Gamete donors for IVF should relinquish right of ownership to resulting embryos

EDITORőThe Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act states that gamete donors have rights over the destiny of their gametes and any embryos resulting from their use.1 Donors are volunteers, who are given a full explanation of the use of their gametes for clinical or research purposes. After counselling, donors proceed to donation only if they are in full agreement about the use of their gametes, which extends to deciding the fate of any resulting embryos from their donation.

The length of time that embryos can be stored by cryopreservation has recently been extended from five to 10 years, provided that the natural parents of the frozen embryos consent to this. It is essential that both parents agree about the length of cryopreservation. In cases in which one of the natural parents is a donor, his or her agreement must be obtained before the fate of the frozen embryos is decided, whatever the other natural parent may wish.

We recently encountered a difficult situation. A couple receiving in vitro fertilisation with donated sperm had eight embryos frozen at the end of treatment, which were still frozen at the end of the initial five year storage period. The donor could not be contacted to provide consent to further storage. Although the female partner was the natural mother of the frozen embryos, because the sperm donor could not be contacted and the patients did not wish to put the matter before the law an extension to embryo storage could not be allowed and the embryos were destroyed.

To prevent this situation arising again, we believe that after treatment the responsibility for donated gametes should be accepted by the patient or couple to whom they are donated. The fate of embryos resulting from gamete donation should be decided solely by the patient or couple, after counselling.

A change in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act is necessary to reflect these views and to strengthen the rights of patients as to the fate of donated gametes and resulting embryos. Gamete donors consenting to the use of their gametes for clinical purposes should relinquish the right of ownership for any resulting embryos to the couple for whom the embryos are intended. This will effectively give the patients sole authority over the fate of frozen embryos.