In a recent blog we looked at whether a sperm donor has legal rights to the children born as a result of their donation.  In this blog  we’d like to look at a very similar question, whether egg donors have legal rights to a child in the UK.

Donating eggs to someone in need is an altruistic and generous act that gives hope to women who either are unable to conceive for a variety of health reasons or fear their children could be at risk of inheriting a harmful genetic health condition.  However, if donation is something you’d like to do, you should be aware of the legal situation regarding any children born using your eggs.

What is egg donation?

Egg donation is when a woman goes through a process to have some of her eggs collected.  These eggs can then be donated to help another couple conceive or be used in fertility research. 

Usually, the eggs are donated to be used anonymously but, in some cases, the eggs will be donated to a family member or friend who is unable to use her own eggs.  While donating to a female relative is possible, you must be aware of the risks of mixing the eggs and sperm of close family members such as brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters or uncles and nieces.

If you are planning to donate to a woman you know and you want her to be the only person who can receive your eggs, this must be confirmed in your consent form.

There are other situations in which women will donate their eggs.  Some are undergoing IVF treatment and donate some of their eggs in return for discounted treatment.  Others have frozen their eggs so they can be used to conceive at a later date but decide to make the eggs they no longer need them for themselves available to other couples.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your donation, before the egg collection can take place, you must provide written consent to ensure your eggs are used and stored in the way you are most comfortable with.  If your legal consent isn’t properly recorded, it could significantly impact your eggs’ chances of survival if they are not stored correctly. 

As an egg donor, will you have legal rights to any children born using your eggs?

In the UK egg donors do not have legal rights to any children born from their donation.  As a result, they will not be named on the birth certificate, nor will they have any say in how the child is raised or have any requirement to provide financial support for the child.

However, as with children born from sperm donation, a child born from an egg donation can request their donor’s personal detail and use these details to contact the donor should they wish to give the donor the decision as to whether they would like to form some sort of relationship.

With this in mind, the donor should keep their contact information up to date and indicate their preferred method of contact.  This information can also be accompanied with a few more personal details and even a goodwill message for the families who have received  her eggs.  These messages are often well received by both the children and parents in a donor-conceived family should they choose to find out more about their donor in future.

If you are planning to either donate your eggs to another couple or use donated eggs to conceive and would like to discuss the legal position in more detail, please contact our family law team today.