In April this year, we introduced a new consent form to allow the married or civil partner of a woman undergoing treatment, using embryos created with donor sperm, to consent to being registered as the legal parent in the event of his or her death.
The new ‘Your consent to being registered as the legal parent in the event of your death’ (PBR) form allows the married or civil partner to consent to posthumous birth registration in the unfortunate event that he or she dies between the point of embryo creation but before embryo transfer.
Before we introduced the PBR form, this consent was previously recorded on the ‘Your consent to being the legal parent’ (PP) form. While this recorded the necessary consent, you told us that partners who were married or in civil partnerships found completing this form confusing because not all of the questions on the PP form were relevant to them.
We would like to thank those of you that have provided feedback about the PBR form, and have endeavoured to answer your most frequently asked questions.
Who needs to complete the PBR form?
The married or civil partner of a woman who is undergoing treatment, where embryos are created using donor sperm, may complete this form, so that he or she can provide consent to being posthumously registered as the legal parent.
Can the married or civil partner of a patient who is currently storing embryos created using donor sperm, but who has not previously completed either a PP or a PBR form, now complete the PBR form?
Yes, if the married or civil partner wishes to consent to posthumous birth registration, they can complete a PBR form now.
If the married or civil partner of a woman who is undergoing treatment with embryos created using donor sperm, has already filled in a PP form, do they now need to fill in a PBR form?
No, if the married or civil partner has completed a PP form prior to the PBR form being introduced, they do not need to complete the PBR form now.
Does a PBR form need to be completed by partners who are married to, or in a civil partnership with, women undergoing a donor insemination (DI) cycle?
In the case of a DI cycle, a PBR form does not need to be completed as embryos have not been created and stored. The law does not provide for posthumous parenthood when a partner dies before DI treatment, as no embryos would have been created prior to his or her death.
If a married or civil partnership same sex female couple used eggs from one partner and donor sperm to create embryos for treatment, do both partners need to complete the PBR form?
The married or civil partner of a woman undergoing treatment with embryos created using donor sperm may complete the PBR form so that she can provide consent to being posthumously registered as the legal parent.
The partner who is undergoing treatment may also complete the PBR form so that she can provide consent to being posthumously registered as the legal parent, in the unfortunate event that she dies before embryo transfer, and her partner undergoes treatment using the embryos instead. For this to happen, the conditions of Section 46 (Embryo transferred after death of civil partner [or wife] or intended female parent) of the HFE Act 2008 must be met and consent for posthumous use of the embryos must be in place.
Every patient must be given the opportunity to have a detailed conversation with clinic staff to ensure their wishes are fully understood and the necessary consents are in place for all scenarios.
It is important to remember that the legal parenthood consent forms are designed as a means for patients to record their consent, however that consent may be invalid or ineffective if the relevant consent forms are not completed correctly and the necessary statutory provisions pertaining to legal parenthood have not been met. The statutory provisions relating to legal parenthood are set out in Sections 35 to 47 of the HFE Act 2008, and relevant guidance can be found in the Code of Practice (guidance note 6: Legal parenthood).
For more best practice guidance on how to record consent, please see our guide to consent.
If you have any further questions or comments, please contact your clinic inspector.