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HFEA agrees new policies to improve sperm and egg donation services
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has today made a number of important decisions on sperm and egg donation in the UK. This follows an extensive public consultation, 'Donating sperm and eggs: have your say', which ran from January to April 2011.
The Authority has agreed to take a proactive approach to donor
recruitment, retention and care by working with the IVF sector,
professional bodies and voluntary organisations to raise
awareness, improve the care of donors and ensure that donation
continues to take place within a safe and ethical environment.
Addressing concerns about treating donors fairly and valuing
their contribution, as well as the need to retain donors and keep
paperwork to a minimum, the Authority has also agreed to change
the compensation that donors can receive. Moving away from the
current system of out of pocket expenses and a loss of earnings
allowance capped at £250, clinics will in the future be able to
offer donors compensation which better reflects their expenses.
The new scheme will include:
* For sperm donors, a fixed sum of £35 per visit including expenses
* For egg donors, a fixed sum of £750 per cycle of donation
including expenses
Professor Lisa Jardine, Chair of the HFEA, said today:
'In looking at donation we have focused on what it
means to people - to those born of assisted reproduction, to
donors, to patients wanting desperately to have a baby and to the
public in general. We are convinced that it is right to look at
compensation not in terms of crude sums but in terms of the value
of donation.'
'My Authority has set a level of compensation which
will not deter those interested in donation but will retain donors
already in the system, without attracting those who are merely
financially motivated.'
'We have consulted widely and listened carefully to
what we were told by the large number of patients, donors,
donor-conceived people and clinics who responded to our
consultation. My Authority has been careful to balance the
interests of all involved in the donation process. We know that
any one change that we make to our policies is unlikely completely
to solve current problems in the donation system. That's
why we have decided to capitalise on our unique position by
actively helping the sector to attract and retain donors, use
their donations to their full and ensure that donors are well
cared for and valued.'
Benefits in kind
The HFEA also considered benefits in kind in
which people are allowed to receive treatment services in return
for donation of their sperm or eggs to treatment or research,
commonly known as egg sharing.
Current guidance focuses almost exclusively on egg sharing
arrangements in exchange for IVF, yet treatment services which can
be offered are broader than this, including storage and moving up
the waiting list.
The HFEA has decided that this should be allowed to continue,
but that current guidance should be reviewed with a view to making
it clear to clinics what benefits might be included.
Ends
Notes to editors * The HFEA is the independent regulator
for IVF treatment and embryo research. Our role is to protect
patients and the public interest, to drive improvement in the
treatment and research sectors and to provide information to the
public and policymakers about treatment and research.
* The
HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation
and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA's principal tasks are
to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro
fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination (AI) and human embryo
research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and
sperm) and embryos. See www.hfea.gov.uk for further details.
For further information please contact the HFEA press office on
020 7291 8226 or email press.office@hfea.gov.uk
05/33201
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the issuing dept
ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Nick Spears
Phone: 020 7374 5384
nick.spears@hfea.gov.uk