Younger donors boost fertility treatment rates

About 10 per cent of the 50,000 cycles of fertility treatment carried out last year used donated eggs, sperm or embryos and new rules were introduced in 2012 to increase the compensation paid to men and women acting as donors.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said clinics had reported an increase in donations and requests from women wanting to become egg donors since the guidelines were changed to allow them to receive up to 750 per cycle. This means more couples who need donated eggs have the chance to start a family, it said.

Overall, the number of egg donors registered with clinics rose from 815 in 2011 to 1,103 last year. However, there was a particular rise in young donors and the proportion of women aged 25 and under offering their eggs doubled to 24 per cent between 2011 and 2013.

At the same time, the proportion of young men volunteering as sperm donors, who are paid 35 per clinic visit, increased from 15 per cent to 22 per cent. This was against a backdrop of a slight dip in registered donors from 631 in 2012 to 586 in 2013.

Laura Witjens, chief executive of the National Gamete Donor Trust, who runs the National Sperm Bank, said clinics had improved their recruitment practices over the past 10 years.

"The result is there are more donors and they are often younger, leading to better success rates for patients," she said.

However, the HFEA figures suggested the proportion of donor sperm being imported from abroad, particularly from America and Denmark, was increasing year-on-year because of the time and resources required to recruit donors at home.

Ms Witjens added: "Supply is not meeting demand, and we are overly reliant on imported sperm or egg-sharing. For many clinics this is the easiest way, but in the long run this is not in the best interests for patients and their offspring.

"We should, therefore, continue to work on improving donor care and recruitment so all patients have equal access to UK donors."

In Scotland there are seven clinics offering fertility treatment with donated sperm, eggs and embryos and the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine (GCRM), which has set up its own "egg bank", predicts the number of women who will receive donor eggs through its clinic this year will be double that recorded last year.

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Younger donors boost fertility treatment rates