Web sperm sites crackdown planned

Proposals to regulate internet sites trading in human sperm and eggs are set to be unveiled this week by ministers.

The plans are part of a wider consultation on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFEA) 1990.

Websites currently fall outside existing regulation, and so do not have to comply with the same safety and quality procedures as clinics.

The head of one of the sites said he would welcome it being accredited.

Clinics which carry out IVF treatment are monitored by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

But there is no such control for websites which deliver sperm and kits for insemination at home, or which match egg donors and surrogate mothers.

Because the companies operate databases, rather than actual clinics, they do not come within reach of the HFEA.--