ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the regulation of assisted conception and surrogacy in the United Kingdom. The regulation of assisted conception in the UK consists in a special regime set up by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, and administered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The HFEA’s register means that every cycle of treatment is recorded and all gametes and embryos used in treatment are traceable. The Act provides that the creation, use and storage of embryos, and the storage and use of gametes, can only take place under a licence granted by the HFEA. Consent to the creation of an embryo, or to the use of one’s gametes in the treatment of others must be in writing. There is a limit on the number of children that may be produced from the gametes of one donor, which is expressed as ‘up to ten families’.
