Issues with importing sperm from the USA to the UK

[Rillischen]

Hi I was due to start a first IVF cycle in early June. I had spent a long time selecting a sperm donor and finally chose one from Xytex which my clinic has a 3rd party agreement with and I am really happy with my choice. I had signed all the forms with xytex, they had contacted my clinic last week to arrange shipment but got no response. I went for a medical appointment at the clinic yesterday and met the embryologist who said there is currently an issue with importing sperm from the USA and they don’t know when this will be resolved. It is with the HFEA. I was really shocked as they had suggested Xytex and other US sperm banks just a month ago. Has anyone else encountered this? Xytex told me some clinics have managed to obtain a temporary certificate from the HFEA and they have been able to ship to specific individuals. I have contacted the HFEA but no response as yet. Has anyone else had any experience of this? It seems to be a very recent issue.
Thank you in advance x x x

[FertilityFriends]

[kittykat76]

How annoying! Have they said what the issue is? I got mine from Xytex and had no issues but that was 18 mths ago. Hope you get some answers

[Molly87]

Hi,

I’ve had this issue. I had a failed cycle in March and due to start another cycle in June. I went to order more donor sperm from California cryobank as I was really happy with my choice of donor and have been told the same. On 17th April the HFEA brought in new legislation that means clinics in the U.K. need a certificate to import sperm from USA. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it but I’ve been told the certificates will take 3 months. My understanding is that this came in really quickly and the clinics were unaware. I think 3 months is an estimate as obviously they have little experience in obtaining these. I was annoyed as I could have ordered more before 17th April. I imported some in Jan 2018!

It was a real blow for us but I’ve made the decision not to wait the 3 months and have found a new donor with cryos. The same rules don’t apply to the EU although my clinic had put a stop on those until 11th May.

xx