The UK has introduced new regulations allowing individuals with non-transmissible HIV to donate eggs and sperm to known recipients, and has also eased screening requirements for same-sex female couples undergoing fertility treatments. These updates, which amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, now permit people with HIV, as long as they have an undetectable viral load, to donate gametes to known partners. Previously, only HIV-positive men in heterosexual relationships could contribute gametes for their partner’s fertility treatment, and those wanting to donate eggs for reciprocal IVF or sperm for surrogacy were restricted by donation rules.
Robbie Currie, CEO of the National AIDS Trust, called this regulatory change a “significant victory” for people living with HIV, especially for LGBT+ couples seeking to donate gametes, as it establishes equal rights for starting a family. The National AIDS Trust, with support from the Progress Educational Trust (PET), has long advocated for this change to address exclusionary aspects of the law impacting same-sex couples.
The regulations also expand the definition of “partner-donation” to include same-sex female couples, eliminating the need for additional, costly screening previously required in reciprocal IVF treatments. Andrew Gwynne MP, under-secretary of state for health and social care, explained that the update brings equal treatment for same-sex female couples and opposite-sex couples undergoing IVF.
These draft regulations, initially announced by the government in October 2023 and introduced in May 2024, received broad support from the British Fertility Society and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Delayed by a General Election, the regulations were approved in October 2024. Under the new rules, HIV-positive donors must have an undetectable viral load and have been on anti-retroviral treatment for at least six months, with recipients providing informed consent, reflecting advancements in HIV treatment that make transmission risk negligible.
Sources - Rules relaxed around reciprocal IVF and gamete donors with HIV
HFEA welcomes changes to the law on screening in fertility treatment | HFEA
