# HFEA Law and procedure on finding out recipients results?



## Renee_ (Sep 24, 2006)

Hi all

I'm a bit confused.... 

I printed out a letter yesterday and want to post it off and find if my recipient from LWC in July 2007 has had any success following the eggshare. I want to know as I am about to start FET which would make this the 3rd try...the first two were bfn's. Everything has always been fantastic up until seemingly 'implantation'......So knowing either which way would help me move forward a little ion piecing together what might help us, further tests or not etc...

*
So i read this on hfea website:*
_
Those who donated after 1 August 1991 are entitled to request information from the HFEA about the number, sex and year of birth of any people born as a result of their donation. If you decide to access information about your donor-conceived offspring, send your request with proof of identification and address to:
Information team
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3HF _

But there seem to be posts on this site suggesting we have no right to apply for information?! Could somebody help!!!!!

Thankyou Evette xxxx


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## swhattie (Feb 9, 2009)

I did this EXACT thing last night!! I printed off the application form from there website and I have posted it today! We have the right hun to know of any live births, how many and what sex - you have every right!

I am expecting a reply back in the next 28 days!


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## Renee_ (Sep 24, 2006)

Brilliant thankyou!

I thought that was the case!!! and about the 28 days also... Did you include a reason why you were asking??  I put this:

_
6th October 2009

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to you with a request for information regarding the number, sex and year of birth of any people born as a result of my egg donation in July 2007 at London Womens Clinic Fertility Centre.

I have enclosed the required documentation; full birth certificate as proof of identification along with a utility bill as proof of address,

I look forward to your reply,

Yours Sincerely

Evette Surridge_

hope thats okay.....feel apprehensive now......if my recipient had success or not can potentially eliminate or suggest so much....

thanks for your reply xxx


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## swhattie (Feb 9, 2009)

That sounds fine hun! Thats more or less what Iv put! I too am asking for pretty mucht he same reason, I got a BFP on my second but just would like the reassurance that my eggs can go all the way - providing obviously that they got a BFP!


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## Skybreeze (Apr 25, 2007)

What form is this?? I think its about time I knew.


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## swhattie (Feb 9, 2009)

http://www.hfea.gov.uk/1975.html

You have to print the form off Nat - fill it and send it off with your proof of ID & Address!

I need to know.


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## Skybreeze (Apr 25, 2007)

Will be good to know.... Thanks for the info, I'll get that sorted... What ID did you send?


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## swhattie (Feb 9, 2009)

passprt and utility bill - they send them back recorded delivery it says!


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## moocat (Aug 12, 2008)

Hi everyone

A bit confused!!     i thought that you contacted your clinic and they provided you with the information??


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## swhattie (Feb 9, 2009)

Moocat - the clinic doesnt have to tell you about any births etc but the HFEA do!


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## susyq (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi Girls,
I'm really confused by the subject of HFEA Law re the outcome of recipients cycle.Here's Why?
I'm on our 1st cycle to receive a sharers eggs.My transfer is this week on Friday or Sunday,can't wait,its been a long uphill journey and finally we hope this will work and our dream will come true to have a baby.
We are private patients as we are in our 40's.Our clinic has told us that only in 1 year's time will our sharer be able to ask what our outcome is.The only details they can be told is if a child was born as a result of her donation.Under no circumstances will the DOB,sex of child or how many were born be disclosed.We are very happy that this is such as no way do we want our sharer finding out our address etc from off an electoral roll.The thought horrifies us!
In 18 years the info can then be found out.This is a gift from a kind lady who in turn we can help by funding some of their costs for their treatment.It is hard to come to terms with the fact i can't use my own eggs so i believe that the gift is given graciously by the donor and that no more should be expected of the recipient other than the help of costs.
I know that the eggs i received,which are now embryo's are changed and are half the DNA of my hubby,so how can you work out if your eggs you gave to your recipient will (if successful) mean that your eggs remaining are OK?Your recipient's eggs became embryo's since the minute they were with her DH sperm.I can't see how her outcome helps your concern one bit.That's my view.

T


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## swhattie (Feb 9, 2009)

susyq said:


> I can't see how her outcome helps your concern one bit.That's my view.
> T


As a previous egg sharer (twice) I can give my view on why a sharer may wish to get information on her recipients outcome (any child born, sex etc)

We may, on the whole seem to have okay eggs, the embryos we make during our own cycle may be perfect yet put those embryos back and they dont stick - time and time again, implantation failure, or they may stick and those embies are then miscarried - we are unaware whether it is a problem with our eggs or that we may have a problem with immunology etc so we may wish to find out whether our recipient has been 'lucky' with the eggs we shared to possibly rule out any egg problems...... The reason that it will POSSIBLY help us to rule out egg problems is that whilst they may be embryos made with the recipients partners sperm they are still half of what is gentetically us hence allowing us to know that if it worked for our recipient, and a child was born then the eggs donated (and half what we ourselves are using) are not the underlying cause behind our failure.

Whilst we are grateful beyond measure that the recipient has enabled us to have reduced cost IVF we are also, has you say, giving a gift to a lady for some ladies, understandably they will want to know how the recipient has gone on for curiosities sake, we are entitled to this information not only because of what we have gone through to produce the eggs needed for that gift but also because in 18 years we also may wish to know whether a child born as a result of that gift will possibly get in touch with us, we also, with luck, will have children of our own from our IVF and we will wish to explain to our child that mummies gift resulted in the birth of genetic sibling - our children have a right to know this just as much as a recipients child as a right to know their background......



susyq said:


> Our clinic has told us that only in 1 year's time will our sharer be able to ask what our outcome is.The only details they can be told is if a child was born as a result of her donation.Under no circumstances will the DOB,sex of child or how many were born be disclosed.We are very happy that this is such as no way do we want our sharer finding out our address etc from off an electoral roll.The thought horrifies us!


We are able to find out the year of birth, the sex of the child & how many live births have resulted from our donations, in no way will this enable us to be able to get your address from the electoral roll. We would surely need a name for that and we are not given that information..... If you have a look on the HFEA website then it advises you of what information we, the sharers are able to get, none of which is identifable information in regards to the recipient. Im afraid your clinic have misinformed you with relation to us being able to find out how many babies have resulted from our donations as well as the fact we can find out the sex & year of birth.

We as the sharers surely have a right to this information if there is a chance that we may be contacted after 18 years by a result of our donations. Its not just about finances that drive us all to egg share, we go through a wide range of emotions before committing to the egg share program.

i wish you all the best with your treatment 

XXX


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2009)

I am reading this with interest as someone who will soon be (hopefully) doing their first DE cycle as a recipient (though through what route I am undecided)....I am most interested in the egg-sharers (donor) view on whether you would rather the resulting child of any donation contacted you at 18 or not? Are you, if you are a sharer, ready for this when you decide to share and would you welcome the child's contact (in whatever way) to satisfy the child's curiosity or would you prefer to not have contact at all ie indeed refuse it if it happened? Difficult I know, as this is some way off in your lives but initial thoughts welcome....

Thanks 

xxx


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## Renee_ (Sep 24, 2006)

susyq said:


> i believe that the gift is given graciously by the donor and that no more should be expected of the recipient other than the help of costs.


I think we must remember the wonderful giving ladies/couples who donate eggs purely to help. I know of a lady who donated her remaining eggs when she had paid for all her treatment herself. Help with funding is not the driving reason behind donation all the time. It is fair that the lady should know that she has indeed helped with a success.

I think it is only fair egg sharers know the outcome, not only for psychological reasons if this is the case, but for the medical reasons also as socialchameleon mentioned. Also as children born as a result of donation have the right to apply for information when they reach 18, it is surely simply common sense for a donor to be prepared for the possiblilty of contact being made in later years....(should they wish)

I guess the law is what it is for a reason in this case?

xxx


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## indekiwi (Dec 23, 2008)

Hi there, I thought I'd drop my tuppence worth in as a recipient.  I am pregnant as a result of an egg sharing programme, with my first scan due tomorrow.     

Although I was told by my clinic that they were not permitted to tell the donor whether or not I had been successful, I said very firmly that if the donor requested the information, I wanted her to know the outcome - without having to go through the palava of contacting HFEA (ie if they could tell her verbally, informally, it would be more than okay by me).  The reasons for this are very simple:  this is the lady that made it possible for me to add to my family and I want to give back in any way I am able, whether to assuage her curiosity (I know I would be dead nosy if the shoe were on the other foot  ), help her to make informed choices if her own attempts to fall pregnant have not yet had a successful outcome, or to prepare her and her family for a possible knock on the door in 18+ years time.  I do not feel threatened by her knowing the outcome of my cycle of treatment, and am     extremely hard that she is also in the fortunate position of coming up to her first scan.  Though I will be the mummy of the beanie(s) I currently carry, she was one of the architects, and I am very grateful to her (and my male donor) for making my dreams a reality.  I am very glad that we could help each other in the way that we have.   

I wish all the egg sharers posting here all the luck in the world with respect to achieving their own dreams, and as a proxy for my own donor, whom I shall likely never know, many thanks for being the architects of more than your own families - you are truly special people, and I wish you all happiness in the weeks, months and years that lie ahead.     

A-Mx


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2009)

I hope I have not confused as I am somewhat off topic   - I plan to tell my child all about how he/she came about and, should we do tx in the UK, would have no issue with the child contacting the donor if that is what they wish to do and am certainly not afraid of this.....I too would be eternally grateful of course to anyone who could make my dreams come true    ....but I am just interested in whether egg-share donors would actually really welcome that contact or if they would, in reality, refuse it when initial contact actually happened (and why etc) IYSWIM  - as always there is no right or wrong answer...

Good luck to you all - it is so exciting!

xxx


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## Guest (Nov 25, 2009)

Thanks SC - very helpful ....and I am pleased to hear your approach


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## wishing4miracle (Sep 7, 2006)

i know that on my egg share cycles one resulted in twins.i am not scared in any way of them turning up on my door step and i intend to tell the boys that they have half brothers/sisters out there when they are abit older.what i gave was a precious gift and i know they will be very much wanted and loved and it makes me very happy knowing i helped someone out there have a family that they have dreamt and wished for along time.


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## galprincess (Nov 12, 2007)

Ladies

I did an egg share cycle as a donor in July of this year and found out we both got pregnant from this me and recipient i dont want to know the gender,D.O.B or sanything else. I took my DS with me he is 7 for every appointment and explained everything as we went along he knows that mummys eggs resulted in us being pregnant and another couple and that satisfys both of our curiositys for now.
It is important to make info available for donors as they may have deeper lying issues beyond the eggs and this makes it possible to know whether a donor may have issues where her own eggs do not implant.
For me because we both got BFP i have no curiosities i just wish her a happy and healthy pregnancy and feel proud i gave another couple the chance of a family. As a donor we are grateful for the reduced cost of treatment but there are deeper underlying reasons to want to donate than just cheaper treatment.
I wish you all well as donors and recipients i think personally in my opinion the law is absolutely right as it gives enough info for answers but doesnt give out personal details such as name and address. If i had got a BFN i would definitely have wanted to know more details.


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