Consent and counselling for decisions relating to assisted reproductive technology
- Consent is an essential part of any assisted reproductive technology procedure.
- When you give consent, you are saying that you understand the risks and implications of a procedure.
- When you provide consent, you can also put limits on the process that the clinic must follow.
Consent is an essential part of any assisted reproductive technology procedure. Counselling is also part of providing effective consent and making decisions relating to assisted reproductive technology.
What is effective consent?
Consent an essential part of any assisted reproductive technology procedure. When you give consent, you are saying that you understand the risks and implications of a procedure. When you provide consent, you can also put limits on the process that the clinic must follow.
Effective consent is:
- a voluntary agreement, not obtained by coercion or deception
- by a person who is known to be able to make reasonable decisions
- applies to a specific treatment or procedure
- informed through the provision of accurate and up-to-date information
- is provided in writing.
Who needs to provide consent?
When is consent required?
Consent applies to a specific treatment or procedure. You may be asked to provide separate consents at different times during an ART process.
Consent is required before:
What information will I be given?
You need to be given information in person (or via telehealth) and in writing before you can provide consent to a procedure.
This includes:
- what happens if you provide consent
- that you can change the consent or withdraw it at any time
- accurate, objective information about treatment options and success rates
- potential risks, side effects, long term outcomes for you and any child born from a procedure
- whether a treatment is an innovative or routine practice
- limitations in current knowledge
- how your treatment data and information will be handled and the requirement for information to be submitted to the WA Department of Health Reproductive Technology Registers (external site)
- information on counselling and when counselling is optional or required
- information that posthumous use of sperm of eggs is not permitted.
Donor assisted conception
Your clinic should provide you with the following additional information during donor assisted conception:
If you are considering donating excess assisted reproductive technology (ART) embryos you must be provided with information on:
- your rights to place conditions on the use of the embryos and the right to withdraw consent at any time
- any limitations on storage time
- your right to refuse any further requests for specific use that may be made in the future.
Counselling
Counselling is part of providing effective consent and making decisions relating to assisted reproductive technology.
Counsellors are there to help you make decisions about treatment and consider the medical and social implications of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), donation and surrogacy.
You will be given the opportunity to receive counselling as part of providing consent to treatment.
Counsellors
It is important the counsellors have appropriate training and expertise in assisting participants in their decision on whether to consent to an assisted reproductive technology procedure.
Counsellors must be eligible for full membership of the Australian and New Zealand Infertility Counsellors Association (ANZICA). Counsellors are not involved with assessing suitability for treatment and cannot be one of the people who are performing a procedure. They are there to provide information and support to the participants.
Counsellors are an integral part of the clinic team; however, you can decide with your fertility provider to see a counsellor outside of the practice if preferred.
Counselling costs are included in the cost of treatment, so there’s no discount for skipping the counselling part of the process. Cost of counselling for donors is generally met by the donation recipients.
Counselling during donor assisted conception
Counselling is a mandatory part of the donation process.
If you are using a donor from interstate or overseas, your clinic still needs to confirm that the donor was able to access counselling and provide effective consent. The qualifications and role of the counsellor should be equivalent to what is required in Western Australia.
Counselling will cover:
- why the donor wishes to be involved in donor assisted conception
- potential long-term psycho-social impacts of donation and significance of biological connection for all involved parties
- the rights of donor conceived people to obtain identifying information on their donor
- the possibility that a donor conceived person may attempt to contact their donor after they reach 16 years of age.
Known donation
There are additional requirements where the donor and recipients know each other and there is a cooling off period before proceeding with the donation.
The initial counselling should include:
- at least 3 hours across 3 sessions
- the recipient and donor (plus spouses/de facto partners) being seen separately and then together.
After counselling there will be a cooling off period of 3 months prior to the donation:
- after the cooling off period, participants and donors should have contact with the counsellor to confirm if they are willing to proceed
- counsellors should also be involved if the donation does not proceed.
Where to get help
Last reviewed: 31-05-2022
Acknowledgements
Reproductive Technology Unit