28 May 2019
Louisa Ghevaert is delighted to once again join the panel of expert speakers at The British Fertility Society’s annual Modern Families Day in London on 3 June 2019. This event is aimed at doctors and fertility nurse specialists. It will look at the clinical and legal issues, regulatory changes and wider aspects associated with creating modern families through fertility treatment, gamete donation and surrogacy.
The varied programme will cover a range of important and topical issues including cross-border fertility care, treatment of single women and same-sex female couples, egg and embryo donation, surrogacy, fertility and gender reassignment and the fertility patient perspective.
Dr Jane Grace, Consultant Gynaecologist at Assisted Conception Units at Guy’s Hospital, will cover the reasons for undertaking surrogacy, clinical outcomes for intended parents and surrogates and the importance of a dedicated multi-disciplinary team of nurses, clinicians and counsellors.
Louisa’s session will then look at recent developments in surrogacy law, policy and practice in the UK in what remains a fast-moving and evolving area. Her session will cover single parent eligibility for a parental order, surrogacy and fertility claims following medical negligence, surrogacy law reform and legal issues that arise when families formed through surrogacy breakdown.
Dr Jane Stewart, Chair of the British Fertility Society and Head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre, will cover the principles and issues surrounding egg donation and sharing. Her session will look at egg donor recruitment, screening and egg-swapping in same-sex female couples. She will also look at the legal and ethical issues and implications of egg and embryo donation in the short and longer term for both donors and recipients.
Dr James Barrett, Lead Clinician at Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic and President of the British Association of Gender Identity Specialists, will look at gender dysphoria and its intersection with fertility treatment. His session will cover hormone and surgical treatment, fertility preservation, gamete storage as well as the emotional, social, legal and occupational process of changing gender.
Dr Vasanti Javda from the Centre for Family Research will deliver a session on the psychological well-being of children conceived though gamete donation and surrogacy. She will present findings from research into parenting, parent-child relationships and children’s adjustments in families with a child conceived through egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy.
Suzanne Dark, Senior Fertility Counsellor at Jessop Fertility Clinic will look at the role of counselling in the creation of modern families through donation and surrogacy. Lawyer James Lawford-Davies will look at regulation and legal aspects of using donor gametes. Rachel Cutting MBE, Principal Embryologist and Person Responsible at Jessop Fertility Clinic will look at cross-border fertility care and best practice.
Overall, the creation of modern families through UK and cross-border fertility treatment, gamete donation and surrogacy will continue to raise challenging issues for clinicians, nurses, counsellors, patients, surrogates, donors and children. As the British Fertility Society Modern Families Day makes clear, it requires an expert and multi-disciplinary approach that addresses the medical, legal and wider issues in the short, medium and longer term.
Need an expert surrogacy lawyer or fertility and family lawyer? If you would like to discuss your situation or you require specialist fertility and family law advice and assistance please contact Louisa Ghevaert by email louisa@louisaghevaertassociates.co.uk or by telephone +44 (0)20 7965 8399.
