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On the occasion of its last monitoring committee, the Biomedicine Agency presented its latest results concerning the implementation of the bioethics law. Support requests are on the rise.
On August 2, 2021, the bioethics law extended medically assisted procreation (PMA) to female couples and single women and also gave new rights to children born from an MAP.
A little over a year later, the fourth meeting of the national committee for monitoring the implementation of the law was able to assess the changes brought about by this law in the daily life of the French people.
More donors and more support in general
To measure the impact of the new bioethics law on activity, the Biomedicine Agency conducted surveys of centers authorized for the activity of gamete donation (spermatozoa and oocytes) and self-preservation of gametes in except for a medical indication. The results observed from 1er January to June 30, 2022 complement the studies and results presented at previous meetings of the monitoring committee.
Concerning the extension of ART to female couples and unmarried women
The investigation reveals that:
- 9,303 requests for first consultations were registered with a view to ART with sperm donation for the benefit of female couples or unmarried women;
- Donors are slightly up since the 27 authorized centers saw 370 donors in 6 months, while they were 600 for the whole of 2021;
- The stock of sequins available is nearly 90,000 as of June 30, 2022;
- 5,345 initial consultations were carried out with a real increase in consultations carried out between the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022;
- Nearly 450 ART attempts with sperm donation have been carried out for the benefit of these new audiences since August 2021;
- As of June 30, 2022, 3,000 people were waiting for ART with sperm donation, including more than 900 female couples and 800 unmarried women.
The treatment time for an ART with sperm donation (from when the appointment is made until the 1time attempt) varies greatly from one center to another (from 6 to 37 months). The average delay is estimated at 13.8 months.
Regarding oocyte donation and assisted reproduction requests with oocyte donation
- More than 500 oocyte donors were registered during the first 6 months of 2022, while there were nearly 900 in 2021. The dynamic of increasing the number of oocyte donations continues;
- Nearly 4,200 male/female couples were waiting for egg donation at the end of 2020.
The treatment time for ART with oocyte donation (from when the appointment is made until the 1time attempt) also varies from one center to another (from 10 to 49 months). The average lead time is estimated at 22 months as of June 30, 2022.
Storage of gametes for non-medical reasons also on the rise
Storage of gametes for non-medical reasons has also been possible since 1er January 2022 and we can see through these results that the idea is gradually gaining ground, but above all that implementation is also possible and relatively quick:
- Of the nearly 5,000 women who have applied for self-preservation, about half have started the journey. The number of requests at 2th quarter of 2022 increased very slightly compared to the 1er trimester ;
- Nearly 550 oocyte preservations and nearly 35 spermatozoa preservations were carried out on 1er semester 2022;
- The average period of care for self-preservation of oocytes is 5 months at the national level. The average time in Île-de-France is 13 months.