Egg, Sperm, Embryo Donation

Egg, Sperm, and Embryo Donation Agreements in Florida

The donation of eggs, sperm, and embryos are governed by Florida Statute 742.14. The statute expressly provides that the donor of any egg, sperm or embryo (except as otherwise provided) shall relinquish all maternal or parental rights and obligations with respect to the donation or the resulting child. Laws around the county are constantly changing in third-party reproductive technology law, therefore, it is important to consult with a lawyer before entering into any type of egg, sperm, or embryo donation agreement.

The donation agreements between recipient(s) and the donor specifically detail the parties’ obligations and rights with regard to the donation, and cover issues that arise in third-party reproductive technology including, but not limited to, parental rights of the intended parent(s), and relinquishment of parental rights by the donating party, confidentiality, required medical testing, future communication between the parties, expenses, liability for complications, and the rights of the child.

An intended parent considering egg, sperm, and embryo donation needs to consider whether they want an open donation. This allows for the ability to contact the donor(s) in the future if the child or intended parent wants additional information on the donor for purposes such as genetic health conditions or general curiosity.

Egg Donation

Egg donation is indicated when a woman has a healthy uterus and is able to carry a pregnancy to term but does not have an adequate supply of viable eggs. Premature ovarian failure, damaged or absent ovaries, age, and previous chemotherapy or radiation treatment are all reasons why a woman may not have useable eggs. Egg donation is also an option when a woman carries a detrimental genetic condition. Those seeking the use of a surrogate can also use donated eggs to create the embryo that is ultimately transferred into the surrogate. 

An egg donor is a woman who donates her egg to use in the conception of a child conceived through the process of in-vitro fertilization. Our attorneys can assist recipients by referring them to reputable egg donor agencies or clinics. Once recipients have selected an egg donor, Greenspoon Marder can either draft the egg donation agreement on behalf of the intended parent(s) or review the egg donation agreement on behalf of the egg donor and any spouse (if applicable). 

Sperm Donation

Sperm donation agreement legal services are provided at Greenspoon Marder when a sperm donor is directly donating sperm to a known intended parent (i.e. a sperm donation done outside of the assistance of a sperm bank). Once recipients have selected a known sperm donor, Greenspoon Marder can either draft the sperm donation agreement on behalf of the intended parent(s) or review the sperm donation agreement on behalf of the sperm donor and any spouse (if applicable).

Embryo Donation

During the IVF process, it is common that people have extra viable embryos available to be frozen. Embryos can be frozen for an indefinite amount of time, which can lead to great expense for the intended parent(s) to pay for the storage facilities that hold the frozen embryos. If the individual or family who created or owns these embryos decides that the embryos are no longer needed for their family planning—hopefully because there was success in the process prior to utilization of all of the embryos—that individual or family can choose to donate the “extra” embryos to others for procreation purposes.

The donation of embryos to a third party for procreation purposes requires a legal agreement between the donor(s) and the intended parent(s). Each party should be separately represented by their own attorney, which attorney is typically paid for by the intended parent(s). Each embryo donation is unique in whether the relationship is known or anonymous (or somewhere in-between), between the parties involved and some embryo donation agreement have various stipulations in the agreement regarding the intended parent(s) future disposition  of the donated embryos once their family is complete -for example, restrictions on re-donating embryos to another third party without the prior donor’s consent or restrictions on destruction of the remaining embryos.