Call to allow private donor eggs in NHS-funded IVF
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However, campaigners raising concerns around surrogacy argue that those purchasing eggs from private fertility clinics should 'not seek a discount on embryo creation and implantation at the expense of the Scottish taxpayer".
Currently, NHS Boards are expected to meet the needs of eligible couples requiring donor gametes. But the Scottish Government maintains that couples eligible for NHS fertility treatment should not pay for any aspect of it.
According to the government, the wait time for an altruistic egg donor through the NHS can be between three to four years. However, if a couple uses eggs from a known donor, the treatment timeframe is similar to those using their own gametes—approximately eight to nine months.
In the UK, egg donation is altruistic and it is illegal to pay donors directly, although they may receive compensation.
It is legal, however, to purchase donor eggs from abroad via UK or international egg banks or agencies.
Calls for Government to look again at IVF rulesWhile gametes from those sources must meet UK safety and quality standards, a briefing prepared for MSPs by the Scottish Parliament's Information Centre notes 'risks associated with sourcing eggs abroad and with their transportation".
In the background information to his petition, Mr Connolly said the fertility clinic at Glasgow Royal Infirmary had recently told him, his surrogate, and his fiancé that the likelihood of getting eggs via the NHS was 'minuscule".
He added: 'The NHS in Scotland operates on an 'all or nothing' policy, meaning if patients source eggs from elsewhere, they lose all funding for IVF via the NHS.
'This leaves a massive gap in equality for those in need of eggs. This affects people in same-sex male and heterosexual relationships, as well as single women and men.
'Due to this void in resources, many people are faced with the prospect of crushing a dream to have a biological child.'
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The petition calls on ministers to 'allow couples and individuals to purchase altruistically donated eggs from private clinics for use in NHS-funded IVF treatment' and to 'instruct NHS Scotland to create a clear clinical pathway to support those using private donor eggs".
In its response to the petition, the Scottish Government told the Committee: 'We have always been clear that couples who are eligible for NHS fertility treatment should not pay for any aspect of their treatment, and this includes the purchase and use of donor gametes.'
Couples using eggs from a known donor 'will be treated within the same timeframe as those using their own gametes,' it added. 'The current wait time for these couples is approximately eight to nine months. Couples who require an altruistic egg donor may wait between three to four years for treatment.'
The Government said it has run national donor campaigns and added: 'NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is planning several campaigns this year to recruit egg and sperm donors, which will hopefully reduce the waiting times.'
Helen Gibson, from the campaign group Surrogacy Concern, urged ministers to reject the petitioner's demands.
She said: 'If people purchase eggs from private fertility clinics they should be rightly expected to bear the entire cost of fertility treatment themselves, not seek a discount on embryo creation and implantation at the expense of the Scottish taxpayer.
'Adverts which run in the UK seeking egg 'donors' do not have to state health risks.
'In 2023, the HFEA confirmed 53 cases of severe or critical ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in women who were undergoing egg retrieval in the UK: complications from OHSS killed two British women in 2005/6. OHSS occurs in one third of all women undergoing egg retrieval under the age of 30.
'It is bad enough that the Scottish Government targeted their own young people, aged just 18, for gamete donation from 2021–2023, and that four Scottish NHS boards continue to do so.
'Government should not make this situation worse by subsidising and endorsing an industry which preys on young women, risking their own health and fertility—all so older people can buy eggs and get IVF and surrogacy on the Scottish taxpayer courtesy of the NHS.'
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