Finally some data coming out on this from the United Kingdom, which has moved to take the anonymity out of sperm and egg donation (there we go again with euphemisms). Now, it is the right of the child, created by egg or sperm donation, to find out who their biological parents are once they reach adulthood.
A recent survey of DI (donor insemination)services by the British Fertility Society found that:
37 per cent of clinics are finding it harder to recruit donors
94 per cent of clinics are finding it harder to buy in donor sperm
74 per cent of clinics have increased their waiting lists for DI treatment
86 per cent of clinics are able to offer less choice of donor. Most are now only able to match for racial group alone.
60 per cent have introduced rationing of treatment cycles
9 per cent have closed their DI service
89 per cent charge more for treatment because of the increased cost of the sperm they are able to purchase.
It's no wonder these facts present. Donors and purchasers of donated sperm and eggs want all of this kept anonymous. Thankfully though, the children's interest are being considered. I did find it odd that sperm donation was considered a treatment. Naturally, the IVF industry is concerned about these trends and is wanting new policies which would allow for 'non-identifying' information to be given out. That would mean you couldn't find out who your daddy is, but you could find out that your daddy had blue eyes and blond hair. How personal!
2 comments:
The figures from the HFEA show that the number of sperm donors has in fact risen in the two years following the ending of donor anonymity, thus reversing a three year decline:
http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/1523.html
http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/1459.html
Private clinics (ie where people pay) seem to have no trouble whatsoever getting frozen sperm, and I've even seen Manchester described as being "awash" with sperm.
I suspect that some clinics are exaggerating the difficulties because they were against the rule changes, and also that some NHS clinics are citing the donor shortage when the real reason is that they don't have enough money to treat everyone. The longer they make the waiting list, the more couples pay for treatment at a private clinic, and many lesbian couples will turn to private donors. Some married couples will get pregnant by themselves after two years of trying. That all means less work and more money saved for the NHS.
If there was a real shortage, they could start recruiting amongst blood donors, and increase the number of families allowed per donor. Could they actually process extra donors, and fund more IVF cycles though?
Thanks for your post Mark. Seems unfortunate, if what you say is correct, that the clinics are exaggerating the difficulties. Makes the case that in the UK, with major regulation under the HFEA vs. in the US with little to no regulation, you still can't get the accurate facts about what is actually happening. And the children's best interests still seem to be not taken into account.
Post a Comment