Embryo Donation

Embryo donation is often necessary when intended parents require both donor sperm and donor eggs. They may be particularly necessary when the intended parents are at risk of passing on hereditary conditions or where there is unexplained infertility or recurrent miscarriage.

Consents must be obtained from both the egg and sperm donors to create an embryo. The consent should cover how that embryo can be used in treatment and how it should be stored. Embryos are often donated by people who have successfully completed their own family through IVF and wish to assist others. Donors may set conditions should they wish to specify any. Consent can be varied or withdrawn at any time but there are then strict procedures that must be followed before the embryo can either be used or destroyed depending on the outcome of the consent procedure.

There are also stringent rules regarding the storage of eggs, sperm, and embryos, depending on whether they were stored before or after 1 October 2009.