Category: Donor conception law

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18
Dec
2025

Blog, Declaration of Parentage, Donor conception law, Parenting law, Transgender law

FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam): Transgender Legal Parentage & Birth Registration Dispute

The case of FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam) brings into focus legal difficulties encountered by a transgender man with a Gender Recognition Certificate in obtaining legal parenthood and birth registration for two children in England and Wales. It tested the law for the first time on whether he could be lawfully registered as father on his second child’s birth certificate following his wife’s privately arranged artificial conception with donor sperm outside of a licensed UK fertility clinic. It also necessitated a claim for Judicial Review to quash his incorrect registration on his first child’s birth certificate, there being no statutory power to enable the Registrar General to register afresh without leaving the initial registration manually struck through on the register of births and deaths. Louisa Ghevaert Associates acted for the Applicant (Claimant) in this case.

10
Sep
2025

Blog, Donor conception law, fertility law, Posthumous conception law

Stand Up To Cancer Day 2025 And The Impact On Male Fertility

Stand Up To Cancer Day takes place on 12 September 2025 with the aim of raising awareness about the impact of cancer, its available treatments, and the importance of funding cancer research. This national day was launched in the UK in 2012, following the success of the US Stand Up To Cancer charity formed in 2007, and it provides a platform for real life cancer stories and fundraising for research and clinical trials. As such, 12 September provides an important opportunity to highlight the various ways cancer can affect so many of our lives: 1 in every 2 people. This includes testicular and prostate cancer and its symptoms and relevant treatment. It also includes the consequent impact on individual fertility and the importance of effective strategies for fertility preservation and family building including sperm banking, donor conception, adoption and posthumous conception.

12
Aug
2025

Blog, Donor conception law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, Parenting law

The Risks of Unregulated Sperm Donation: Serial Sperm Donor Joe Donor

The recent case of Re CA and Ors (Children of Unregulated Sperm Donor) [2025] EWFC 130 brings into focus the threats posed by unregulated sperm donation, specifically at the hand of serial sperm donor known as ‘Joe Donor’. In this case, Mr Justice Poole determines whether ‘Joe Donor’ – officially named Robert Albon – has any rights to a Declaration of Parentage, a Parental Responsibility Order and a Child Arrangements Order for two of the possible 180 children he has fathered. The case also brings to light the vulnerabilities of the two children’s mothers and raises concerns about exploitation and abuse that can accompany informal sperm donation, and what this means for the best interests of the children involved.

06
Aug
2025

Blog, Donor conception law, fertility law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, Parenting law

F v J & Others [2024] and the Pitfalls of Mismatched Expectations, Rushed Known Sperm Donation and Co-Parenting Arrangements

F v J & Others [2024[ EWHC 2802 (Fam) is a case which deals with the realities and challenges of co-parenting and highlights the complexities of known sperm donation - how it should be approached with great care and proactive management of the legal aspects which underpin these family building arrangements. Specifically, it raises issues of legal parentage in the context of known sperm donation and assisted reproduction, and what can happen when this process is rushed or hurried. Additionally, this case raises concerns around communication in co-parenting relationships, and stresses the importance of the stability of those relationships, both for the benefit of the parents, and for the wellbeing of the child.

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