asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 3 December (WA 160) regarding the lack of women donating eggs specifically for research, how the annual number of registered egg donors for treatment has varied since 2000; how this compares with that reported for sperm donors over the same period; and what assessment they have made of the possible factors underlying any observed differences. [HL863]
The table below sets out the number of sperm and egg donors since 2000, from data provided to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. The number of sperm donors has remained relatively stable over that period but the number of egg donors has reduced. We have made no specific analysis of the reasons, but we are supporting the National Gamete Donation Trust to assess and spread good practice on donor recruitment.
Year Sperm donors Year Egg Donors 2000 325 2000 1242 2001 328 2001 1315 2002 278 2002 1179 2003 255 2003 1056 2004 247 2004 1064 2005 260 2005 956 2006 295 2006 768
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 5 December (WA 195–6) regarding information held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on the number of eggs retrieved from each patient, how many in vitro fertilisation patients have produced 20 or more eggs at each licensed centre; and what are the highest recorded numbers of eggs obtained from individual patients overall, together with the frequency with which such numbers of eggs have been obtained. [HL866]
I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 18 December, (Official Report, col. WA 116).
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which department or organisation should investigate the apparent discrepancies in numbers of eggs used for research that were brought to the attention of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) on 18 September 2006, given that a letter from the head of research regulation (dated August 2007) states that the HFEA “cannot give a definitive explanation” and also given that the HFEA has yet to describe steps that had already been taken in following a peer reviewer's recommendation to monitor the number of embryos used at the centre concerned. [HL867]
We do not believe that any investigation, of the type indicated in the noble Lord's Question, is required. We are satisfied that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is discharging its duties effectively with regard to the regulation of the use of human eggs donated for research purposes, where the research requires a licence from the HFEA under the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 28 June (WA 160), whether any data on human embryos created using cell nuclear replacement has been made available to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority by research centres; and, if so, how many embryos have been created by those centres. [HL868]
I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 28 June, (Official Report, col. WA 160). The information is not routinely collected by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The HFEA publishes inspection reports on licensed research centres that contain statistical information on embryo usage. This would include information on embryos created by cell nuclear replacement for research purposes.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the reply by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 10 December (Official Report, col. 20) relating to whether there is an error in paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill regarding the use of the term “child donor” instead of “patient”, whether they intend to change the wording of this paragraph to be consistent with that for adults in the following new paragraph 10, and to reflect the intention that the stored gametes of the child are to be for their own subsequent fertility treatment, rather than for donation either for research or someone else's fertility treatment. [HL904]
The Government will consider the noble Lord's comments on the appropriateness of the term “child donor” in the context of the proposed new paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, inserted by paragraph 12, Schedule 3 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.