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Assisted reproduction (AMP): Demand for treatment continues to rise, but donations are insufficient to meet demand

Published on 14 December 2023

Press release

    Wednesday December 13, 2023 saw the first meeting of the national monitoring committee for the 2022-2026 ministerial plan for Human Procreation, Embryology and Genetics (PEGh), whose aim is to mobilize all available levers to promote equitable access to quality care, in the light of medical, scientific and societal changes.

    Set up by the Agence de la biomédecine, at the request of the French Minister for Health and Prevention, the aim of the plan's national monitoring committee is to bring together all stakeholders* several times a year to monitor the implementation of the various priorities defined in the plan, listen to concerns on the ground and identify any difficulties that could give rise to improvement measures. On this occasion, the Agence de la biomédecine unveiled the latest figures from its survey of gamete donation and self-preservation centers across France on the implementation of the Bioethics Act.

    The law of August 2, 2021 on bioethics has changed the legal framework for medically assisted procreation (MAP) [also known as medically assisted procreation (MAP)], extending access to female couples and single women.

    Sperm donation attempts on the rise, but demand continues unabated, with longer treatment times and insufficient donations.

    Between the promulgation of the bioethics law in August 2021 and June 30, 2023, nearly 29,970 requests for1st

    consultation for PGM with sperm donation were recorded from women in female couples and single women. The Agence de la biomédecine points to a 25% increase in requests between the 2nd half of 2022 and the 1st half of 2023 (5,778 vs. 7,216 requests for 1st consultation). At the same time, the number of 1st consultations carried out is gradually increasing, rising by 2.8% between the 2nd half of 2022 and the 1st half of 2023, for a total of almost 16,620 since 2021.

    For the first time, the survey records the age of women who requested a first consultation in the 2nd quarter of 2023:

    • For unmarried women, the breakdown is fairly clear, with 52% aged between 35 and 39 and only 7% aged between 18 and 29 (18% aged between 30 and 34 and 18% aged between 40 and 45);
    • For female couples, the distribution is fairly even between the ages of 25 and 39: with 29% between 25 and 29, 29% between 30 and 34 and 24% between 35 and 39;
    • For male/female couples, the majority of applicants (67%) are between 30 and 39.

    Almost two years after the new law came into force, there has been a sharp rise in the number of first attempts at PGM with sperm donation for female couples and unmarried women. In fact, 2,851 first attempts were recorded in the 1st half of 2023 for these new groups, compared with 1,545 in the 2nd half of 2022, an increase of 84.5%. In total, following the nearly 9,300 attempts made, there were already 343 births to female couples and unmarried women at the end of June 2023.

    Despite these latest positive developments, the Agence de la biomédecine notes that the average waiting time for PGD with sperm donation nationwide (from appointment to 1st attempt) rose to 15.8 months in the 1st half of 2023, compared with 14.4 months in the 2nd half of 2022.

    In France, the waiting list for MPA with sperm donation stood at almost 5,430 requests on June 30, 2023, down from almost 6,170 in March 2023. This list is made up of :

    • 41.1% female couples
    • 40.2% single women
    • 18.4% male/female couples

    As for sperm donors, the number of candidates for sperm donation remained stable in 2023, but was not sufficient to cope with the massive increase in the number of requests for sperm donation over the past 2 years.

    In order to cope with the steady rise in requests for gamete donation, the Agence de la biomédecine has launched a new national gamete donation information and incentive campaign entitled #FaitesDesParents. Broadcast between October 11, 2023 and early January 2024, this general public campaign aims to rapidly and massively recruit new gamete donors with diversified profiles.

    Waiting times for oocyte donation remain high, despite a slight increase in the number of oocyte donors

    In France, the average waiting time from the time an appointment is booked to the first gamete donation is 23.8 months in the 1st half of 2023, compared with an average of 23 months in the 2nd half of 2022.

    In France, the waiting list for MPA with oocyte donation stood at 2,315 requests on June 30, 2023, up from 2,077 in December 2022:

    This list is made up of :

    • 89.1% male/female couples
    • 8.9% single women
    • 1.9% female couples

    There is an upward trend in the number of female donors. In the first half of 2023, 506 women were candidates for egg donation. For the whole of 2022, the Agence de la biomédecine counted 990 candidates for donation, i.e. an average of 495 candidates per half-year.

    At the same time, donor processing times have fallen slightly. From appointment to oocyte puncture, the average duration of an oocyte donation was 5.8 months in the 1st half of 2023, compared with 6 months in the 2nd half of 2022.

    Demand for non-medical oocyte autoconservation is still on the rise, but waiting times are improving in Ile-de-France.

    Non-medical oocyte self-preservation is also increasingly popular, with a significant rise in the number of requests for 1st consultation. Since its introduction, nearly 19,160 requests have been received by authorized centers. The trend remains upward, with 7,616 new requests in the 1st half of 2023, compared with 5,038 in the 2nd half of 2022, an increase of 51%.

    Turnaround times have fallen sharply in Ile-de-France, the region with the highest demand, from 24 months at the end of December 2022 to 14 months at the end of June 2023. At national level, this timeframe remains constant at 8 months.

    *Stakeholders:

    • Ministry of Health and Prevention - Health Department
    • Ministry of Health and Prevention - Direction Générale de l'Offre de Soins
    • Regional health agencies
    • Technical agency for information on hospitalization
    • Conférence des présidents des commissions médicales d'établissement des CHU (Conference of presidents of university hospital medical boards)
    • Conférence des directeurs généraux de CHRU de France
    • 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)
    • Ovary and Testis Conservation Research and Study Group (GRECOT)
    • 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

    Further information

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