The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a homeowner's appeal against a decision that he had not acquired a right of way over part of a driveway belonging to one of his neighbours. The row of houses in which the man and his neighbour lived had originally been...
From 1 October 2024, the amount of compensation for donating sperm or eggs has increased. A sperm donor can now receive £45 for each clinic visit and an egg donor will receive £986 (previously £750). The rise in compensation is an attempt to increase the number of donors and amount of gametes being donated as the UK is currently facing a shortage. It is worth noting that only 1-2% of donor applicants are successful in being taken on as donors largely due to the need for the gametes to be ‘robust’ enough to survive freezing and storage.
Whilst the reason for the shortage is unknown, it is likely to be a combination of factors such as, social stigma, the 10 family limit, lack of awareness, involved processes and increased risks. Perhaps the most obvious reason for the shortage is due to the change in anonymity laws. Prior to 31 March 2005, you could donate sperm and eggs anonymously, however, since 1 April 2005, children conceived using donations are able to access information about the donor. From the age of 16 they will be able to find out ‘non-identifying’ information such as the donor’s height, year of birth, ethnicity, marital status and medical history. When they turn 18 they can request ‘identifying’ data about the donor to include their full name, date of birth and the address they provided to the clinic. The information that is disclosed when they are 18 makes it a very real possibility that donor-conceived children will be able to trace donors and, for some donors, this was enough to stop them from making any further donations. It is worth noting that some donors welcome this change and for any donors that made their donation prior to 31 March 2005, they have the option to remove their anonymity and be treated as if they donated from 1 April 2005. It is worth noting that, in terms of legal parentage, provided you donated sperm through an HFEA licensed clinic, you will never be the legal father and, if you did not give birth, you will never be the legal mother.
From last year, the first children conceived via gamete and embryo donation were able to access identifying data about the donors and many have tried to establish contact. This raises important questions as to how and when to tell children they were donor-conceived, how much information to provide them with and how best to support them if they choose to attempt to establish contact with the donor. As the number of donor-conceived children increase, it is vitally important that the awareness around the legalities of donation, donor information and legal parentage issues are increased.
Should you wish to discuss options for starting or growing your family then we would be delighted to hear from you.