Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

UK fertility treatment trends: what’s next?

The HFEA’s latest data, published on 30 June 2020, paints a largely positive picture of fertility treatment in the UK in 2018 before the Covid-19 pandemic. Its main points and analysis indicate that IVF birth rates had increased for patients under 43 years and that on average, about one in every four embryos transferred in 2018 resulted in a live birth. However, the massive disruption, uncertainty and loss caused by the advent of the global Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed our public and private lives.

Should I freeze my eggs or embryos?

On 30 June 2020, the HFEA published its latest report entitled “Fertility treatment 2018: trends and figures”. It shows that since 2013, the number of egg and embryo freezing cycles in the UK has increased fivefold. In 2013, just 1,500 freezing cycles were undertaken. In contrast, this increased by 523% to just under 9,000 freezing cycles in 2018. However, freezing gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos and undergoing fertility treatment is not a panacea. It creates a wide range of legal and practical issues that need to be navigated carefully.

Should I invest in specialist fertility and family law advice?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed and disrupted life for us all. It creates new issues, challenges and risks to overcome for those looking to embark on or proceed with plans to have a family, whether naturally or through assisted conception. There is also a greater need to carefully address the issues and implications if a relationship ends or a dispute arises with an ex-partner, parent, donor, surrogate or family member in this evolving landscape.

Coronavirus Regulations for the Storage of Gametes and Embryos

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (Coronavirus Regulations) will come into force on 1st July 2020. These new regulations have been introduced because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility patients with gametes and embryos in storage. However, they will not apply to all patients with stored eggs, sperm and embryos.

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