Opinion poll on gamete donation: French better informed, young people less willing to donate

The law of August 2, 2021 on bioethics changed the legal framework for medically assisted procreation (MAP) [also known as medically assisted procreation (MAP)], extending its access to female couples and unmarried women. As part of its awareness-raising and information initiatives, the Agence de la biomédecine carried out its annual opinion barometer* on how the French perceive gamete donation in April 2024. It reveals three main findings:

• The French feel increasingly well informed about gamete donation,
• Young people aged 18-24 feel less informed, less favorable and therefore less inclined to donate than the rest of the population,
• Information and awareness-raising remain the keys to mobilizing donors.

The French feel increasingly well-informed about gamete donation

The French say they feel better and better informed on the subject of gamete donation since 2022, after a setback caused by changes in the bioethics law of August 2, 2021: 23% of those surveyed feel well informed about gamete donation in 2024, compared with 18% in 2023.

Despite a slight decline this year (-6 points), the French are still very much in favor of gamete donation: 80% of the population as a whole, and over 70% of those of age to donate.

This decline corresponds to a sharp drop among a specific population, the 18-24 year-olds, who are less favorable to donation in 2024 than in previous years. In fact, only 39% of them feel ready to donate (compared with 49% of the general population), a sharp drop compared with 2023, a year when this generation led the others with 62% of donation intentions.

Among potential donors, i.e. men and women of donating age** :

• 78% are in favor of gamete donation,
• 42% are favorable and ready to donate,
• ⅓ feel concerned by gamete donation. Women feel more concerned at 40%, versus 30% for men.
• 26% are in favor, ready to donate and feel concerned by gamete donation.

Information and awareness, the keys to donor mobilization

When asked what might motivate them to start donating, the majority of potential donors in favor of donation mention two factors:

• 66% feel they need more information and awareness-raising, particularly about the shortage of donations and the number of people waiting, but also about how the donation will be used;
• 44% want to know more about the donation process.

Knowing that people are waiting to become parents remains the best lever to encourage donation for 58% of women and 51% of men of donor age. However, a new incentive to donate appears in 2024, taking 2nd place in the list of motivations to donate: the increase in infertility in France would encourage 44% of French people to donate. The fact that donation can now benefit female couples also remains an important lever, gaining 3 points from 2023 to 2024 to reach 34%.

Barriers to donation remain the same as in 2023. The fact that the identity of the donor could be known by the person born of a donation at the time of his or her majority would encourage a stable proportion of 33% of men surveyed not to donate their gametes. Among women, 40% say that the main obstacle to donation is the oocyte retrieval method, which requires ovarian stimulation and punctures.

*This barometer was carried out by the Viavoice Institute for the Agence de la biomédecine, by telephone between April 11 and 23, 2024, among a sample of 1,004 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over. **Women aged 18-37 and men aged 18-44.