Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

Donor sperm DNA ancestry information available at California Cryobank

Generate Life Sciences has recently announced that it will now in a first-of-its-kind service provide DNA-based donor ancestry information at its donor sperm bank, California Cryobank, directly to would-be parents and donor-conceived children. Prospective parents, including international clients in the UK, Australia, Canada and others, will be able to access DNA ancestry test results before selecting a sperm donor. Donor-conceived children will also be able to access this information to learn more about their genetic heritage.

Future trends: egg and sperm banks

The World Egg Bank has just published (August 2021) an industry report looking at how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected egg and sperm banks over the last 12 – 16 months. It explores three key issues: (1) what does the near-term hold for intended parents seeking donor eggs or sperm? (2) how have health and economic trends during the Covid-19 pandemic affected egg and sperm bank services? (3) how can intended parents and healthcare providers navigate the ongoing uncertainty and potential disruption caused by Covid-19 in the coming months?

Fertility treatment and IVF in the workplace

Louisa Ghevaert highlights the need for change in workplace culture and policies in today's Mail Online article about working women undergoing fertility treatment and IVF in the workplace. Despite one in seven couples receiving fertility treatment, thanks to advances in medicine, the article reports that as of 2019 only 23 percent of employers had fertility treatment policies in place, although more are starting to create them. It also highlights personal stories of multiple women who have experienced discrimination at work and redundancy for having IVF treatment.

Human genome editing in a fertility context: The World Health Organization’s framework for governance of human genome editing

People regularly ask what genomics has got to do with fertility (beyond genetic testing of embryos) and assisted reproduction law and policy. They are often puzzled about the link between genomic technology and fertility and why this is something they should think about or concern themselves with, instead equating gene editing technology with scientists in laboratories and pharmaceutical trials focused on curing cancer and conditions like sickle-cell and Huntington’s disease.

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