05/08/2026
Women and men sometimes require donated gametes (eggs, s***m or embryos) to achieve their desire of children. About 1-in-137 UK births (0.73%) result from gamete donation of some sort, involving 1-in-5 assisted conception procedures, and amounting to over 4000 babies born each year. This proportion has been rising consistently over the last two decades, from 1-in-450 births in 2006.
There is a paucity of donor gametes from minority ethnic groups in the UK resulting in the evolution of alternative treatment pathways to alleviate this lack in the affected women/couples.
Surrogacy is the process whereby a woman (surrogate mother) is commissioned to carry the pregnancy for another woman (commissioning mother) to enable the latter have a child that would otherwise have been impossible, and this could be for several reasons including surgical loss of the commissioning mother’s womb. Surrogacy accounts 400-500 UK births each year (0.05-0.06% of births), and the demand for this service is also increasing with some procedures now taking place overseas and not captured by UK statistics. Both gamete donation and surrogacy are unique practices with their individual peculiarities that are important considerations for anyone planning to access such treatments.
In this Livestream, we will be exploring issues relevant to both, including their indications, practical steps, who can participate, the legal frameworks governing each process, and how to navigate treatment pathways both in the UK and abroad.
We will be joined by a legal expert Joe Ferguson of Myerson Solicitors to shed light on the legal issues to consider for each process.
Please join us for what promises to be a very informative evening and please invite anyone you know would benefit from being involved.
Facebook link is in the bio. See you all there! ✨