This article is informational and educational only. It does not constitute legal or medical advice. The rules around storage consent are detailed, they change, and individual circumstances differ. For anything affecting your own embryos, speak to your clinic and, where appropriate, a legal adviser.
What Storage Consent Actually Is
When your embryos are frozen and stored, you give written consent for that storage. It is a separate thing from the consent you give for treatment. Storage consent is permission for the clinic to keep your embryos, and it sets out what should happen to them in different situations, including how long you want them kept.
Most patients sign this consent during their IVF cycle and then, understandably, do not think about it again. Life moves on. The embryos sit safely in storage. The paperwork fades into the background. The trouble is that storage consent is not a one-time, permanent arrangement. It has a shelf life, and it needs attention from time to time.
The Time Limits on Storage
Under current UK rules, eggs, sperm and embryos can be stored for up to 55 years. That is a long horizon, and it is more generous than the old limits many patients remember. But that maximum comes with a condition. Consent has to be renewed at set intervals along the way, generally every ten years, for storage to continue lawfully.
In other words, the 55 years is not automatic. It depends on consent being kept current. According to the general regulatory framework, the clinic is expected to contact you when a renewal is due. That contact is the prompt to confirm you still want your embryos stored and to sign the relevant form.
Storage of up to 55 years is possible, but it depends on consent being renewed at the required intervals. Renewal is the mechanism that keeps your storage valid. Missing it is where problems begin.
What Happens If Consent Expires
This is the part that worries people, and it is right to take it seriously. If storage consent lapses, a clinic may be required to stop storing the embryos. In some past cases, lapsed consent has led to embryos being allowed to perish. That is the outcome everyone wants to avoid, and it is why the renewal step matters so much.
It is worth saying clearly that the law in this area has been tested recently and is not as rigid as it once appeared. UK courts have looked at cases where consent lapsed through error, and have in a number of those cases allowed the embryos to be preserved rather than destroyed. The courts have recognised that an expired date on a form is not always a fair reason to end the possibility of parenthood. That is reassuring, but it is not a reason to be relaxed. Reaching that point means legal proceedings, stress and uncertainty. Keeping consent current avoids all of it.
Contact your clinic immediately and ask them to confirm your storage status in writing. If there is a problem, ask what can be done to put it right. Because recent cases show the area is complex, prompt clinical and, where needed, legal advice is strongly recommended.
Why Consent Lapses in the First Place
It is rarely carelessness. The most common reason consent lapses is simply that the patient never received, or never registered, the renewal request. People move house. Email addresses change. Clinics merge, close or change their record systems. A letter sent to an old address is a letter never read.
There was also a great deal of confusion during the pandemic years, when storage rules were changing and ordinary clinic contact was disrupted. Some patients did not understand that a renewal was needed at all. Others assumed their consent was open-ended. The result was a cluster of cases where consent lapsed not through any real decision, but through a gap in communication.
The lesson for patients is straightforward. Do not assume no news means everything is fine. Silence from a clinic is not confirmation that your consent is current.
How to Check Where You Stand
You do not need to wait for the clinic to contact you. You can check at any time, and it is sensible to do so if it has been a few years since you last heard anything. Contact your storage clinic and ask three direct questions. Is my storage consent currently valid? When is my next renewal due? Are my contact details up to date on your records?
Ask for the answers in writing. A short email confirming your status gives you a record and removes the doubt. If the clinic cannot answer quickly, that is itself a useful signal that you should keep following up.
Renewing Your Consent
Renewal itself is usually simple. The clinic provides a consent form, you complete it, and your storage continues. It is the kind of administrative step that takes minutes once you have the form in front of you. The difficulty is almost never the form. It is making sure the request reaches you and that you act on it.
The single most effective thing you can do is keep your contact details current with the clinic and treat any renewal request as time-sensitive. If you are moving house, tell your clinic the same way you would tell your bank. It is exactly that important.
Keeping Your Embryos Protected When You Move Them
If you decide to move your embryos to another clinic, whether for treatment, to be closer to home, or because your current clinic is closing, your storage consent needs to be current for that transfer to go ahead. This is where consent and transport meet. A lapsed consent usually has to be resolved before embryos can be released.
Once consent is in order, the move itself is straightforward. A specialist courier transfers your embryos in a cryogenic dry shipper at minus 196 degrees, with the documentation arranged between both clinics and a dual-witness check at each end. The embryos stay frozen throughout and travel in the cabin with the courier, never in cargo. We coordinate the timing so that the consent position is confirmed before anything is booked.
Set yourself a reminder to check your storage consent every couple of years, the same way you might review insurance or a will. A two-minute email to your clinic is a small price for the certainty that your embryos remain properly stored.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can embryos be stored in the UK?
Under current rules, up to 55 years, provided consent to storage is renewed at the required intervals, generally every ten years. The clinic is expected to contact you when renewal is due. Because circumstances and clinic policies vary, it is strongly recommended to confirm the exact position with your own clinic.
What happens if my embryo storage consent expires?
A clinic may be required to stop storing the embryos, and in some past cases lapsed consent has led to them being allowed to perish. Recent UK court decisions have allowed embryos to be preserved in a number of cases where consent lapsed through error, but reaching that point involves legal proceedings. If you think your consent may have lapsed, contact your clinic immediately.
How do I renew my embryo storage consent?
Usually by completing a consent form provided by your clinic. The clinic typically contacts you when renewal is due, but do not rely on that alone. Keep your contact details current and ask the clinic directly when your next renewal falls.
Can I move my embryos to another clinic if my consent is up to date?
Yes. With current consent, embryos can be transferred to another clinic in the UK or abroad. A specialist courier moves them in a cryogenic dry shipper at minus 196 degrees, with documentation arranged between both clinics. If consent has lapsed, that generally needs to be resolved first.
Embryo Links coordinates embryo transfers across the UK and internationally, working with both clinics to confirm the paperwork is in order before collection. Talk to us about your situation and we will tell you exactly what is involved.
Chat on WhatsAppLast reviewed: 17 July 2026.