The biomedicine agency is launching a campaign on Wednesday, October 20 to encourage the French to donate sperm and oocytes, and thus help couples or single women who wish to have children through medically assisted procreation. This call is recurrent but this year, the context is particular, because a revolution is taking place in the world of assisted reproduction with the entry into force of the law on bioethics. Not only will the anonymity of gamete donors be lifted soon, but lesbian couples and single women can now also access ART, resulting in an influx of requests in specialized centers such as the Cochin Hospital Center in Paris.
The “assisted reproduction for all” was eagerly awaited by many couples of women and single women, so much so that as soon as the law passed on June 29, 2021, requests for assisted reproduction exploded, explains the head of CECOS, a center specializing in reproduction in Cochin, Professor Catherine Patrat. “We have a very clear increase in the number of requests since they are multiplied by approximately five or six the number of requests for donation of sperm”, she explains.
“I am totally open to the possibility of lifting this anonymity if the children born from these donations have any questions to ask that I can answer.”
Guillaume, sperm donor
Here, the waiting period for assisted reproduction with gamete donation is ten months, less for women who are close to the age limit of 43. It is in this context that the centers will have to modify the sperm and oocyte donation policy next summer. At the age of 18, a child from an assisted reproduction can now find out about his origins if he wishes. Donors hitherto anonymous will therefore have to consent to leave their identity to future children.
Guillaume is a sperm donor, he is completely in favor of it. “I can imagine that in some children their genetic origin is something that may interest them and I would be glad if they could not live with this question all the time without anyone providing an answer”, he judges.
If Guillaume sees no problem, in some countries, the lifting of donor anonymity has caused donations to fall. What will happen in a few months in France? Professor Patrat is not worried. “For two or three years now, donors have been asked whether they would accept the transmission of non-identifying or identifying data to the child who has reached the age of majority and in the vast majority of cases, they find that they do not. there is no problem, they find that it is even rather desirable. “
To limit the risk of a shortage of sperm and oocyte donations, a transition period of two or three years is planned, during which anonymous and non-anonymous donations could coexist.
Call for gamete donation: report by Solenne Le Hen
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