Storage limit for frozen embryos, eggs and sperm could rise from 10 to 55 years
STORAGE limits for eggs, sperm and embryos are likely to rise to 55 years.
The increase is said to give people greater choice over when to start a family.
Ministers have proposed the limit be upped from ten years.
Prospective parents would have the option under the new system to keep or dispose of frozen sex cells or embryos every ten years.
Doctors have argued the existing limit — after which owners must decide whether to have fertility treatment or have the cells destroyed — is restrictive.
Eggs can be stored indefinitely without deterioration thanks to a new freezing technique, the Royal College of Obstetricians says.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This new legislation will help turn off the ticking clock in people’s minds.
“Tech breakthroughs have changed the equation and this puts more power into the hands of potential parents. These changes are giving people greater freedom over their fertility.”
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The proposals, following a public consultation, need approval by Parliament.
Additional conditions will apply to third-party donors and posthumous use.
Experts have said that the move is of 'huge significance' to many women and that it will allow women to have children when the time is right for them.
Sarah Norcross, Director, Progress Educational Trust (PET) said the trust was 'delighted' with the government's call to end the 10-year limit on ‘social’ egg freezing.
She said: "Social egg freezing should empower women to choose the best time to start a family, not impose new limits on them.
"The government has recognised that there is no longer a scientific basis for this legal limit and that it does not protect patients – quite the opposite as it limits their options and creates more anxiety.
“This move is of huge significance for many women, not just those who have frozen their eggs, but women who may be considering doing so.
"Extending the 10-year storage limit on social egg freezing will enable women to exercise reproductive choice, freeing women from the constraints of an outdated, discriminatory and unscientific law."
FIT FOR PURPOSE
Sarah added that it will also mean women don’t face the additional financial burden of funding the transfer of frozen eggs overseas and later fertility treatment abroad.
She explained that egg freezing is the fastest growing fertility treatment in the UK, and that because of this, women have been under pressure to use their eggs before they are ready to do so.
"Women who were delaying freezing their eggs because they were concerned about not being able to use them within the time limit will now have the latitude to freeze their eggs earlier and when the eggs may be of better quality."
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Marta Jansa Perez, Director of Embryology at BPAS Fertility also welcomed the decision and said the government must now move to ensure that once people are ready to become parents and start using stored eggs, sperm and embryos, they have access to comprehensive, NHS-funded fertility care.
"It is also essential that anyone who wishes to freeze their gametes has access to evidence-based information and that clinics offering fertility treatments are regulated to ensure they are transparent about the costs involved to allow patients to make informed choices", Marta added.
