http://www.pollentree.com/feed/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:41:25 +0000 PollenTree en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/looking-for-a-donor- http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/looking-for-a-donor- Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:29:54 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/sperm-donor-wanted-in-norwich-norfolk-uk http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/sperm-donor-wanted-in-norwich-norfolk-uk Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:30:08 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/anyone-willing-to-donate--659 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/anyone-willing-to-donate--659
preferably if the donor would live within the United States, west coast area and would be of Hispanic or the african american ethnicity that would be a plus! 

Once again Thank You! 
]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:34:55 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/help-me-xx- http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/help-me-xx- Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:14:47 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/can-you-help-us http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/can-you-help-us
We live in Hampshire, near Reading.

Please help us.
]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:34:15 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/australian-sperm-donors-bid-to-be-on-birth-certificate http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/australian-sperm-donors-bid-to-be-on-birth-certificate

Sperm donor names
While donors have not been considered legal parents under state law since 1984, the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages currently has no provisions to record the names of sperm, egg or embryo donors.


Name removed from birth certificate
It follows on from the landmark case in August where a male sperm donor’s name was removed from his daughter’s birth certificate in preference for the mother’s female ex-partner, despite a close and long-term relationship with the child.


Same-sex laws
The judge in the case said although having “considerable sympathy” for the donor’s plight, a 2009 retrospective law in recognition of same-sex couples meant that the judge had to remove the man’s name.


Determined
The sperm donor (whose name cannot be published for legal reasons) has stated he is, “determined to do whatever is necessary” so that his name is also shown on his daughter’s birth certificate, in addition to the two mothers that she has.


Family law expert
Jenni Millbank, a leading family law expert, has advised for caution, stating that mandatory reporting of donor’s names on birth certificates could open up serious questions of privacy. “I think, for me, the real question is can we find a consensual and symbolic space on birth certificates to acknowledge genetic parents.”


LGBT community
Same-sex parent advocate Anthony Brien said that the inquiry provides an important chance for the LGBTIQ community to help create laws that will better suit their families while also perhaps providing better recognition of donors who have agreed to donate on the basis that they will be long-term parents. 

Read more at: gaynewsnetwork.com.au
]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:22:34 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/how-long-can-sperm-survive-out-of-the-body http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/how-long-can-sperm-survive-out-of-the-body Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:15:00 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/ken-livingstone-sperm-donor-641 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/ken-livingstone-sperm-donor-641

Natural insemination?
66-year-old Ken hinted they did not use artificial insemination – suggesting he slept with the women while living with his then partner, Kate Allen. Mr Livingstone, does not make clear whether the children were conceived by artificial insemination or naturally. In an interview with the Guardian Weekend magazine, he said: ‘That’s as much detail as we want to go into… I don’t think it implies artificial insemination.


Five children
Three years ago it emerged that Mr Livingstone had five children, rather than just the two he has with his wife as had been thought. Now, in his memoir You Can’t Say That, he has revealed details which led to the birth of his first three children. His first children – two daughters were born to journalist Philippa Need in 1990 and 1992. Just weeks after his second daughter was born, political activist Janet Woolf gave birth to his first son in the same north London hospital. He was in a long-term relationship with Kate Allen, when both children were born.


Private life
He also failed to mention whether Miss Allen was aware of his relationships with two other women. Three years ago Mr Livingstone said he would never outline the details of his relationships, saying: ‘I will go to my grave not talking about my private life.’ And he added: ‘No one has ever found anything in my private life that was illegal or immoral.’ 

Read more at: dailymail.co.uk
]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:41:16 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/increased-payments-for-sperm-donors-and-egg-donors http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/increased-payments-for-sperm-donors-and-egg-donors

Current payments
While it is illegal to pay for eggs or sperm, donors are offered £61.28 in loss of earnings for each full day, and up to £250 per course or cycle of donation, plus travel expenses. But experts feel these modest payments may be holding potential donors back at a time of real shortage.


Payment changes
To counteract this, an HFEA report suggests giving egg donors £750 a time – as they do in Spain – while adopting the Danish system of £35 per donation for men. Over a donation course this could net at least £450.


Egg donor procedure
Women must undergo a series of tests to donate their eggs (including psychological and blood pressure), before being given courses of hormones to suppress their menstrual cycle and then stimulate the growth and maturation of eggs. The eggs are then harvested under either general or local anaesthetic.


Sperm donor procedure
For men blood samples are taken, sperm is tested and donors will then be asked to attend the clinic once or twice a week for three to four months (abstaining from sex and alcohol before each visit). After six months, donors are tested once more to make sure they have not contracted infections in the intervening period that would make their samples unusable.


Donor identity
Then there is the fact that any child created from donor sperm or eggs now has the right to know the identity of donors. With all this involved, it's a wonder the price is not much higher, but as Witjens says, money is far from the point for donors: "People do this through the kindness of their hearts to help others."

Read more at: guardian.co.uk
]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:53:34 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/should-a-sperm-donation-be-kept-away-from-light http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/q-and-a/question/show/should-a-sperm-donation-be-kept-away-from-light
Are these effects negligable and of no real worry if the insemination is done within 30 mins ?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

]]> Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:45:17 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/fiancee-goes-to-court-to-store-dead-partners-sperm http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/fiancee-goes-to-court-to-store-dead-partners-sperm

Sperm stored
Kelly Floyd, was given permission to have Sunnybank Private Hospital remove sperm from Troy Jarvis and store it in an IVF facility, so she can still bear his child.

In an emergency decision handed down by Justice Roslyn Atkinson, it was said that Ms Floyd had planned to marry Mr Jarvis at the end of the year and they were building a house together. "She said that they had constantly discussed having children and she had made an appointment with an obstetrician gynaecologist" Justice Atkinson wrote in her judgment.

Ms Floyd contacted Justice Atkinson by phone the day Mr Jarvis died to have her case heard.


Family support
She said she had the support of Mr Jarvis's family and “and all he wanted was a child and we decided to build the house first because otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford to build a house if we had a child".


Court application to use sperm
Ms Floyd won the right to store the sperm at an IVF facility, as the procedure had to be done in 24 hours, but she will have to make another application to the court to use the sperm.

Read more at: smh.com.au]]> Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:19:42 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/donor-shortage-and-cost-leading-to-reproductive-travel-604 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/news/sperm-donation-news/donor-shortage-and-cost-leading-to-reproductive-travel-604 Transnational Reproduction (Transrep) project.


Cost and shortage
The research highlights the shortage of egg and sperm donors in the UK, as well as the cost if IVF treatment in the UK. Cost and shortage has led to increasing numbers of people going abroad to seek treatment.


NICE
The report calls on the guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to be fully implemented. They are for three full cycles of infertility treatment should be provided by the NHS and that costs in the private sector should be kept down.


Treatment abroad
The paper also recommends minimum standards and treatment for all those who go abroad for treatment. Patients travelling abroad also welcomed the idea of shared care between UK and overseas clinics. But the same patients had trouble finding UK clinics that offered this.

The report recommends that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Association (HFEA) should provide this information.


ESHRE
The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has a 'good practice guide' for centres treating foreign patients in the UK. To protect patients, families and donors from potential exploitation and inappropriate treatment the researchers recommended these be fully implemented.


Unhappy patients
Commenting Professor Culley stated, "Most felt that the UK could not offer them either timely or affordable treatment and in some cases people were unhappy with treatment they had previously received in UK centres."

Read more at: bionews.org.uk
]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:36:24 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/information/sperm-donors/sperm-donor-agreements http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/information/sperm-donors/sperm-donor-agreements
Whilst written agreements will not be legally binding in most countries they are helpful as evidence of the intentions of all parties when entering into an arrangement to donate sperm.

Remember that sperm donation is illegal in some countries and so you must check the position in your country before entering into an arrangement.

In the UK sperm donation is legal, but it is a criminal offence to donate sperm to make a profit.

It is however acceptable for the parties to agree on payment of the sperm donors reasonable expenses, but these must be reasonable and should not be used as a way to disguise a fee.

A written agreement will help the parties to settle the following before entering into any arrangement:

• Identify the donors expenses

• Agree on how those expenses will be reimbursed

• Agree on whether insemination will by artificial insemination (AI) or natural insemination (NI)

• Agree on whether the donor will remain anonymous or how much information will be given to the child about the donor.

• Agree on whether the donor will provide future donations to ensure siblings for the child.

• Agree on whether the donor will play a role in the parenting of the child - if so, a co-parenting agreement would be best.

• Agree who will be named on the birth certificate - naming the donor on the birth certificate will give him parental responsibility for the child.

• Agree on whether or not the donor is to pay any financial support

• Agree on the extent of the donors contact to the child (if any)

• Agree whether the child will be adopted by the woman and her partner (this will terminate the sperm donor’s legal rights as the father).]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:34:28 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/coparenting-and-legal-rights-600 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/coparenting-and-legal-rights-600

Legal rights and co-parenting
The legal position will vary from country to country. In most countries that recognise artificial insemination as a form of fertility treatment the donor will have no legal rights or responsibilities to the child if the donation is done through a licensed clinic.

However, in countries where artificial insemination is unregulated the donor is likely to remain the legal father of the child.

You should therefore check the fertility laws in your country.

In the UK, if the child is conceived using donated sperm, the legal position will vary depending not only on whether artificial insemination took place in a licensed clinic but also the status of the parties entering into the co-parenting arrangement.]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:59:49 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/coparenting-with-lesbian-couples-in-a-civil-partnership-599 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/coparenting-with-lesbian-couples-in-a-civil-partnership-599 parental responsibility over the child.

It does not matter whether the artificial insemination happened at a licensed clinic or by self-insemination. Also treatment by a licensed clinic can be abroad and does not have to be in the UK. The donor will not be regarded as the father and will not have parental responsibility.

If natural insemination takes place then the donor will be regarded as the father. However, the father will not automatically have parental responsibility for the child unless he is also registered on the birth certificate.

If he is not registered on the birth certificate he will have to rely on the mother entering into a written parental responsibility agreement with him or apply to the court for a parental responsibility order.

The partner could still apply for step-parent parental responsibility as the civil partnership would put her in the position of a step-parent.

It is also possible to enter into a step-parent parental responsibility agreement and forms can be obtained from the UK government website - justice.gov.uk.

A donor wishing to co-parent with a lesbian couple in a civil partnership will have to reach agreement with them about the degree of involvement he will have with a child and if he should have parental responsibility.

Whilst written agreements can be put in place these are not legally binding. A high level of trust will be needed between the donor and the couple.]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:45:47 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/coparenting-with-lesbian-couples-not-in-a-civil-partnership http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/coparenting-with-lesbian-couples-not-in-a-civil-partnership
The donor father will not have parental responsibility automatically unless he is registered on the birth certificate.

He will have to either apply to the court or enter into a written parental responsibility agreement with the mother.

However if artificial insemination takes place at a licensed clinic (anywhere in the world) the partner will be regarded as the second parent as long as the couple have completed consent forms agreeing to this.

However, in order to ensure that the partner obtains parental responsibility she will need to be registered on the birth certificate. The donor will not be regarded as the father.]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:06:23 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/gay-couples-coparenting-with-a-single-woman-597 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/gay-couples-coparenting-with-a-single-woman-597
If the donation is by self-insemination the donor is automatically regarded as the father.

If donation takes place through a licensed clinic the single woman will have to agree to the donor being named as the legal father.

In both cases the father will only have parental responsibility if he is registered on the birth certificate.

The partner of the donor will not be legally recognised as the second parent.

One way to give legal rights to the donor’s partner is to appoint him as a guardian.

If it is intended that the child should live with the gay couple then the partner can apply for a ‘residence order’ and this will automatically give him parental responsibility for the child.]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:38:11 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/a-single-man-coparenting-with-a-single-woman-596 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/a-single-man-coparenting-with-a-single-woman-596
If artificial insemination takes place at a licensed clinic then the donor will only be regarded as the father if both he and the woman sign consent forms agreeing to this.

In both cases the father will only have parental responsibility if he is registered on the birth certificate.

If it is intended that the child should live with him then he can apply for a ‘residence order’ and this will automatically give him parental responsibility for the child.
]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:21:44 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/a-single-man-coparenting-with-a-married-couple-595 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/a-single-man-coparenting-with-a-married-couple-595
He (the husband) will automatically have parental responsibility if he is named on the birth certificate otherwise he will have to rely on the mother entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with him or applying to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order.

However if treatment takes place through a licensed clinic for example, using IUI and the married couple agree in writing to the husband being treated as the legal father then he will be regarded as the father then the husband will be regarded as the father.

He will have parental responsibility because he is married to the mother.

]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:20:15 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/parental-responsibility-and-coparenting-594 http://www.pollentree.com/sperm-donation/law/english-law/parental-responsibility-and-coparenting-594
This means that he will then a right to be kept informed and to take part in decisions about the child’s education, health, welfare.

More than one person can have Parental Responsibility for a child.

If the mother is in agreement then the father can enter into a written Parental Responsibility Agreement with her, this is a type of contract.

You can obtain a form from a solicitor who can also help you to complete it or you can obtain it from www.justice.gov.uk - see under Forms and search under "Children Act" on the search form.

The Form must be signed by both parents and the parent's signatures will need to be witnessed by an Officer of the Court or a Magistrate.

The Form then has to be sent to the Principal Registry of the High Court.

It will not be an effective agreement until it has been sent to the court and registered there.

Once the written agreement has been signed and filed parental responsibility can only be taken away from the father by an order of the court.

If the mother will not agree to enter into a parental responsibility agreement with the father he will need to apply for a parental responsibility order from the court.

For further information see the free legal information section Children on CompactLaw.co.uk]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:00:31 +0000