Becoming an embryo donor

At Manchester Fertility, if you have had successful treatment with us but don’t wish to use any remaining embryos, did you know you can donate them as part of our donors programme, so we can help other people have a family?

We keep a register of patients who are considering using donated embryos to have their baby. Donated embryos may be used if a couple cannot conceive using their own eggs and sperm. Instead of using donor eggs and donor sperm, they may decide to use donated embryos instead.

In this instance, donated embryos will have been frozen and can be transferred to a recipient either in a natural cycle or hormone-regulated cycle, which is when the recipient receives hormones to ensure her body is prepared to accept the donated embryo. Once transferred, we hope that the embryo goes onto implant and grow as in a natural pregnancy.

If you wish to donate your embryos to us, then you must give your specific consent for them being used by other couples – this is done when you sign your consent forms, where you choose if any unused embryos are only to be used for your own treatment, or can be used to help others.

As an embryo donor, you must be willing for your information to be made available to any child born when they turn 18. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority keep a register of all eggs, sperm and embryo donors and those who receive treatment using donation, so children can apply for details about their donor when they reach the right age.

As an embryo donor, you will not be known to the recipient couple. That is still anonymous. The only information that they will be given is what is on your HFEA registration form – details such as your hair, eye colour or height, and a short paragraph you write about yourself.

Remember that the recipient person/couple will become the legal parent(s) of any child born from your embryos. As the donor you have no legal, financial or social obligations to the child/children born as a result of donation.

You must also always keep us informed of your current contact address and telephone details, so we can contact you when necessary, even if it’s years from now. According to HFEA rules, the statutory storage period for embryos is 10 years so it’s possible that your donated embryos can be used many years in the future.

As a donor you will also be required to have counselling with our team to discuss all the implications of donating, to ensure you understand fully what it involves.As an embryo donor you are entitled to know if your embryos have been used successfully, including the number of children that have been born, whether they are boys or girls and the year of their birth. You will not be given any information which could lead to those children being identified.

Both you and your partner will also have to have viral and genetic screening and full medical history analysis, the same as is required for egg and sperm donors, in order to donate your embryos.

Please contact our team if you’re interested in embryo donation on 0161 300 2730.