New UK regulations allow patients with non-transmissible HIV to donate eggs and sperm to known recipients and reduce screening requirements for same-sex female couples.
The UK Parliament has approved new regulations, which will amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 to allow people who have HIV with an undetectable viral load to donate gametes to known donors. Previously, only HIV-positive men in heterosexual relationships could provide gametes for their partner in fertility treatment. However, an HIV-positive person could not donate an egg to their female partner to carry (reciprocal IVF), or donate sperm for a surrogate pregnancy, as both were considered 'donation'.
Robbie Currie, chief executive officer of the National AIDS Trust said: 'Today marks a significant victory for the rights of people living with HIV, particularly LGBT+ couples wanting to donate sperm or eggs. They will now have the same rights as anyone else – the right to receive equal treatment and the right to start a family.'
The National AIDS Trust, with support from PET (the Progress Educational Trust) – the charity that publishes BioNews – has previously campaigned to raise awareness of how the law excluded same-sex couples (see BioNews 1155).
The regulations also amend the definition of 'partner-donation', previously defined as being exclusively between a man and woman in a heterosexual relationship, to include same-sex female couples. This means that female same-sex couples undergoing reciprocal IVF are no longer required to undergo expensive additional screening for infectious diseases and genetic conditions. Andrew Gwynne MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state for health and social care, said the change 'will bring much needed parity between women in same-sex relationships undergoing reciprocal IVF and opposite-sex couples.'
The previous government first announced its intention to change the law in October 2023 (see BioNews 1213). The draft regulations were introduced to parliament in May 2024, and the announced change was welcomed by the British Fertility Society and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (see BioNews 1239 and 1142). Following delays caused by the General Election and change of government, the regulations were approved in October 2024.
Under the new regulations, people with HIV seeking to donate gametes must meet certain conditions. They must have an undetectable HIV viral load, meaning that the virus is present at levels too low to be transmitted, and they must have been receiving anti-retroviral treatment for at least six-months. The recipient must be aware of the donor's diagnosis and provide informed consent.
'The policy change is based on crystal-clear scientific evidence that shows that advances in the treatment of HIV have meant the risk of transmission is now regarded as 'negligible', whether that is through unprotected sexual intercourse or gamete donation' said Gwynne. 'In short, the world has moved on, and our legislation must move with it.'
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.