The Legal Process of Egg Donation: What Donors Need to Know

Egg donation is a selfless and generous act that lends intended parents struggling with fertility challenges the ability to build their own families. It also involves legal implications that safeguard the donor’s rights helping them to make informed decisions. Whether it is navigating the contractual agreement, confidentiality issues, compensation terms or parental rights. These are key elements involved in the egg donation process that are critical in decision making. Read ahead to find out more about contracts and legal agreements, parental rights and anonymity as well as what happens in case of future medical issues.

Contracts & Legal Agreements

The first step to egg donation is drafting a contract to protect the rights of the parties involved. An egg donor contract is a legally binding agreement between a donor and the intended parents outlining the rights and obligations of each party. Each contract is unique to each egg donation process and it is important that it complies with the local laws.

The following key elements portray what’s in an egg donation contract:

• Confidentiality and privacy: The contract should establish whether the egg donation is anonymous; where both parties don't know each other, or open/semi open; where parties may have access to each other’s information. It should also state that 3rd parties are not privy to the egg donation agreement.
• Donor’s conduct: The donor is required to comply with all medical instructions given by the fertility specialist including taking the medical treatments as required, avoiding harmful substances such as smoking, drug use and  drinking that may jeopardize egg quality, and abstaining from sex before and during the egg donation process.
• Compensation and Financial obligations: The contract may include terms of payment for medical and travel costs, lost wages and compensation for egg retrieval. Some may contain provision for an escrow account to ensure timely payment.
• Parental rights: The contract should expressly state that the rights to donated eggs, the resulting embryos belong to the intended parents and that the egg donor may not lay claim to them. Additionally parental rights to any child/ children born out of the fertilization of the donated eggs exclusively belong to the intended parents. The donor waives any rights to ownership of the donated eggs.
• Future contact: Future contact terms depend on the donation type, whether anonymous or open. Intended parents may permit agency-facilitated contact if a medical issue arises requiring the donor’s assistance.

Parental Rights & Anonymity

A frequently asked question during the egg donation process is who becomes the legal parent to the child conceived using a donor’s eggs. Well egg donor contracts waive any rights of a donor to the eggs they donate, expressly stating that the intended parents are the legally recognized parents to the conceived baby. 

Sometimes the intended parent may decide to use a gestational surrogate to carry the donor’s fertilized egg on behalf of the intended mother. In this case, the law still upholds the intended parents as having legal parental rights over the child. It is important for both the intended parents and the egg donor/ surrogate to seek legal counsel who will draft binding agreements that safeguard their rights during the egg donation and surrogacy processes.

There are different egg donation options that are available for the intended parents to choose from. The donation process may be open,  semi-open or anonymous. 

• Open agreements simply mean that all the personal information belonging to both the egg donor and the intended parents are accessible to both parties. It allows for communication between the parties before, during and after the egg donation process. 
• Semi open arrangements on the other hand allows for limited information about the donor to the intended parents through a third party, mostly the egg donation agencies, the legal representative or the fertility clinics.
• In anonymous agreements, there is no personal identifying information that is shared either to the donor or the intended parents. The fertility clinic or agencies however, may refer to the medical records given by the donors in the event that the child resulting from their donated eggs needs medical intervention in the future.

The condition for anonymity is such that the intended parents may not under any circumstance be able to identify the egg donor.

What Happens in Case of Future Medical Issues?

Although the egg donation process is usually carefully monitored through medical tests and treatment, sometimes medical concerns arise in the future of the child conceived through this process. There are, however, ways of dealing with such medical issues as they arise. 

Where the child requires medical or genetic intervention, the contact clause in the egg donation contract may come in handy. 

1. If the donation was anonymous, the fertility clinic may reference the information given by the donor during application. 
2. If it was a semi open donation, then the fertility clinic or agency may facilitate communication between both parties.
3. In the case of open egg donation, the parents may directly communicate with the donor to find solutions for the medical issue.

Although rare, both the donor and the intended parents should be careful to include medical disclosure clauses in their contractual agreement to pave the way for clarity, both ethically and legally.

Understanding the legal aspects of egg donation is key in promoting transparency and upholding the rights of both the egg donor and the intended parents. Legally binding agreements outline the parental rights, compensation, confidentiality and offers direction for future contact in the event of a medical emergency. A well documented egg donation contract will ensure both parties avoid future legal complications. 

Although legal guidelines surrounding the egg donation process may vary from state to state, it is important for both the donor and the intended parents to acquire the services of reputable and trustworthy fertility lawyers and clinics or agencies to promote informed, seamless and ethical decision making. Contact our trusted fertility specialists at the Fertility Associates of Memphis (FAM) clinic to ensure a hustle free, donation experience.

FAQ

Do egg donors have parental rights?

No, legal agreements ensure that the donor holds no legal rights or obligations regarding any children conceived through the donation.

Is egg donation anonymous?

Certain programs provide options for anonymous, semi-anonymous, and open egg donation arrangements.