Inquiry launched into egg donation and freezing

An inquiry has been launched into egg and embryo donation and freezing following a reported rise in people freezing their eggs and seeking support to conceive.

The inquiry, from the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC), will explore whether women donating and freezing their eggs are given sufficient information about the process, its health impacts and potential consequences.

According to the Fertility Treatment 2021: Preliminary Trends and Figures report, over 4,000 women froze their eggs in the UK in 2021 compared to 2,500 in 2019.

The new inquiry will explore whether the current regulatory framework around donation and freezing provides sufficient safeguards to protect individuals from exploitative practices and whether enough is known about the effects of undergoing these procedures.

WEC chair and Labour MP Sarah Owen said: ‘Medical research has made huge strides in enabling people to start families.

‘The Women and Equalities Committee recognises the importance of IVF and the benefits and joy it has afforded to so many people,’ she said.

Ms Owen added: ‘With women undergoing such procedures in greater numbers, the committee will take a timely and balanced look at this issue, examining a range of different perspectives.’

The committee is also looking to hear individuals’ experiences of egg donation and egg freezing and written submissions can be shared through the inquiry website.

The submissions will be used to answer the following questions:

• What are the short and long-term health impacts of donating or freezing eggs and embryos and to what extent are they sufficiently researched and understood?
• Whether the counselling provided ahead of egg donation is adequate to ensure informed consent, including of potential health impacts?
• What level of compensation / payment should be provided to egg donors, if any?
• What evidence is there, if any, of vulnerable women being encouraged into egg donation or egg freezing?
• Is the regulatory regime on advertising as it applies to egg donation and people wishing to freeze their eggs or embryos sufficient?
• What has been the impact of changes to the release of donor information, including support for the families involved, and whether further legislation is required?
• Whether the existing legislative framework, including the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, is effective in safeguarding the best interests of those undergoing treatment for egg donation or egg or embryo freezing?

Source: The Women and Equalities Committee

In June, the WEC launched a separate inquiry to examine how cosmetic procedures carried out abroad could be better regulated to protect patients.