The A to Z of surrogacy and fertility terms

A form to be completed and signed by the surrogate and the surrogate’s spouse/civil partner (if applicable) confirming their agreement to the making of a parental order. The A101A can only be signed 6 weeks after the date of the birth for the consent to be deemed valid and it must be signed in front of a CAFCASS officer (or a notary if it is being signed internationally).

An Act which governs the adoption of children in England and Wales. In some instances, an adoption order may be preferable in place of a parental order or applied for when the eligibility criteria for a parental order are not met.

The medical procedure of injecting sperm into the vagina or uterus – ie, not via sexual intercourse. It can also take place outside of a medical setting at home.

All fertility treatments in which either eggs or embryos are handled outside the body, or a third party is involved whether by way of donor conception or surrogacy.

A vital record that documents the birth of a person. Upon the making of a parental order, a new birth certificate is issued for the child which names the intended parent/s as parents of the child.

The form to apply for a parental order which must be filed with the court within six months of the date of the birth. The form must be filed with the intended parent’s/s’ local court or to the Central Family Court in London if the child is born outside the UK – proceedings will be transferred from the Central Family Court to the High Court (RCJ) in international cases and to the local magistrates’ court in domestic cases. The child’s birth certificate and evidence of the intended parents’ marital status (if applicable) must be filed with the C51.

A form to be completed and signed by the surrogate and the surrogate’s spouse/civil partner (if applicable) confirming they have received the C51 form and how they intend to respond.

An order which transfers legal parentage from the surrogate and the surrogate’s spouse/civil partner (if applicable) to the intended parent/s – it might also be referred to as a PO (see below).

A notice confirming the date and time of a hearing – it should also have case number, address of the court, and estimated length of the hearing.

A form to be completed and signed by the intended parent/s to confirm details of how, when and where their C51 application form (and any accompanying documents) were served on the other parties.

An Act which governs the welfare, care, and developmental needs of children in England and Wales.

A person or people conceived via the donation of sperm, eggs or embryos through self-insemination or fertility treatment such as IVF.

A fertility procedure in which frozen donor sperm is thawed and inserted into a uterus directly around the time of ovulation, in order to achieve a pregnancy.

Donor conceived people who were conceived with sperm or eggs from the same donor.

A Convention which protects the right to: life, freedom and security; respect for private and family life; freedom of expression; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; vote in and stand for election; a fair trial in civil and criminal matters; and property and peaceful enjoyment of possessions.

A procedure in which eggs that have been fertilised with sperm (embryos) are implanted in a womb.

A procedure in which a cryopreserved (frozen) embryo created in a previous IVF cycle is thawed and transferred into a uterus.

A woman who carries and delivers a child for another couple or individual and does not have any biological connection to the child.

A procedure in which eggs are extracted from ovaries and placed in a fallopian tube along with the sperm – fertilisation therefore takes place inside the body, unlike IVF where an egg is combined with the sperm outside the body.

An Act which created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and was later updated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (see below).

An Act which updates the legislation regulating delivery of assisted reproduction treatments and related services and research involving the use of human embryos. It also updates the provisions that determine legal parenthood for children born as a result of the use of assisted reproduction techniques, including surrogacy.

The UK’s independent regulator of fertility treatment and research using human embryos.

An HFEA form to provide consent to disclose identifying information about a person receiving fertility treatment, donating gametes or embryos and/or storing gametes or embryos for future treatment of the person or their partner. Part 1 is for general purposes and Part 2 is for research purposes.

An HFEA form to provide consent to the storage of eggs or sperm for the person’s potential future treatment or for training purposes. To be used by a single person and not by someone who already has a partner with whom they are having treatment.

An HFEA form to provide consent to use one’s sperm in artificial insemination – this is relevant where the person is a man, and their partner is undergoing artificial insemination. This relates only to IUI or GIFT using the person’s sperm and not where embryos are created outside the body.

An HFEA form to provide consent to the storage of sperm and the storage of embryos created with the person’s sperm, and to the use of that sperm/embryo in the person’s partner’s treatment. It also includes consent to the use and storage of sperm or embryos in the event of death or mental incapacity, being registered as the legal parent of a child born as a result of their partner’s treatment if the treatment occurred before the person’s death, and consent in relation to the use and storage of sperm and embryos for training purposes.

An HFEA form to provide consent to being registered as the legal parent in the event of one’s death – this is relevant where the person is married or in a civil partnership with their partner who is undergoing IVF treatment using embryos created with donor sperm and they wish to be registered as the legal parent to any child born if they die before embryos (that were created before the death) are transferred to their partner.

An HFEA form to provide consent to being the legal parent – this is relevant where the person is not married or in a civil partnership with their partner, their partner is undergoing treatment using donor sperm or embryos created in vitro using donor sperm, and they wish to be the legal parent of any child born from their partner’s treatment. Their partner would complete the HFEA WP form.

An HFEA form to provide consent to being the legal parent in surrogacy. Where the surrogate is not married or in a civil partnership, someone other than the biological father can be nominated as the second legal

parent of any child born from the treatment – as long as both the nominated parent and the surrogate give notices consenting to this in writing before sperm, egg or embryo transfer. The surrogate will automatically be the legal mother of any child born from the surrogacy treatment when they are born.

An HFEA form to provide consent (as a surrogate) to nominating an intended parent to be the second legal parent (other than the biological father). The surrogate cannot complete this form if she is married or in a civil partnership as her spouse or civil partner will be deemed the second legal parent.

An HFEA form to provide consent to your partner being the legal parent – this is relevant where the woman is not married or in a civil partnership with their partner, they are undergoing treatment using donor sperm or embryos created in vitro with donor sperm, and they wish their partner to be the legal parent of any child born from this treatment. Their partner would complete the HFEA PP form.

An HFEA form to provide consent to your eggs, or embryos created with your eggs, for your partner’s treatment.

An HFEA form to provide consent to your eggs, and embryos created using your eggs, being used in treatment (IVF or ICSI) or stored.

A type of IVF treatment that involves drawing up a single sperm into a very fine glass needle and injecting it directly into the centre of the egg.

A person or couple who enters into a surrogacy arrangement to have and raise a child. A single intended parent must be genetically related to the child born through surrogacy. For couples, at least one must be genetically related to the child born through surrogacy.

A procedure whereby sperm are put directly into the womb (uterus) during ovulation.

A procedure whereby an egg is removed from the ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a dish in a laboratory. The fertilised egg (embryo) is then returned to the womb to grow and develop. The term “in vitro” means activity in tube, culture dish, or elsewhere outside a living organism.

Insemination occurring via sexual intercourse.

Embryos which are created outside of the body are tested for a genetic condition:

·       Pre-implantation genetic testing for an aneuploidy (l chromosomal abnormalities) – PGT-A.

·       Pre-implantation genetic testing for a monogenic (individual) disease – PGT-M.

·       Pre-implantation genetic testing for structural rearrangement for known chromosomal misarrangements such as inversion and translocation – PGT-SR.

An order which transfers legal parentage from the surrogate and the surrogate’s spouse/civil partner (if applicable) to the intended parent/s – the court name for this type of order is a C53.

In surrogacy cases, a CAFCASS officer (also called a Parental Order Reporter or POR) is appointed by the court to prepare a report to recommend whether or not a parental order should be made. The POR will meet with the intended parents and (in domestic matters) the surrogate and any spouse or civil partner to discuss the process, how the party is feeling about matters, what they intend their relationship with the child to be like in the future, etc.

All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law, a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property.

The High Court of England and Wales, which consists of three divisions: the Chancery Division, the Queen’s Bench Division and the Family Division. The RCJ is situated in London. All international surrogacy matters are listed in the RCJ, however the C51 application form for a parental order must be filed with the Central Family Court in the first instance.

The eligibility criteria by which all intended parents (where there are two applicants) must meet for a parental order to be made in their favour.

The eligibility criteria the single intended parent must meet for a parental order to be made in their favour.

An Act which includes the prohibition of commercial surrogacy arrangements in England & Wales – only reasonable expenses such as loss of earnings are permitted so that the surrogate is not in profit but is not out of pocket.

A professional who specialises in either adult or child social care. In the context of surrogacy, a CAFCASS officer/Parental Order Reporter is a social worker.

A person who carries and delivers a child for another couple or individual and has a biological connection to the child – ie the surrogate’s egg was used.

Attempts to achieve pregnancy.

The time between ovulation and a missed period indicating a pregnancy.

A procedure whereby a fertilised egg (zygote) is transferred into the fallopian tube instead of the uterus using laparoscopic surgery. This procedure uses IVF to extract the egg and the egg is mixed with the sperm in the lab before being returned to the fallopian tubes.