Thousands of embryos, sperm and eggs frozen in New Zealand will be discarded in November as the legal limit for their storage expires.
Institutions that don’t comply will face a $20,000 fine.
A time limit was set by legislators 10 years ago.
From November 21, institutions like fertility clinics will not be able to keep frozen sperm, embryos, eggs and testicular tissue if they have stored them beyond 10 years.
Dozens of fertility clinic customers who have such material in storage have not been able to be contacted to date.
Anyone wanting an extension would need to apply to the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ECART) and their application would be considered on a case by case basis.
The United Kingdom has a five year legal storage period.