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Egg donors: Answering your legal questions

When you donate eggs through a licensed clinic like ours, there are legal protections to keep egg donation confidential, safe and fair for everyone involved.

Our team will take care to answer all of your questions in full. If you’re unsure of anything, please ask.

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Sharing your identity

Is egg donation anonymous?

Egg donation in the UK is not completely anonymous, but there are protections for your identity:

  • At the time of donation, your identity is private

  • The person receiving your eggs cannot access your identity at any point, but they will be told your height, eye colour and occupation (e.g., teacher, sales manager, etc.,)

  • Any children resulting from your donation can ask for non-identifying information about you when they turn 16, such as your height, eye colour and occupation
    (e.g., teacher, sales manager, etc.,)

  • Any children resulting from your donation can ask for your identity when they turn 18, which includes your name, date of birth, and last known address

What details will I have to give about myself and why?

You will be required to provide your name, date and place of birth, and address.

The other details we ask donors for include:

  • Your appearance – height and weight, and colour of eyes, hair and skin

  • Your ethnic group and your biological mother and father’s ethnic group

  • Whether you have children of your own and, if so, how many and whether they are boys or girls

  • Other details that help describe who you are, such as your profession, any religious beliefs, and why you decided to donate

  • An optional note

People conceived using donated eggs are often curious about their origins.

They may want to know whether they look like you or have a similar personality.

They may also wonder why you decided to donate and whether you have children of your own.

This information helps the child’s parents to talk to them about their origins as they grow up and helps them build a mental picture of you.

The parents may choose to share non-identifying details with the child, or the child can request them when they are 16. They can request identifying information when they turn 18.

Is my information protected?

All the details you provide will be kept on the HFEA Register.

The information is carefully protected and is not available to the public.

Only those with a right to this information by law can request access, which is anyone conceived from your eggs aged 18 or over.

Will anyone else know that I donated eggs?

Just like all medical information, your egg donation is strictly confidential.

  • Only the medical professionals overseeing your care can access this information

  • You can choose whether your egg donation is added to your NHS medical record. Your medical records at the clinic will contain information about being a donor

  • In the unlikely event of a medical emergency during the egg donation process, you may need to share your information with the healthcare professional or service that’s treating you

Can I be in contact with any children born from my eggs? 

You won’t be able to contact any children born from your eggs.

However, when they turn 18, they’ll be able to request your name, date of birth and last known address.

They may or may not contact you, depending on their personal preferences.

Are there any circumstances where my identity would be revealed to the recipient of my eggs?

Under no circumstances should your identity be legally disclosed to the recipient of your eggs.

It is possible that you can be connected to any children born from your eggs through DNA ancestry websites, such as ancestry.com.

You don’t need to have done a DNA test yourself for this to happen, as a connection can be discovered if someone else in your family uses the service. 

Finding out the identity of the recipient and/or child

Will I know who receives my eggs?

You won’t be given any information about who receives your eggs at any point.

This is to protect the identity of the person receiving your eggs and any children born as a result.

The only way you’ll find out the identity of any child born as a result of your eggs is if they contact you after they turn 18. 

Can I find out if my egg donation resulted in a birth?

You can make an information request to HFEA to find out if any children have been born as a result of your donation.

  • You’ll be told the number, year of birth and gender of any children

  • You can only find out about births, not pregnancies

You’ll need to wait until enough time has passed, which is usually around one year after your donation.

What will I be told about any children born from eggs?

You can find out how many children are born, their year of birth, and their gender.

You won’t be given any identifying information about them.

Your consent and choices

Can I change my mind or withdraw my consent?

You can change your mind at any point until an embryo created from your egg is put inside the recipient’s womb.

Can I set rules about how my eggs are used?

You can set conditions for how your eggs are used, for example, to donate them to a specific person.

Please note that we may not be able to accept your donation if these conditions discriminate against protected characteristics, such as sex, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, religion or marriage status.

Can I choose who receives my eggs?

If your donation is for a specific person, you can choose to only donate to them.

Legal parenthood

What are the legal rights and responsibilities of an egg donor?

If you donate your eggs to us, you have no legal obligations to any child born from your eggs.

We are an HFEA-regulated clinic and follow strict protocols and regulations.

This means:

  • You’re not the legal parent of any child born from your eggs

  • You’re not named on their birth certificate

  • You have no financial obligations to the child or recipient

  • You have no parental rights over how the child is raised

Who is the legal parent?

If you donate in the UK, the person who gives birth will be the legal mother or legal parent.

The second legal parent can be:

  • the partner whose sperm is used to create the embryo, or

  • the person the birthing parent is in a marriage or civil partnership with, or

  • the person named on the HFEA legal parenthood form

Egg donors are not legal parents.

This means you won’t be named on the birth certificate, and you have no financial responsibilities or rights over the child.

You are protected from this by law.

Other legal questions

Do you get paid to donate eggs in the UK?

In the UK, it’s illegal to pay for an egg donor but you can be compensated for your expenses, such as travel and childcare.

In line with HFEA directions centres may compensate egg donors with a fixed sum of up to £985 per cycle of donation, though sometimes this can be increased if you can show through receipts that your expenses were higher.   

Is there a limit to how many times you can donate eggs in the UK?

There is currently no official legal restriction on how many times you can donate.

However, your clinic will limit the number of conditions for your safety, as it’s a medical procedure.

If the first donation cycle goes well, you can usually donate a further two times.

You will have a review and a consultation with one of our fertility specialists after each donation to advise on whether you can continue to donate your eggs.

How many children can be born from your donated eggs?

There is a legal limit of 10 families.

A family is classified as the person receiving your eggs, and any children they have as a result.

This means that one family could include more than one child.

In practice, it’s unlikely that more than 10 families would result from your donations.

Usually, only two people receive eggs from a single donation, and fertility treatment isn’t successful every time.

Am I legally required to disclose my health information? 

Before donating eggs, you go through comprehensive screening for any health conditions and any family history that could indicate an inheritable condition.

This is to make sure it’s safe for you to donate, and that you have no history of diseases or conditions that could be passed to the recipient and future child.

You must disclose all relevant health information.

If it can be shown that you withheld information about your health or your family's health at the time of donation, you could face legal action by the child or family if the child is born with abnormalities that are a consequence of the medical information you withheld.

Does donating eggs affect my legal status in any way? 

Part of egg donation involves genetic testing to make sure your eggs are free from serious diseases or conditions that could be passed on to the child.

The results of these tests are confidential, and cannot even be shared with your GP unless we have your written consent.

However, if it's found you have a serious genetic condition, you are usually required by any private medical insurance policy to disclose this information, which can affect your claims.

This may also apply to your children and any policies they may have.

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Do something inspiring

Imagine giving the gift of parenthood. If you’re interested in becoming an egg donor and meet the criteria, we’d love to hear from you.

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