MONDAY, 13 APRIL 2026

Egg and sperm donor campaign launched by NHS Tayside

NHS Tayside has launched a campaign to recruit egg and sperm donors to help people achieve their dreams of having a child.

More than 200 people in Scotland currently need an egg or sperm donor. In Tayside, there are around 50 couples on the waiting list, desperate for their treatment to begin.

The Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) at Ninewells Hospital opened in 1983 and was the first place in Scotland to offer IVF to couples struggling to conceive. Ninewells was also the first unit in Scotland to offer NHS-funded IVF treatment. It treats people from Tayside, Fife, Forth Valley and the Western Isles.

The waiting time for treatment using donor eggs and sperm is determined by the number of available donors. After successful donor recruitment in 2024 and 2025, ACU Ninewells waiting lists were reduced from around three years to 12 months. However, couples are likely to now wait longer for NHS donor fertility treatment because there are not enough donors to meet demand.

Launching the campaign, the ACU is advertising on and inside buses and hosting an information stand in the Overgate Centre where staff will be on hand to answer questions from the public.

Sara Beveridge, Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist for Fertility Preservation and Donor Co-ordinator, said, “Donating eggs or sperm is something that requires careful consideration, but if it’s right for you then you have the potential to give the joy of starting a family to those who need help becoming parents.

“This campaign aims to get people talking about the issue of infertility and, even if you can’t be a donor yourself, we hope that it will prompt conversations that help spread awareness to those who are eligible and willing to seek more information.

“Year after year, we see first-hand the impact of infertility on our patients, but we also see the joy when their dreams of having a child are realised. You could potentially be the missing piece in someone’s jigsaw.”

Of those who contact the ACU considering donating their eggs or sperm, only around 10% successfully complete the process. This may be because they don't meet the eligibility requirements, there may be something in their own or their family medical history which prevents them from donating, their sperm quality or hormone levels may not meet the required parameters for donation, or they may change their mind when they discover what is involved. In Scotland, donating eggs and sperm is a truly altruistic act, which requires both time and commitment.

Changes to UK law in 2005 removed the anonymity of donors - now donor-conceived people from the age of 18 can access identifying information which would allow them to make contact with their donor or donor-conceived siblings.

Sara added, “We don't think this has reduced the numbers of potential donors contacting us, but it is a requirement that all donors complete implications counselling, so they are fully aware that people conceived using their eggs or sperm will be able to find out who they are and may choose to reach out later in life.”

Natasha and Callum Ferguson, from Rosyth, are on the waiting list for an egg donor after Natasha was diagnosed with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI).

The couple’s journey has been a difficult one, full of hope mixed with devastating grief. Following an earlier success with a donor, Natasha fell pregnant. Sadly, their baby girl, Maeve, developed without kidneys and passed away shortly after birth.

Natasha (33) said, “When we saw the positive pregnancy test, we were so excited and phoned the unit. We had a scan at 13 weeks and there were concerns that she might need surgery when she was born.

“At 16 weeks, they said it looked as though she hadn’t developed kidneys. We were advised at that time to terminate the pregnancy. But we said, ‘the little one isn’t giving up, so neither are we’.

“We got weekly scans and at 19 weeks it was confirmed she didn’t have kidneys. They said there was nothing that could be done and they planned for her delivery.

“I was induced and Maeve was born alive five days later. We got a birth certificate and a death certificate, which helped us a lot... it felt like she was a real person. We held a funeral but got two days to spend with her when we got lovely mementos like hand and footprints, digital photographs, printed photo albums and a baby box. The unit at Kirkcaldy was fantastic and the bereavement nurse still checks in on us.”

Natasha and Callum backed the NHS Tayside campaign, eager to tell their story to help boost donor numbers.

Natasha said, “We’ve spent the last five or six years on a waiting list. We’re desperate for the call. We just want a donor and will do anything to raise awareness. People always say they didn’t know there was a shortage or that they could be a donor.

“To any potential donors, thank you for even looking into it. It’s not easy but it’s a hugely selfless act that can help a couple become a family, which is just amazing. You’re not just giving a couple a child, you’re giving someone a grandchild, someone a cousin… there’s so many people an amazing gift like this can impact.”

Natasha said, “We would love her to know that the donation was successful but it’s just that Maeve was really poorly. We still have Maeve’s pram on order; we just keep putting the delivery back. We really want a little person to go into it now... a sibling for Maeve. We’re not ready to give up on finding an egg donor yet.”

If you would like to find out more about becoming an egg or sperm donor, go to www.acudundee.org or contact TAY.acudonor@nhs.scot 

Contact:

Lee Harrow

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740719