the recipients (this is most common with sperm donation) but they may be a friend or relative which is common in egg donation. The minimum age is 18 and sperm donors should be no more than 45 years old, whilst egg donors should be no more than 36 years old, unless there are special circumstances. They are all screened to ensure they are medically suitable to be a donor. Unfortunately, there is a considerable shortage of people offering to donate but we will discuss the current availability when you come to your first appointment.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the organisation that regulates the work carried out in all IVF clinics.
The HFEA keeps a Register of confidential information about people who have had licensed treatment, the donors and the children who are born. Donors are asked to provide information which would be relevant to a donor-conceived child or young person. This includes their name, physical characteristics, ethnic origin, family medical history and as much information as possible about their family background, interests, hobbies and skills. They are also asked to describe why they decided to be a donor, to write a goodwill message to the child and provide any other descriptive information that might be of interest to the child. This provides a sense of what the donor is like because, for many children, this information will be important in order to have a complete sense of their own identity.
Young people have been given a legal right to information about their origins and for donor-conceived people this includes the right to ask for the donor’s description when they are16 years old and for the donor’s name and address when they are 18. We will discuss all aspects of the right to information when you attend for appointments and provide you with detailed written information about it.
The Legal Parents
1. Any woman who gives birth to a baby is the legal mother
2. The sperm or egg donor has no legal responsibilities or rights in relation to the child or children
3. When the child is conceived by sperm donation the following applies in relation to legal fatherhood
Married couples: the husband will be the legal father unless it is shown that he did not consent to his wife’s treatment with donor sperm. He will need to sign a form showing that he does consent.
Unmarried couples: both partners must consent in writing to the male partner being the father in order for him to be legally recognised and names on the child’s birth certificate.
Same-sex couples: for lesbian civil partners, that partner that does not give birth will be the legal second parent and named on the child’s birth certificate unless she did not consent to her partner’s treatment. She will need to sign a form showing that she does consent.
For lesbian couples not in a civil partnership, both women must consent to the partner who does not give birth being named as the legal parent.
Counselling
It is often very difficult for people when they discover they are unable to have the family they planned together or realise that may need to have a family as a single person. The decision about donation involves thinking about all the experiences and possible issues that could occur in the future as the children grow up. This is complicated, needs time and we want to offer all the support that we can. So we always arrange for you to see our counsellor before you sign the necessary consent forms and actually go ahead with treatment. The counsellor will also be able to provide details of support groups and additional written information.
Contact us
For private patient enquiries and appointments:
Tel: 020 3313 4152
Fax: 020 8749 6973
To email us click here
For NHS referrals and appointments
Tel: 020 3313 4152
Fax: 020 8749 6973
To email us click here
