Parliament is progressing legislation to clarify how long embryos, sperm and eggs can be stored before they have to be destroyed.
A 2004 law change in 2004 made it illegal to keep embryos and gametes intended for in-vitro fertilisation for more than 10 years.
Justice Minister Simon Power says IVF has been available since the 1980s, so there are some specimens that have been held for longer.
The proposed new law would mean the clock starts ticking from 2004, at the earliest.
