If you're interested in the ethics of IVF, the HFEA is holding an Ethics and Law horizon scanning seminar in central London on the 24 February 2010. There will be an opportunity to meet members of the HFEA's Ethics and Law Advisory Committee at this event.
There will be sessions with speakers in the morning, looking at the ethical, policy and regulatory issues around fertility treatment abroad, followed by workshops.
There are limited places available, but you can register by email - event@hfea.gov.uk - or find out more by visiting www.hfea.gov.uk
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
infertility books
If you're looking for a book about any aspect of infertility, do check out this - link to the best online source of fertility books. It has the widest range of books available, and you should be able to find a book on pretty much anything you might be looking for - assuming it has been written, of course!
Fertility drugs for sale online
I've just come across some online posts where people are selling IVF drugs that they haven't used, or have left over from a treatment cycle. Fertility drugs can be incredibly expensive, and it may be tempting to get them for what can appear to be a knock-down price - what's the harm, you may think, in buying something someone else hasn't been able to use? Surely everyone benefits - you get cheap drugs, they get some of their money back.
In fact, this really isn't a good idea. Even if you're confident the drugs are what they say they are, and that they aren't past their use-by date, there's still the issue of where they've been. Many drugs have to be stored at certain temperatures in order to work properly, and when you buy them new from a reputable pharmacy, you can be confident that they've been looked after.
Going through an IVF cycle involves a huge emotional and often financial investment so do make sure you check out the prices from reputable pharmacies as some will charge less than others, but don't take a risk buying left-over drugs from someone you don't know...
In fact, this really isn't a good idea. Even if you're confident the drugs are what they say they are, and that they aren't past their use-by date, there's still the issue of where they've been. Many drugs have to be stored at certain temperatures in order to work properly, and when you buy them new from a reputable pharmacy, you can be confident that they've been looked after.
Going through an IVF cycle involves a huge emotional and often financial investment so do make sure you check out the prices from reputable pharmacies as some will charge less than others, but don't take a risk buying left-over drugs from someone you don't know...
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
RCN calling for better IVF funding
It's great to see that the Royal College of Nursing has come out to call for better access to IVF funding. Although infertility affects one in six of us, 70% of trusts are still not offering the three full cycles of treatment recommended.
In a policy briefing paper, the RCN also calls for an end to the access criteria some trusts have invented in order to ration treatment. There are clear guidelines on who should qualify, but some trusts have chosen to ignore these and to invent their own rules instead. The paper also says that nurses should use their knowledge of the huge psychological impact of infertility to help commissioners understand what is involved. There is far too little awareness of the way infertility affects the well-being of those who can't conceive, and if nurses were able to help commissioners to have a proper understanding of this, it would make a huge difference.
The briefing paper also makes the point that providing three full cycles of IVF funded by the NHS would reduce the temptation to go for multiple embryo transfers which can have health implications for mothers and babies. This would not only lead to a safer system, but would also save NHS funds.
You can see the RCN press release at www.rcn.org
In a policy briefing paper, the RCN also calls for an end to the access criteria some trusts have invented in order to ration treatment. There are clear guidelines on who should qualify, but some trusts have chosen to ignore these and to invent their own rules instead. The paper also says that nurses should use their knowledge of the huge psychological impact of infertility to help commissioners understand what is involved. There is far too little awareness of the way infertility affects the well-being of those who can't conceive, and if nurses were able to help commissioners to have a proper understanding of this, it would make a huge difference.
The briefing paper also makes the point that providing three full cycles of IVF funded by the NHS would reduce the temptation to go for multiple embryo transfers which can have health implications for mothers and babies. This would not only lead to a safer system, but would also save NHS funds.
You can see the RCN press release at www.rcn.org
Monday, 14 December 2009
Christmas
It's the most difficult time of year when you're trying unsuccessfully to get conceive. It brings back memories of your own childhood - the smell of the tree, the rustle of the stocking at the end of the bed when you wake up in the morning - and the regret that you aren't able to recreate that for someone else. The things that everyone else loves about Christmas are the things that can make you feel so sad and isolated.
Perhaps the solution is to try to do something totally different at Christmas - go away for a few days or break the conventions and spend Christmas Day out on a long country walk or a cycle ride. Don't feel obliged to get involved in other people's celebrations just because you think you ought to. Take some time to think about what you'd really like to do - and that way you will find that you can enjoy Christmas too.
Perhaps the solution is to try to do something totally different at Christmas - go away for a few days or break the conventions and spend Christmas Day out on a long country walk or a cycle ride. Don't feel obliged to get involved in other people's celebrations just because you think you ought to. Take some time to think about what you'd really like to do - and that way you will find that you can enjoy Christmas too.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Payment for egg donors
There's an interesting piece on the BBC News website about payment for egg donors which is being discussed by the HFEA. It's an issue that always causes controversy, raising fears about creating a market for the sale of body parts.
Donating eggs is a time-consuming and invasive business, a million miles away from donating sperm. There are shortages of altruistic donors, and many women now donate as part of egg-sharing schemes, where they get free or cheap fertility treatment in exchange for some of their eggs. This could be considered to be unethical, as sometimes these women are making the choice to donate eggs because it is the only way for them to ever have a child.
No one would want to see a situation where women are donating eggs purely to make money, but at the same time it is only fair that those who go through the process of egg donation are justly recompensed. We must also remember that eggs are not like other body parts as they are produced regularly.
Can payment ever be right? Will it encourage women who wouldn't ever choose to donate eggs voluntarily to do so for money? Is there an effective way of monitoring the system? What do you think?
Donating eggs is a time-consuming and invasive business, a million miles away from donating sperm. There are shortages of altruistic donors, and many women now donate as part of egg-sharing schemes, where they get free or cheap fertility treatment in exchange for some of their eggs. This could be considered to be unethical, as sometimes these women are making the choice to donate eggs because it is the only way for them to ever have a child.
No one would want to see a situation where women are donating eggs purely to make money, but at the same time it is only fair that those who go through the process of egg donation are justly recompensed. We must also remember that eggs are not like other body parts as they are produced regularly.
Can payment ever be right? Will it encourage women who wouldn't ever choose to donate eggs voluntarily to do so for money? Is there an effective way of monitoring the system? What do you think?
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
What is infertility?
Well if you weren't sure, the World Health Organisation has now come up with the latest definition - apparently infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected intercourse.
Yes, I know it doesn't sound particularly interesting, but actually it may be very helpful. The idea that treating infertility is a lifestyle choice rather than a medical one is often used by people who don't agree with IVF or with NHS-funded treatment. Now we know that no less an authority that the WHO has declared that this argument doesn't hold water, as it defines infertility as a "disease".
It is also helpful to know that anyone who has been trying for a baby for more than a year without success should be taken seriously - all too often couples are fobbed off by doctors who tell them that they need to keep trying for a bit longer before it is worth doing any tests or considering any treatment. We now know that the WHO considers a year to be quite long enough.
The definition is part of a glossary of terms used in reproductive medicine that the WHO has produced - find out more here
Yes, I know it doesn't sound particularly interesting, but actually it may be very helpful. The idea that treating infertility is a lifestyle choice rather than a medical one is often used by people who don't agree with IVF or with NHS-funded treatment. Now we know that no less an authority that the WHO has declared that this argument doesn't hold water, as it defines infertility as a "disease".
It is also helpful to know that anyone who has been trying for a baby for more than a year without success should be taken seriously - all too often couples are fobbed off by doctors who tell them that they need to keep trying for a bit longer before it is worth doing any tests or considering any treatment. We now know that the WHO considers a year to be quite long enough.
The definition is part of a glossary of terms used in reproductive medicine that the WHO has produced - find out more here
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