Assisted Reproduction · Donor Gametes and Surrogacy
RRM Academy Synopsis
Donor conception accounted for 1 in 170 UK births in 2019
Donor conception produced more than 4,100 UK births in 2019, about 1 in 170 of all UK births. The figures come from the 2022 report of the UK fertility regulator (HFEA), based on register data from licensed clinics, 1991 to 2020. Births from donor sperm more than tripled between 2006 and 2019.
Key Findings
- Donor conception accounted for about 1 in 450 UK births in 2006 and about 1 in 170 in 2019, when it produced more than 4,100 births.
- Births from donor sperm numbered under 900 in 2006 and more than 2,800 in 2019, a rise the report links mainly to more treatment among single patients and same-sex female couples.
- Imports made up 52% of newly registered sperm donors in 2020 (donors abroad), up from 22% in 2010; new UK donors held at around 400 a year since 2012.
- From 2016 to 2020, 13% of IVF cycles using donated eggs, sperm or embryos were NHS-funded, compared with 40% of cycles using the patient's own eggs and partner sperm.
- In 2018/19, birth rate per embryo transferred was 33% at ages 18-34 and 5% at ages 43-50 with own eggs, and above 30% at all ages with donor eggs.
Interpretation
This descriptive report from the regulator draws on counts that licensed clinics send to its register and on a 2021 patient survey with 1,233 patients in the analysis. The authors give reasons for several trends, such as a change in law and COVID-19 lockdowns, and word some as likely or possible. The 2020 treatment figures were unvalidated, birth outcomes cover 2019, and about 2,400 cycles were excluded for reporting errors at one center. The birth rates compare age groups, with embryos transferred as the denominator. The report holds no follow-up of the children born.
RRM Context
Donor eggs, sperm and embryos are used in IVF and donor insemination. These procedures go around infertility without establishing why conception fails. Restorative reproductive medicine evaluates both partners and treats the cause. The register counts births after donation and gives no data on whether a cause was sought first.
Abstract
This Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) report presents statistics on donation and donor treatments in the UK fertility sector and sets out how donation has changed in the UK over the last 30 years. The report states that donor conception led to more than 4,100 births in 2019, accounting for 1 in 170 of all births and for nearly 1 in 6 births using IVF in the UK. Other sections cover donor registrations, access to donors of ethnic minority backgrounds, and the characteristics of egg and sperm donors over time. According to the report, from late 2023 onwards donor-conceived people in the UK turning 18 will be able to apply to the HFEA to access identifying information about their donors, and feedback from the National Patient Survey 2021 is included throughout.
