Egg donors: Answering your legal questions

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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

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.

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

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 £750 per cycle of donation, though sometimes this can be increased if you can show through receipts that your expenses were higher.   

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.

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.

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.

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.