You may require an egg donor in UK during your surrogacy journey in case the intended mother is unable to use her own eggs for the procedure. Besides, if the intended parents are at a risk to pass on some critical health issues to the future child, they may use the services of an egg donor in the country.
That said, there are certain laws and regulations that one needs to follow during the same procedure. In the following sections of the blog, we will talk about the lesser-known facts related to egg donation in the UK.
Who can become an egg donor in the UK?
In case you are pursuing surrogacy in the UK for the very first time ( and that too with the help of an egg donor) you must know certain things prior. Only a healthy female aged between 18 to 35 years can qualify for the role of an egg donor.
Besides, she must have two normal ovaries and must not come along with any history of a communicable disease. On the other hand, their family should not have any inheritable health issues that may prove to be critical for the health of the future child.
How much do you need to pay for an Egg donation in the UK?
Intended parents must be aware of the fact that it is illegal to pay for egg donations. That said, egg donors in UK may be paid up to 750 Euros per donation cycle to compensate them for the cost incurred towards the egg donation process.
Besides, there is no limit to how many egg donations can be made by a woman in the country. Still, according to the law, she cannot donate any further if 10 families have benefitted from her egg donations in the past. Moreover, the egg donors can have three recipients of their eggs per treatment cycle.
Are egg donors supposed to stay anonymous during the egg donation procedure?
The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority ((HFEA) strictly regulates all egg donation program in UK. This further means that every donor and recipient ( egg or sperm donation) must stay anonymous during the course of the process.
Moreover, once a child born via surrogacy reach the age of 18, he or she can ask the HFEA for the identity of the donor (full name, last known address, and date of birth).
Besides, since 2005, all egg donors in the UK have been required to consent to be recognized by anyone conceived using their donation. The donors can contact the HFEA at any time to request anonymous information about the egg donors, and they are free to give this information to their children at any time.
Additionally, the recipients can learn how many additional children were born after your donations, their gender, and the year of their birth.
Will the child conceived with my donated eggs legally be my child?
Strict medical, legal, and ethical standards must be followed by all clinics with a UK location that holds an HFEA license. That said, the egg donor won’t be the biological parent of any children born as a result of the egg donation if you use one of these clinics to donate your eggs to an unidentified recipient.
As a result, you won’t be listed as the child’s parent on the birth certificate and won’t have any legal rights to the child. You won’t have any control over the child’s upbringing, and you won’t be responsible for paying anything.
On the other side, the question of legal parenthood may be more complicated if you know the recipient. Besides, whether you will be considered a recipient’s legal parent will depend on the specifics of the arrangement. Hence, to make sure you understand how your plans may affect your legal parental status, it makes sense to seek legal advice if you intend to partake in egg donation program in UK.
When can I inquire about my donation, and what information will I get?
You have the right to learn the following at any time after making a donation:
- if your contribution has led to a successful conception
- how many children were conceived as a result of the egg donation
- the name, gender, and year of any child born after the egg donation
Apart from this, various surrogacy clinics in UK may reveal some other information about the egg donation procedure, depending on their policies.
Is there any capping on the number of children born via an egg donation?
There is no cap on the number of kids permitted to be born via the egg donation program in UK, but your donation can only support up to 10 families at a time. Moreover, it’s possible that your eggs will be distributed among two or three recipient women during a single donation cycle unless the egg donation is exclusively meant for one recipient only.
On the other hand, if your eggs are fertilized and develop into embryos, it’s possible that the recipients will freeze and store the embryos for a later time.
This could imply that more than one child from the same family is born as a result of your donation. So, if your recipient family decides not to use their frozen embryos, it’s also possible that they will want to donate them.
On the other hand, you will be questioned about whether you agree with how many families might be born thanks to your donations. You are free to impose any number of restrictions on this. Beyond 10, there is a limit to the number of families who can be benefitted from your egg donation.
Final words
Egg donation is permissible subject to adherence to certain regulations and policies. If you are partaking in an egg donation program in UK for the first time, do ensure to follow the given procedure. Besides, it is always recommended to connect with a trusted surrogacy agency that can help you with their partner Egg donation banks and agencies.
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