Book Review: Precious Babies - the author responds

I was delighted that Rachel Pepa's review of my book 'Precious Babies' concluded that it had much to recommend it as a guide to having children after fertility problems as that's exactly what the book is intended to be. I wasn't surprised that she didn't feel it addressed her issues as a donor-conceived adult because the book is not about donor conception or adults...[Read More]

Book Review: Precious Babies - a donor conceived person's view

As an informal guide to having children after fertility problems, Precious Babies has much to recommend it. There is, however, an omission which, as a donor conceived (DC) person, I found particularly troublesome - the book is entirely devoid of DC voices...[Read More]

IVF treatment rises six percent in a year

There was a six percent rise last year in the number of fertility treatments carried out in the UK, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)...[Read More]

Marquardt's off the mark

I have no doubt that Elizabeth Marquardt's report reflects the feelings of the donor-conceived people that she studied. However, since true scientific study of donor-conceived people is not currently possible, her claims must be qualified....[Read More]

One Parent or Five – more of the same from the Commission on Parenthood's Future

'One Parent or Five: A global look at today's new intentional families' is the latest report from the Commission on Parenthood's Future (1). Authored by 'scholar Elizabeth Marquardt, a recognized family expert', it claims to offer 'the first-ever systematic critique of the concept of intentional parenthood [by] providing a global tour of today's new intentional families...[Read More]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it: why the HFEA should leave the gamete donation policy alone

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has already made two decisions following its public consultation and review of gamete donation policies in the UK: first, intra-familial gamete donation can continue as before (subject to certain provisions); and second, the number of families which a single donor might help create remains limited to ten. The bigger question on compensation and benefit in kind to donors will not be answered until later this year...[Read More]

BBC documentary shows why we need UK DonorLink

A BBC1 documentary 'Donor Mum: The children I've never met' is to be broadcast at 10.35pm tonight (30 August). The programme tells the extraordinary story of a woman - herself the single mother by choice of a donor insemination-conceived adult son – meeting with the twins born from her egg donation nineteen years ago....[Read More]

Fertility treatment in Germany

Germany is said to have one of the most restrictive legislation in the area of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments. In contrast to the UK, both oocyte donation and surrogacy are prohibited by the Embryo Protection Act. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has only become permissible as of July this year – it can now be carried out if the child will be born with a severe genetic disease, or if the embryo is so severely impaired that the pregnancy...[Read More]

High Court allows surrogate mother to keep baby

A UK surrogate who changed her mind about handing over a baby to a couple has been allowed to keep the child, the High Court has ruled....[Read More]

Canadian court allows woman to seek information on sperm-donor father

A Canadian woman conceived through donor insemination has been allowed to bring legal action against the province of British Columbia to obtain information about her biological heritage, which may include the identity of the sperm donor involved....[Read More]

Directors of illegal sperm website given suspended sentence

Two men convicted of providing sperm over the internet without a licence have escaped a custodial sentence...[Read More]

Lesbian couple expecting quintuplets following donor insemination

A lesbian couple are expecting quintuplets after using a sperm donor to conceive....[Read More]

Why we shouldn't abolish the HFEA

The Government is considering dismembering the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and dividing its responsibilities between the Care Quality Commission, a proposed new research regulator and possibly an expanded Health and Social Care Information Centre [1]. We believe that, although the HFEA is not perfect, such changes would be a retrograde step and should be resisted...[Read More]

Secrecy and the problems of nostalgia

Professor Lisa Jardine sounded tired. Contributing to a BBC Radio 4 Analysis programme on 26 October, the chair of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) declared that she was 'positively nostalgic' for secrecy and discretion....[Read More]

Is cross-border reproductive care a problem, and for whom?

As a clinician based in the UK, one cannot fail to be aware that some patients seek fertility treatments abroad. Until now we only had newspaper headlines or anecdotal evidence, but having presented the results of the first European study in Amsterdam at the annual ESHRE conference (1), we may now base our reflections on some facts, even if selected by the voluntary nature of participating colleagues and centres abroad....[Read More]

UK Parliament rejects the 'need for a father' in IVF treatment

The House of Commons has rejected a proposed amendment to the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill, requiring fertility clinics to consider the 'need for a father' prior to IVF treatment. After a lengthy debate, MPs voted 292 to 217 against the amendment, a majority of...[Read More]

Why UK surrogacy law needs an urgent review

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill is currently wending its way through Parliament amidst a storm of controversy and debate. An issue which has provoked very little attention is surrogacy, and yet this is where the law most desperately needs reforming. Surrogacy arrangements currently get the raw end of...[Read More]

The real impact of the removal of donor anonymity

Legislation removing donor anonymity came into force in the UK in April 2005. Transitional arrangements, to allow the opportunity to use up reserves of anonymously donated sperm, were short; only one year. After that, the use of anonymously donated sperm was illegal.Since then, there have been a number of...[Read More]

Should the need for a father be enshrined in law?

Those offering IVF and associated techniques in the UK are currently required, by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, to consider the welfare of the child who might be born as a result - including the child's 'need for a father'. However, the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill currently...[Read More]

Donor insemination in the post- anonymity world: one clinic's experiences

The consequences of the removal of anonymity for gamete donors in terms of quality and number have been a cause of concern to patients, clinics and policy makers in the UK. At the London Women's Clinic (LWC), donor insemination (DI) is an integral part of our life. We have the...[Read More]