Ireland ‘risks custody cases over babies born from donations’

IRELAND risks a landmark custody battle involving babies born to couples who participated in an egg or sperm donation programme because the legal status of such children is unclear, a fertility expert warned yesterday.

Clinical director of the Cork Fertility Centre, Dr John Waterstone, said legislation underpinning the rights and duties of parents whose children resulted from donations must be introduced urgently.

In many cases, such parents were going abroad for infertility treatment and having the babies in Ireland.