Some couples or individuals require donated eggs, sperm or embryos to create a family.

individual requierd donated eggs

This decision of creating a family using donor gametes (eggs or sperm) or embryos have a significant impact on everyone involved, including the donator. The dedicated ACME IVF donor team provides guidance and support throughout the entire process, helping donors and recipients make important decisions.

Indian Laws proposed to be framed for egg donation & Surrogacy

Law firms and semen banks are encouraged to obtain (through advertisement) and maintain information on possible oocyte donors and surrogate mothers as per details mentioned in the document. ACME IVF may appropriately charge the couple for providing an oocyte or a surrogate mother. The oocyte donor may be compensated suitably (e.g. financially) by the law firm or semen bank when the oocyte is donated. However, negotiations between a couple and the surrogate mother must be conducted independently.

Oocyte Sharing

The system of oocyte sharing in which a needy infertile couple that needs to raise resources for ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) agrees to donate oocytes to an affluent infertile couple wherein the wife can carry a pregnancy through but cannot produce her own oocyte, for in-vitro fertilization with the sperm of the male partner of the affluent couple, for a monitory compensation that would take care of the expenses of an ART procedure on the indigent couple, must be encouraged.

Egg Donation – Legal and Financial Concerns

Egg donation process involves removal of eggs from donor. The eggs donated are used by prospective parents after a detailed screening procedure. As two parties are involved here, so this is bound legally by a contract. The legal aspect of egg donation process is very important. The contract is signed by the recipient and the donor to avoid future complications. Based on the legal contract, the donor is paid for the services. There is also a provision for compensation. Read on.

financial-concerns

The egg donation process is a deal that requires the fulfillment of a contract and the violation of the same from any of the parties can result is punishment in the form of compensation or other measures according to the law of the land. Just as the commissioning parents select an egg donor after a lot of screening, the donor should also be aware of the different aspects of the contracts and the other associated factors.

Egg Donation Contracts

There can be more than one contract required to be signed between the recipient and donating woman or between the egg donor and the program or clinic conducting the entire process. The contract is supposed to contain an enlistment of the responsibilities on the part of both the parties. One needs to note here that contracts and consent forms are not the same. It is important to be aware of this as both the documents have serious legal connotations which can play a vital role in case of dispute or any unfortunate occurrences.

The consent process should be carefully understood and the egg donor must be made aware of all the implications, the process itself and the probable risks. Only after this, contract should be signed by her. Some programs setup a meeting of the donor and the program lawyer so that the provisions of the contract are discussed clearly. It is natural that the explanation is at the best interest of the program and the donor should have her individual consultation with another legal expert to get a clear understanding and evaluation of the contract before signing.

egg-doantion

Confidentiality in Egg Donation Procedure

• The donor is required to give a great deal of personal information during the application and screening process.
• When the donor chooses to remain anonymous, there must be provisions on the part of the program so that she may be identified if required.
• On the part of the donor, she must gather knowledge on how the relative information might be used.
• Egg donor ought to be comfortable with the answers provided by the program or clinic.
• The law requires certain information to be documented for future reference by the child who is born as a result of the pregnancy ensuing from the egg donation.
• If the information about the egg donor is demanded by the child, it can be made available only after the court obtains permission from the donor.
• The donor should note here that if anyone obtains confidential information through unauthorized means, the program or clinic is not responsible for the complications arising from it.

Payment to the Egg Donor

• The egg donor is paid for her service and not for her eggs. This is compensation and not cost.
• The compensation is for her effort, time and discomfort. The payment is thus not dependent or related to the outcome of the pregnancy.
• If due to any problem the cycle is discontinued or terminated before the egg retrieval takes place, the donor can be provided with partial compensation. These are aspects that should be clarified during the signing of the contract.
• Similarly, once the egg retrieval process is complete, the donor is eligible to receive the full amount mentioned in the contract regardless of the number or the quality of the eggs.

Most of the programs require the donor to have her own medical insurance. However under certain cases, programs are known to accept donors without any insurance. They can arrange for short-term insurances to offer coverage to any possible medical complications.

What does treatment involve?

ACME IVF recipient of donor sperm involves attending a series of pre-treatment appointments with a ACME IVF fertility specialist, counsellor, nurse and Patient Liaison Administrator, to understand and discuss all of the procedures and processes involved.

In ACME, it is a legislative requirement that recipients and their partners meet the counsellor at least twice to discuss the implications of sperm donation and to sign consent forms. Recipients of clinic recruited donor sperm will select a donor after counselling consents are signed. Prior to commencing treatment, recipients of donor sperm will meet with a Patient Liaison Administrator to discuss management and treatment fees, and a member of the nursing team to understand the medications involved and treatment cycle timeline.

child -born-with-donor-egg

1. A child born through surrogacy must be adopted by the genetic (biological) parents unless they can establish through genetic (DNA) fingerprinting (of which the records will be maintained in the clinic) that the child is theirs.
Surrogacy by assisted conception generally is considered only for patients for whom it would be physically or medically impossible / undesirable to carry a baby to term. 

2. Expenses to surrogate mothers must include all valid expenses related to pregnancy. Documented confirmation should be created on the financial arrangement for surrogacy. The ART centre should not be involved in this monetary aspect. 

3. Advertisements regarding surrogacy should not be made by the ART clinic. The responsibility of finding a surrogate mother, through advertisement or otherwise, should rest with the couple or a semen bank. 

4. A surrogate mother should be below 45 years of age. Before accepting a woman as a surrogate for any couple’s child, the ART clinic must guarantee that the woman satisfies all the testable criteria to go through a successful full-term pregnancy. 

5. A relative, a known or an unknown to the couple may act as a surrogate mother for the couple. In case of a relative acting as a surrogate, the relative should belong to the same generation as the women desiring the surrogate. 

6. A prospective surrogate must be tested for HIV and shown to seronegative for this virus just before embryo transfer. She must also provide a written statement that

(a) She has not had a drug intravenously administered into her through a shared syringe.

(b) She has not undergone blood transfusion; and

(c) She and her husband (to be best of her/his knowledge) have had no extramarital relationship in the last six months.

All these are required to ensure that the person would not come up with symptoms of HIV infection during the period of surrogacy. The prospective surrogate mother must also declare that she will not use drugs intravenously, and not undergo blood transfusion excepting of blood obtained through a certified blood bank.

No woman may act as a surrogate more than thrice in her life time.

Parental Rights with Respect to Egg Donation

Following the retrieval of the eggs, the donor has no say on what happens to them. The donor is also not responsible for the outcome of the pregnancy. It should be clarified in every document signed by the donor that she will not be legally and financially responsible for the child.

Rights for donor-conceived individuals

The Indian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages maintain a central register which is a permanent record of all donors and recipients involved in donor births.

When a donor-conceived person turns 18, identifying details of the donor may be released to that person if they request them. Donor-conceived individuals must give consent before their identifying information is provided to the donor.