Egg Embryo and Sperm Donation Lawyers

With advances in and prevalence of DNA testing, facial recognition, and AI, anonymity of the parties is not something that can ever be guaranteed in the future. You may want to consider the interest that any child conceived from the egg donation may have in future contact with the donor. There could be a compromise between open and closed donation, such as using the Donor Sibling Registry or exchanging anonymous email addresses.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), women may only donate up to six times. This limitation is per egg donor in her lifetime, and not per clinic. While egg retrieval procedures are usually safe, ASRM considers the possibility of unknown increased risk and consanguinity (to prevent intermarrying of donor conceived children from the same donor).

The time starts after the representation agreement is signed, we have information from the agency, and the donor is medically cleared. We try to have a gamete donation contract drafted within a week's time. We send our calendar to our clients to schedule a review. This can be done the same day, but the client should allow time to read the contract prior to the review. After the review with our attorneys, the drafted agreement has added changes called a redline which is sent to the client for approval. Once the redline is approved, the contract is sent to the donor's attorney who reviews with the donor.This can take a similar amount of time, but sometimes it is faster than a week.  The donor attorney prepares a redline which the client receives. If all parties agree on the contract, the contract is ready for signing.  Legal clearance can then be issued to the clinic, allowing the donation to take place.

In nearly all surrogacy and donation agreements, the intended parents will pay for the donor or surrogate’s representation for the contract. This is because the donor or surrogate shouldn’t pay out of pocket for their attorney. It does create a potential conflict of interest with their attorney when the other party pays for them. However, the various state bars allow this conflict of interest to be waived if the party is made aware of the arrangement, the risks, and knowingly agrees to proceed.  This why there is a conflict of interest section in nearly every donor or surrogacy agreement.

In some states like Washington and California, it doesn’t matter. In other states like Illinois you need to have a genetic connection to be recognized as a parent.

→ Main Compensation  

→ Injectable Fee  

→ Travel Expenses  

→ Other Expenses

It is customary for the intended parents to pay for the donor’s or surrogate’s lawyer so they are not paying out of pocket for their attorney. However, the rules of professional responsibility governing attorneys say it may be a conflict of interest when another person pays for the attorney fees of the other party. This is why your surrogacy or egg donation agreement will acknowledge if attorneys fees are paid for by the intended parents and state that the donor/surrogate acknowledges the potential conflict of interest and waives of the conflict of interest. The donor/surrogate’s attorney should vigorously represent the donor/surrogate and not disclose any confidential information to intended parents or any other party without consent. The payment of attorneys fees should not influence their representation.

The companion that the donor chooses assists the donor on the day of the retrieval by accompanying her to the procedure where she will be under anesthesia. It is not safe for the donor to travel back to her hotel alone after the retrieval. In addition, the donor will offer companionship and support during the retrieval trip, helping ensure her safety as she will be in a new city.

If your contract requires your surrogacy contract to be notarized, here is what you typically need to do. 1. Print the agreement single sided. 2. Initial each page. 3. Bring your government ID to a notary public. Call your bank or local mailbox or copy store to see if they have one. 4. There will be a small fee to notarize. The notary will verify your identity, take your thumb print, watch you sign. 5. Some courts require a notary declaration. The contract may have a page for the notary to sign. If not, you should request an All Purpose Acknowledgement page that the notary sign and stamp. 6. Scan the entire agreement and email it to your lawyer for approval. In some cases you need to mail the agreement. 7. Sometimes you can use a web notary. Check with your attorney if this is ok. An online notary will verify your identity, and provide a notary stamp to your digital signature. 8. Once both sides notarize, you will be legally cleared.

→ Fertility patients have four options for embryos they no longer need.

→ They can donate the embryo to another couple with an embryo donation contract.  

→ They can donate it to science for medical research.  

→ They can dispose and destroy the embryos.  

→ Lastly, fertility patients can choose to keep the embryo frozen where it can remain frozen for years.  

There is often an annual fee to keep embryos frozen.