The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)
In a parliamentary debate on 23 October 2023, I announced the Government’s intention to update the UK’s gamete donation regulations. The first change would allow people living with HIV with an undetectable viral load to donate their gametes. The second change would update the definition of partner donation to include female same-sex couples, therefore reducing costs for those undergoing reciprocal IVF.
Today, we will lay the necessary regulations to make these changes, which will benefit patients across the whole of the UK, supported by scientific advice from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.
First, this will allow people living with HIV to donate their gametes to family, friends and known recipients provided that:
They have a sustained viral load of less than 200 per millilitre—“undetectable viral load”;
they have been receiving antiretroviral treatment for at least six months prior to donation; and
the recipient knows of their HIV diagnosis and provides informed consent.
These changes will benefit hundreds of couples, including same-sex male couples using a surrogate where one or both have HIV, and those seeking known donation from a friend or relative with HIV. This legislative update reflects the advances made in preventing HIV transmission through fertility treatments and is a significant step in further reducing stigma around HIV.
Prior to donation, people living with HIV will undergo a series of tests to ensure their gametes are safe to donate. There is currently a requirement for a post donation HIV test for sperm donations, which is not clinically necessary due to the pre-donation tests. We were unable to rectify this issue in this statutory instrument without causing significant delays. Our priority is enabling people living with HIV to donate their gametes and start a family, and I will look to bring further legislative changes to remove this requirement in due course.
Secondly, the regulations will include an updated definition of partner donation. Under current rules, female same-sex couples hoping to conceive via reciprocal IVF must first go through screening for additional infectious diseases and genetic diseases, which can cost over £1,000. Heterosexual couples are not required to undergo this testing.
This legislation will seek to rectify this disparity in testing requirements and therefore lower costs for treatment. Reciprocal IVF is an increasingly popular way for female couples to have families and this change will help many more couples to afford this treatment.
We hope that these changes will help to create a fairer health system by removing barriers to accessing fertility care, in line with our commitments in the women’s health strategy.
[HCWS467]