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MORE THAN ONE thousand patients undergoing IVF treatment have had their treatment suspended amid fears over new legislation on egg and sperm donations.
The Child and Family Relationship Bill will criminalise the use of anonymous donations, meaning that all egg and sperm donors must be identifiable.
However, one Irish clinic has suspended therapy for more than one thousand patients as they have already started IVF treatment using anonymous eggs or sperm.
The legislation provides some leeway in cases where an embryo has formed, but not for those who have not yet reached this stage. The Department said there is no legal requirement to suspend treatment for other stages.
Dr David Walsh, a medical director at Sims clinics in Dublin, told TheJournal.ie that it can take up to six months for an embryo to be formed, and not every course of IVF is successful.
Rush
“All that needs to be introduced is an extra transitional arrangement for couples in this situation,” he said, adding that he was concerned there was a rush to get the legislation passed before the same-sex marriage referendum in May.
The legislation is due to come into effect on March 24, if it successfully passes through the Oireachtas.
“We don’t think it’s fair to be recruiting patients for a procedure that’s going to be illegal after 24 March,” Walsh said, explaining the reason for suspension of the treatment.
He added that it could be difficult in future to source named donors of sperm and eggs.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, but there’s a lot of stipulations. It’s going to be a lot of work.
Walsh said that the Government should now take positive steps to educate the public on sperm and egg donations.
“There are no sperm or egg banks in Ireland. They don’t exist, there are none.”
A further education campaign on the process will be needed, or it will risk sending more patients abroad for treatment, or even “importing sperm into their own homes for insemination”, Walsh said.
It could become similar to Ireland’s abortion laws, he said, as doctors could be unable to consult with patients who wish to travel abroad to use anonymous donors.
Responding to the suspension of IVF, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said:
Since the Bill has not been passed and will not come into effect for some time, there is certainly no legal requirement that clinics suspend treatment. Neither the Minister nor the Department have suggested that they should, and we would have no legal authority to do so.
The spokesperson added that “the Bill contains some specific transitional measures for couples who may already be undergoing IVF and for whom embryos have already been formed”. The legislation doesn’t refer to patients who have not yet reached this stage.
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Thousands of couples go through the difficulties of IVF hoping for a successful pregnancy each month in this country. It’s a costly and difficult process that the government obviously do not understand. Dr Walsh is being prudent in this approach and you would suspect the government should have consulted the like of Dr Walsh and sims at the start, is not just turn up and here’s your embryo thank you very much, why put couples through a six month process of investigations and treatment to then tell them in six months time after a successful embryo is produced we now cannot proceed as the legislation has changed or not been approved.
It’s also a time related issue as most people only use IVF in their late 30′s, early 40′s. Just remember that it’s just as cost efficient to travel to the Czech Republic for treat including the cost of flights, accomm, the the interfering eyes of big brother cannot intervene. The hospitals are also better. Much better.
It’s being banned for religious reasons not medical. So why would the consult a doctor.
I don’t know much about this… but have they just invented another reason to get the boat to England?
One step forward two steps back , typically Irish
Devastating for a lot of couples now.. awful news
The Irish state meddling in the affairs of family once again. A historically appalling record at this. There must be a better system in consultation with families and medical professionals. A cold and impersonal system that may lead to individuals having treatment abroad resulting in mire stress expense and a further legal minefield.
This is really sad, we as a country could make such progress but there always seems to be a group that makes us take a step backwards everyday.
This is heartbreaking for couples who have waited so long to get to this stage. Time isn’t something these couples have to be wasting. Can this government do anything without making a ‘dogs dinner’ out of it! That’s an expression or a phrase, the term dog is used but it’s meant to describe messing up a….oh never mind! They hear what they want to hear
The law IS an ass.
If there’s going to be a sperm shortage then why doesn’t Dr. David Walsh just do the honours himself if he cares so much?
Hopefully if sperm donor clinics do become a reality in this county, there will be vigorous checks put in place to stop the likes of you making a deposit
But there won’t be.
I have to wonder what motivates men to donate sperm anonymously. You don’t know the mother or what kind of circumstances your child will be raised in. Your child will not know you. You intentionally create a life and then do not support it and you have nothing to do with it.
No problem with IVF but I think the child should be cared for by and know both of their parents.
If you are going to take sperm anonymously then it might as well be from this doctor as anyone else. Why not.
With the amount of porn around there’s definitely no shortage of sperm….
O for God’s sake that’s just a completely foolish statement. Have you any idea what people who can’t have children without medical intervention go through?
I know you’re being facetious, but here’s an article that points out the worrying possibility that this could (and has) happened.
And if the donations are anonymous in a situation like this, there are hundreds and hundreds of people within the one metropolitan area who have no idea that they’re related. Aside from that, we have no idea what this level of reproduction will mean for society as regards inherited diseases etc.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2130814/The-man-fathered-1-000-children-Theyre-middle-class-living-Britain–idea-extraordinary-story-surrounding-birth.html
It’s crazy that anonymous donation has been allowed up to now. It’s astounding to think that there are potentially thousands of children in this country who will never know who one or both of their biological parents are – never know half their history, ancestry, and medical history.
Requiring sperm and egg donation to be from identifiable donors is a prudent and progressive step.
There have been situations in the US of half-siblings meeting each other and dating before learning that they are relations! Ireland is such a small country that that would inevitably happen here if we had prolific donors like this – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06donor.html?pagewanted=all
I probably don’t trust the government and/or the HSE to regulate the area anyway, but certainly removing anonymous donations should be a first step. At least if there was a registry kept of the child’s biological parents, the chances accidental incest is lessened.
After getting married in 2001, I and James my (husband) began trying to conceive. “When we first started trying, I was obsessive and bought many pregnancy tests even if I knew my period was coming. “We probably spent hundreds of dollars on tests. We viewed making love as work, and it took the pleasure and enjoyment out of it.” Eventually we went to a specialist and discovered that James had a low sperm count, so we faced the possibility that we may never have children. “I was at the point that I didn’t even want to get out of bed some days. I was so depressed. The Positive: I had a moment of clarity. “I just kept telling myself that when the time was right we would get pregnant. It’s hard, I later order for Priest Eka herbal medication meant for pregnant women to cook as soup and be eating it and much to us was surprise; I got pregnant a few months after getting used of the medication. When you are trying, just ordered for priest Eka herbal medication. Daughter Natalie was born in September 2003. We recently received another surprise: twins due in August, conceived without we even trying. Contact priest Eka on(dreka14demons@gmail.com)..
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