FAQs about what happens when a clinic closes or is involved in proceedings
On this page:
- What happens to my stored sperm, eggs or embryos if a clinic closes down?
- What is the process for transferring sperm, eggs or embryos to another clinic?
- Are my samples safe in storage?
- What if my clinic or clinician is involved in proceedings with another official body, not the HFEA?
What happens to my stored sperm, eggs or embryos if a clinic closes down?
Although a clinic without an HFEA Licence would not be able to provide certain services, such as donor insemination, fertilisation or embryo transfer, the medical staff should still be there and continue to have a duty of care towards you.
All clinics should have a contingency plan in place where arrangements are made for your stored sperm, eggs or embryos to be transferred to another clinic.
In the first instance, the process is for you to contact the clinic directly to find out what contingency plan they have in place, and to discuss the ongoing care of your samples.
What is the process for transferring sperm, eggs or embryos to another clinic?
Every clinic should have arrangements in place for transferring treatment details to another clinic.
Depending on the stage of your treatment, your sperm, eggs or embryos should be transferred to the other clinic, alongside all the necessary supporting documents. If you have a specific clinic in mind, you should inform your clinic and they should be able to advise you on what to do next.
Are my samples safe in storage?
Yes, if a clinic were to close, there are processes in place and the medical staff should still be there and continue to have a duty of care towards you. All clinics should have a contingency plan in place where arrangements are made for your stored sperm, eggs or embryos to be transferred to another clinic.
What if my clinic or clinician is involved in proceedings with another official body, not the HFEA?
The HFEA is one of a number of bodies that play a part in the management and regulation of fertility clinics. Clinicians and other professionals working at fertility clinics may become involved in proceedings with professional practice regulators (such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council), the companies or NHS bodies that employ them, or the courts.
The matters that these other bodies deal with are matters for them, not the HFEA. The HFEA licenses clinics, not individual doctors and is concerned with the running of a clinic as a whole.
However, the findings of another body and the action they take may impact on the way a clinic is able to operate. A licence committee would look at any findings of the body concerned and decide what action, if any, is appropriate. Other FAQs in this section describe how different kinds of action taken by a licence committee would affect your clinic and your treatment.
Page last updated: 14 April 2009