(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations provide that where a person who has provided gametes becomes infertile, or is likely to, the gametes may (in the circumstances laid down in the Regulations) be stored for a period longer than the period of 10 years for which gametes may ordinarily be stored. The storage period can be extended in this way only if the person who provided the gametes was aged under 45 at the time.
Gametes stored for an extended period in accordance with these Regulations may not be used for providing treatment services except to the person who provided them, or that person and another together.
The usual 10-year maximum storage period is laid down by section 14(3) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The extended period is specified in the Schedule to the Regulations and depends upon how old the person was when the gametes were provided.