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Implementation of the French Bioethics Act: Agence de la biomédecine presents the latest results of its surveys at the 4th Monitoring Committee meeting

Published on 20 October 2022

Press release

    Monday, October 17, 2022 saw the fourth meeting of the national monitoring committee for the implementation of the law of August 2, 2021 in the field of medically assisted procreation (MAP). Set up by the Agence de la biomédecine, at the request of the Minister of Health and Prevention, the national monitoring committee brings together all stakeholders* to monitor developments, listen to concerns in the field and identify difficulties that may give rise to corrective measures.

    In the first half of 2022, the upward trend in requests for treatment, the number of donors and requests for non-medical self-preservation is confirmed.

    To measure the impact of the new bioethics law on activity, the Agence de la biomédecine has conducted surveys of centers authorized to carry out gamete donation (sperm and oocytes) and gamete self-preservation outside a medical indication. The results observed from January 1 to June 30, 2022 complete the studies and results presented at previous meetings of the monitoring committee, and confirm an upward trend in requests for treatment, the number of donors and requests for medical self-preservation.

    With regard to the extension of MPA to female couples and unmarried women, the survey of the 27 centers authorized to carry out sperm donation activities revealed that between January 1 and June 30 2022 :

    • 370 sperm donors were registered in 6 months. There were 600 in 2021, and this updated figure suggests that the number will increase in 2022.
    • As of June 30, 2022**, the stock of available straws** stood at almost 90,000.
    • 9,303 requests for first consultations were registered for PGD with sperm donation for female couples or unmarried women.
    • 5,345 first consultations were carried out. Since August 1, 2021, the Agence de la biomédecine has recorded a total of 7,600 first consultations. There has therefore been a real increase in the number of consultations carried out between the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022.
    • Nearly 450 attempts at MPA with sperm donation have been carried out for these new groups since August 2021.
    • As of June 30, 2022, 3,000 people were awaiting MPA with sperm donation, including over 900 female couples and 800 unmarried women.
    • The length of time it takes to undergo PGM with sperm donation (from the time the appointment is made to the 1st attempt) varies greatly from one center to another (from 6 to 37 months). The average delay is estimated at 13.8 months.

    Concerning oocyte donation and requests for MPA with oocyte donation:

    • More than 500 oocyte donors were registered in the first 6 months of 2022, compared with almost 900 in 2021. The upward trend in the number of oocyte donations continues.
    • Nearly 4,200 male/female couples were waiting for an oocyte donation at the end of 2020. For the first female couples and unmarried women, the first registrations on the waiting list took place in Q1 2022, and the first attempts in Q2 2022.
    • The turnaround time for oocyte donation MPA (from appointment to 1st attempt) varies widely from one center to another (from 10 to 49 months). The average delay is estimated at 22 months as of June 30, 2022.

    Gamete storage for non-medical reasons has been available since January 1, 2022:

    • Of the nearly 5,000 women who have applied for self-preservation, around half have begun the process. The number of requests in Q2 2022 rose very slightly compared with Q1.
    • Nearly 550 oocyte conservations and nearly 35 sperm conservations were carried out in the 1st half of 2022.
    • The average turnaround time for oocyte self-preservation is 5 months nationwide. The average turnaround time in Île-de-France is 13 months.

    *Stakeholders present at the October 17, 2022 follow-up committee meeting:

    • Ministry of Health and Prevention - Directorate General of Health
    • Ministère de la Santé et de la Prévention - Direction Générale de l'Offre de Soins
    • Agence technique de l'information sur l'hospitalisation (Technical Agency for Hospital Information)
    • Agence régionale de santé Centre Val de Loire
    • Pays de Loire Regional Health Agency
    • Regional Health Agency of Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint Barthélémy
    • Conférence des présidents des commissions médicales d'établissement des CHU (Conference of presidents of university hospital medical boards)
    • Conference of French CHRU General Directors
    • National Health Insurance Fund
    • National Center for Care Abroad
    • Association COLLECTIF BAMP!
    • Association Mam'ensolo
    • Les Enfants d'Arc en Ciel - l'asso !
    • Association don d'ovocytes, spermatozoïdes un espoir
    • Association of gay and lesbian parents and future parents (APGL)
    • Association Afrique Avenir
    • Association Dons de gamètes solidaires
    • Association PMAnonyme
    • Ovocyte Donation Study Group (GEDO)
    • Groupe de Recherche et d'Etude de la Conservation de l'Ovaire et du Testicule (GRECOT) (Ovarian and Testis Conservation Research and Study Group)
    • Study Group on In Vitro Fertilization in France (GEFF)
    • National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of France (CNGOF)
    • National Federation of Medical Gynecology Colleges (FNCGM)
    • Fédération nationale des biologistes des laboratoires d'étude de la fécondation et de la conservation de l'œuf (BLEFCO - national federation of fertilization and egg preservation laboratory biologists)
    • Collective of French private AMP centers (CCP)
    • Society for Reproductive Medicine (SMR)
    • National Federation of Human Egg and Sperm Study and Conservation Centers (CECOS)
    • Gamete donation centers

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