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Open Change the law so donors cannot withdraw consent after embryos are created

Created by Hayley Lawrence
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Change the law so that, once donated sperm or eggs have been used with consent to create embryos for a recipient, the donor cannot later withdraw consent to the use of those existing embryos. Donors should remain free to withdraw consent to any unused gametes.

For same-sex couples, every step towards having a child is intentional: the clinic, treatment and donor. By the time embryos exist, families may have spent months or years trying, endured weeks of injections and invested thousands of pounds. To then have a donor withdraw consent means starting again and watching embryos you have seen develop be destroyed, along with the hope attached to them. We believe that no donor should be able to take that away once embryos have been created with their consent.

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    This petition will stay open until 8 April 2027.