Egg Donation, UK

Egg donor’s ‘selfless act gave me greatest gift’

Source BBC

One mother says egg donation gave her the “greatest gift” as figures show a rise in the number of women using the method to start a family.

Amanda Mitcheson, 49, from Doncaster, began trying for a baby at 38 but struggled to conceive and was told she had no egg reserves

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Cryopreserved Sperm, India, Surrogacy

Our duties towards the unborn

Source Times Of India –

In Feb 2018, there was news that a Pune based woman became a grandmother to twins born via surrogacy methods, using her dead son’s cryo-preserved.
Her life had come to an unexpected standstill when her son had succumbed to cancer in Germany in 2016.

Today, her joy knows no bounds!
As a woman, I cannot but feel happy for this woman and be grateful to the technology that allows us to do this- on the other hand, an IVF specialist, I worry about the moral obligations of posthumous reproduction.
As reproductive technology develops, it opens up several moral and ethical issues in its wake.

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Australia, Employee Benefits, intended parents, Surrogacy, Surrogate Parents

Win for fairness in recent Surrogacy Decision

Source Public Service Association of NSW

The PSA, working collectively with our colleagues through Unions NSW, is claiming a great win for fairness following the recent publication of a NSW Government Determination on the rights of Employees in relation to altruistic surrogacy and permanent out-of-home care arrangements.

The Determination gives surrogate parents access to the same rights as other parents in relation to leave entitlements following the birth of their child. This formal extension of that entitlement follows years of advocacy by the PSA on a case-by-case basis for parents undertaking altruistic surrogacy arrangements and ensures that in future, no parent has to argue that their family is equal to others.

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India, intended parents, Surrogacy Law, Surrogate Mother

Amended Surrogacy Bill to streamline effective regulation of surrogacy practices

Source NewsBharati

New Delhi, March 22: In order to have an effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow altruistic surrogacy to the needy Indian infertile couples, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for moving official amendments in the “Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016”.

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 proposes to regulate surrogacy in India by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level and, State Surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities in the States and Union Territories.

Once the Bill is enacted by the Parliament, the National Surrogacy Board will be constituted. The States and Union Territories shall constitute the State Surrogacy Board and State Appropriate Authorities within three months of the notification by the Central Government.

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Cryobank, cryogenic cold storage, Embryo Freezing, Embryo Storage Failure, Frozen Eggs, frozen embryos, Frozen Sperm, Sperm Freezing

Families Are Heartbroken After Losing Embryos in IVF Clinic’s Freezer Failure: “I Don’t Think You Can Fix This”

Source TimeInc.net

Betty Jacobs first heard about the freezer problem on Thursday, March 8, when she scrolled through her Facebook news feed. That day, a local Ohio paper had published an articleabout temperature changes at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, where Jacobs underwent IVF and had her twins in 2016. Because of these temperature changes — which had occurred the previous Saturday — more than 2,000 frozen eggs and embryos were potentially damaged and unviable.

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Gay Parenting, Same Sex, Surrogacy, Surrogate Mother

UK – Gay couple ‘have the right’ to use surrogate mother and want law change

Source BBC News

Darren and Ben Tudor-Green with Darren’s mother at their wedding in October 2016

A married gay couple from Devon say they have the right to have a child of their own, “despite their sexuality”.

Darren and Ben Tudor-Green have been speaking out after Tom Daley and husband Dustin Lance Black received abuse after their baby announcement.

“Some people’s mentality leaves a lot to be desired,” said Darren. “This is about creating life. It shouldn’t matter what sexuality you are.”

The couple are using a surrogate mother called Mel from the north of England.

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Surrogacy, Surrogacy Law

Washington State Flips Its Anti-Surrogacy Stance

Source Above The Law

Washingtonians should pop the champagne bottles and celebrate — unless you are already trying to become pregnant as a surrogate.

In the last few years, several countries have either banned or severely limited access to surrogacy. These laws often come on the heels of some crazy surrogacy scandals, including the Japanese man with the 13 surro-babies, or the twin baby left behind in Thailand. Fortunately, the United States has gone the other direction. Last year, Washington, D.C. reversed its prior law that actually made surrogacy a criminal offense, and instead passed a comprehensive new statute that permits and provides safeguards around surrogacy arrangements. The statute permits both the more popular type, known as gestational surrogacy — that’s where the surrogate isn’t genetically related to the child being carried — as well as the less common form of surrogacy, now called “genetic” surrogacy — previously known as “traditional” surrogacy — where the surrogate is also genetically related to the child.

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Donor Eggs, Sperm Donation, Sperm Donor

Letter: Salonen uses public voice to spread misinformation

Source Inforum

I was dismayed to read the rather closed-minded offering published March 17 from Ms. Salonen, who is the mother of five children. While I am not in a position, as a physician, to routinely determine what is right, and what is wrong, I am in a position as a reproductive endocrinologist to know that it is quite dangerous to lump things as important as creating families together.

To paint with a broad brush that it is not OK to use “third party reproduction” is hurtful and inappropriate. Does she disprove of helping single women who have a strong support network in place conceive using donor sperm? Should donor sperm be used in a heterosexual couple who choose this means of having a family?

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Egg Donor, Europe, Infertility, intended parents

Becoming an Egg Donor Is Rewarding in Many Ways

Source: Newswire.net

Egg donation is an inspiring act where a female donor generously helps another woman to fulfill her dream to become a mother.

Barcelona , — Unfortunately, there are many couples who are unable to conceive and have children on their own. Studies show that about a third of infertility cases are due to female infertility, another third to male sterility, and the rest are due to issues affecting both partners, from which many cases simply remain an unresolved mystery. Everyday Health reports that infertility affects about 10 percent of women, with possible issues resulting from ovulatory disfunction, poorly functioning fallopian tubes and uterus abnormalities.

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Egg Donor, HFEA, intended parents, IVF, UK

UK – IVF egg donor use rises sharply, HFEA figures show

Source: BBC

The number of women using donated eggs has risen sharply in the past 10 years, latest figures show.

In 2006 1,912 women had IVF using a donor egg, compared with 3,924 in 2016, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said.

It attributed the rise to a greater awareness of donation as an option, more donors, and more same sex couples, single and older women using them.

The number of women donating their eggs is also on the increase.

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Australia, Sperm Donor, Sperm Donor Registry

Man shocked to discover he has kids after donating sperm for ‘research’ 30 years ago

Source: news.com.au

An example of one of the advertisements looking for donors. Picture: VARTASource:Supplied

MEN who donated sperm in Victoria in the 1960s and 1970s for “research purposes” may not have been aware that their donation was being used for conception, according to a new report.

Research by the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA), set to be released later today, reveals meticulous records kept by donor clinics and approximately 40 interviews with clinicians, sperm donors and recipient parents who were involved in the early days of the fertility industry.

The report states that men who donated in the early years of the program may not have been aware that their semen was being used for conception purposes.

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Surrogacy, Surrogate Mother, UK

Grandma who loves being pregnant becomes surrogate mum to twins

Source: Metro.co.uk

Sue Fisher holds twins Marnie and Dexter (Picture: Caters)

A grandmother enjoyed being pregnant so much that she decided to become a surrogate mum in her 50s. Sue Fisher is thought to be the oldest woman in the UK to become a surrogate for strangers.

After a divorce from her husband of 30 years and with her children grown up, Sue, now 55, decided she wanted to help another couple experience the joy of childbirth. Despite initially worrying that no one would pick her due to her age, she clicked with a gay couple desperate to have kids.

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Fertility Benefits, Fertility Tests, Infertility

Planning your fertility — with your company’s help

Source: Money.CNN

Time to think about family planning. You, your body, and … your employer?

Facebook made headlines when it first began comping employees for freezing their eggs, but now more companies are taking an active role in helping their workers plan and research their fertility.

Employers like Google and Apple offer full financial assistance for egg freezing. Spotify funds unlimited in-vitro fertilization. Patagonia offers childcare and family support services, opening the door for companies to take an active role in their employees’ children’s lives — from the (literal) very beginnings all the way through Pre-K and beyond.

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breastfeeding, Surrogacy, Surrogate Mother

Can You Breastfeed If You Have a Surrogate? The Answer Will Definitely Surprise You

Source: Care HQ

While surrogacy isn’t necessarily commonplace, celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Tyra Banks have been candid about their experiences, helping to make it a more normal part of motherhood conversations. And since many new moms choose to breastfeed their babies for both the many benefits and bonding experience, it’s normal to wonder if it’s even possible for the moms who haven’t actually given birth. So, can they?

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Frozen Sperm

Perth woman wins right to take dead partner’s frozen sperm to ACT in bid to have his child

Source: ABC News

WA law prohibits the use of sperm or eggs from dead people to be used in in vitro fertilisation.

ABC NEWS

A 42-year-old Perth woman has won the right to take her dead partner’s frozen sperm to the ACT in a bid to have his baby.

The woman, known as GLS, launched civil proceedings in the Supreme Court last year, following the death of her partner in early 2016.

The man, referred to in court documents as Gary, suffered a heart attack in late January of that year was pronounced dead at Royal Perth Hospital a few days later.

He was 53 years old.

The couple had been together for more than five years, and had discussed freezing Gary’s sperm in late 2014, due to his age and fear of early death.

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Cryobank, cryogenic cold storage

California Cryobank’s Biorepository Safeguards Valuable Reproductive Tissue

Source: PRNewswire

Recently, two medical clinics were in the news due to storage tank failures which led to potential losses of hundreds of their patients’ frozen eggs and embryos. As a result, California Cryobank (Cryobank), the domestic leader in the frozen sperm/egg donor industry and one of the nation’s largest private stem cell and reproductive tissue storage facilities, has recently received many more inquiries than usual about what safeguards we have in place to protect our own clients’ valuable specimens.

“We safeguard tens of thousands of specimens for private storage and donor clients who count on us to protect their family’s futures,” says Cryobank’s Chief Operating Officer, Pamela Richardson. “Our biorepository operation in Los Angeles is designed to provide the highest level of security through a robust storage system with multiple layers of redundancies built into it.”

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Donor Egg Registry, Sperm Donor Registry, UK

UK – Donor Conceived Register to close as HFEA ends funding

Source: BioNews

The UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has said that it will halt funding for the Donor Conceived Register from the end of May.

The register has facilitated voluntary contact between people in the UK conceived through donated sperm or egg before 1991 and their donors, allowing them to exchange information or get in touch if they wish.

‘We have carefully considered the options and on reflection, we now feel there are alternative ways in which support groups can form, removing the requirement for a central body to coordinate the group,’ the HFEA wrote in a letter to the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT), the charity that runs the register.

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Australia, intended parents, Podcast, Surrogacy, Surrogate Mother

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast

Source: Podtail

Sarah Jefford presents The Australian Surrogacy Podcast – sharing stories about surrogacy, from intended parents and surrogates.

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Infertility, IVF, UK

UK – IVF more successful than ever, says major UK report

Source: BioNews

Fertility treatment in the UK is more successful and safer than ever before, according to a report from the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority).

IVF is now 85 percent more likely to succeed than when records first began in 1991, said the regulator. Over 20,000 babies were born in 2016 as a result of more than 68,000 IVF treatments, an increase of four percent from 2015. The HFEA’s new report covers fertility treatment trends and success rates for the 2014-2016 period.

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