I was really sorry to have to miss the recent debate organised by Progress Educational Trust on the future of the HFEA, and so was pleased to find a write up of the evening in this week's edition of Bionews. It was clearly a lively and interesting debate - it may only be a snapshot view but it's interesting that those working in fertility clinics seemed keenest to be rid of the HFEA, while those on the outside were keener for it to remain. I'd be the first to agree that streamlining and change are both necessary, but it's far too easy to focus on the negatives and to forget all of the good work that the HFEA has done and continues to do.
One of the speakers apparently claimed that people were travelling overseas for treatment because of over-regulation by the HFEA in the UK. Having spoken to many people who've opted to have treatment abroad, I can't remember hearing one of them mention "over-regulation" as an issue - excessive costs and waiting lists were more likely to come up as reasons for having treatment abroad, as well as higher success rates in some other places and being treated as an equal by consultants.
Sadly the one thing that wasn't mentioned in the reporting of the evening was patient information, and I don't know whether this cropped up at all. For most fertility patients, information provision is one of the most important functions of the HFEA. It's the publication of success rates, the reliable information about new treatments and the calm response to fertility scare stories that is so vital - and yet it seems to be the one thing that most of the experts discussing this seem to entirely overlook.
Showing posts with label IVF success rates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IVF success rates. Show all posts
Monday, 24 September 2012
Thursday, 9 February 2012
When success rates aren't all they seem...
In the UK, the HFEA doesn't just regulate fertility clinics, but also provides patients with accurate information about treatments and about IVF success rates. We often take this for granted, but a story I've just been reading about fertility clinics in Canada may make you realise quite how fortunate we are to know that the success rates produced by the HFEA have been checked and clinics monitored.
It seems that in Canada, success rates are produced by an organisation which is run by the clinics themselves, and the clinics submit their own data with no checking or monitoring. Apparently this has led to a situation where clinics only submit the figures they choose to post - and where eight individual clinics are all claiming to be at the top of the league tables.
Given the current uncertainty about the future of the HFEA, this illustrates quite how important a role the authority plays in providing patients with accurate information about clinics.
You can read more about the story here
It seems that in Canada, success rates are produced by an organisation which is run by the clinics themselves, and the clinics submit their own data with no checking or monitoring. Apparently this has led to a situation where clinics only submit the figures they choose to post - and where eight individual clinics are all claiming to be at the top of the league tables.
Given the current uncertainty about the future of the HFEA, this illustrates quite how important a role the authority plays in providing patients with accurate information about clinics.
You can read more about the story here
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Positive new research on DHEA
It's a subject that has come up at lot recently at the fertility support groups I visit - the use of DHEA to improve the chances of IVF success for women who have a low ovarian reserve.
DHEA is an anti-ageing vitamin supplement and women in the UK have been buying it online - and reporting that their response during IVF treatment has been much improved. It's quite a hot topic amongst the couples at the groups, and more and more have been using it recently.
Now, scientists in Israel have looked more closely at the effects of the supplement - and they found that women who took it were three times more likely to get pregnant than those who didn't. Apparently, the women who'd taken DHEA were also more likely to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
It isn't clear exactly what DHEA does to women to make them more fertile, and many consultants in the UK are reluctant to recommend it without larger scale trials - however, if you've got a low ovarian reserve and are having IVF, it's definitely worth looking into.
There's more detail on the research, which has been published in Human Reproduction, here
DHEA is an anti-ageing vitamin supplement and women in the UK have been buying it online - and reporting that their response during IVF treatment has been much improved. It's quite a hot topic amongst the couples at the groups, and more and more have been using it recently.
Now, scientists in Israel have looked more closely at the effects of the supplement - and they found that women who took it were three times more likely to get pregnant than those who didn't. Apparently, the women who'd taken DHEA were also more likely to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
It isn't clear exactly what DHEA does to women to make them more fertile, and many consultants in the UK are reluctant to recommend it without larger scale trials - however, if you've got a low ovarian reserve and are having IVF, it's definitely worth looking into.
There's more detail on the research, which has been published in Human Reproduction, here
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Newspaper claims sex may become redundant
So, sex to make babies may become redundant in the future, according to the Daily Mail. I do love these stories. I remember a similar one some years back which claimed that career couples were turning to IVF because they were too busy to have sex!
This story is based on claims that IVF will become so successful in the future, that sex will appear "inefficient" in comparison so over 30s will all be choosing assisted conception if they want babies. It paints a picture of a scarily sci-fi Brave New World.
Of course, it's wonderful that scientists are predicting that IVF will have a near 100 per cent success rate in the not too distant future, but I still can't see anyone choosing it if they don't have to - however much more efficient it may be at baby making than sex. Anyone who had any personal experience of the daily injections, the scans, the blood tests, the visits to the clinic, of egg collection under sedation and embryo transfer, of the traumatic highs and lows and the lack of dignity of it all would know that it efficiency may not be everything. Have a look at the Daily Mail article yourself and see what you think!
This story is based on claims that IVF will become so successful in the future, that sex will appear "inefficient" in comparison so over 30s will all be choosing assisted conception if they want babies. It paints a picture of a scarily sci-fi Brave New World.
Of course, it's wonderful that scientists are predicting that IVF will have a near 100 per cent success rate in the not too distant future, but I still can't see anyone choosing it if they don't have to - however much more efficient it may be at baby making than sex. Anyone who had any personal experience of the daily injections, the scans, the blood tests, the visits to the clinic, of egg collection under sedation and embryo transfer, of the traumatic highs and lows and the lack of dignity of it all would know that it efficiency may not be everything. Have a look at the Daily Mail article yourself and see what you think!
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Rocking embryos!
Well, this is a weird one - scientists have discovered that if you rock embryos gently during the IVF process, pregnancy rates improve. So far, the experiments have only been done on mice, but the results are promising.
When embryos are fertilised in the body in the normal way, they move all the time for the first day or two as they go down the fallopian tube and into the womb where they implant. During IVF, the eggs are left in a dish in an incubator and don't move at all. So, the team at the University of Michigan invented a device to gently rock embryos during IVF, and it increased pregnancy rates by 22% in mice. They believe it worked because the embryos that were gently rocked felt more at home. Trials in humans have now begun.
You can find out more about it at www.ns.umich.edu
When embryos are fertilised in the body in the normal way, they move all the time for the first day or two as they go down the fallopian tube and into the womb where they implant. During IVF, the eggs are left in a dish in an incubator and don't move at all. So, the team at the University of Michigan invented a device to gently rock embryos during IVF, and it increased pregnancy rates by 22% in mice. They believe it worked because the embryos that were gently rocked felt more at home. Trials in humans have now begun.
You can find out more about it at www.ns.umich.edu
Sunday, 20 April 2008
New IVF technique
I've just been reading about a "new technique" for IVF, which researchers claim could double IVF success rates if recent trials using mice can be replicated in humans.
The trials have been carried out at the University of Adelaide, and the researchers have been given a grant to carry out further investigations. The new method involves putting just one embryo back in the womb, and it is hoped that the increased success rates would lead to more patients opting for single embryo transfer which would cut out the risks associated with multiple births for both mothers and babies.
Despite reading a number of reports on the subject, I'm still no clearer as to what this "new technique" might involve, or how it could double the IVF birth rate, but if you want to read more, you can see an Australian news report here
The trials have been carried out at the University of Adelaide, and the researchers have been given a grant to carry out further investigations. The new method involves putting just one embryo back in the womb, and it is hoped that the increased success rates would lead to more patients opting for single embryo transfer which would cut out the risks associated with multiple births for both mothers and babies.
Despite reading a number of reports on the subject, I'm still no clearer as to what this "new technique" might involve, or how it could double the IVF birth rate, but if you want to read more, you can see an Australian news report here
Friday, 7 December 2007
Latest IVF figures
New figures out today show that more people in the UK are having IVF, and that there has been a small increase in success rates.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority figures are always rather out of date by the time they are published, and these relate to 2005, but they show success rates had risen by 0.9% to 21.6 overall. For younger women, the increase was slightly better, with success rates for women under 35 rising from 28.1% to 29.6%. Meanwhile the number of patients having IVF has risen by six percent.
At the same time, the HFEA released the success rates for each individual clinic in the UK, but this year the Authority made a point of warning patients that the league tables should not be used in isolation as the only way to select a clinic. Not all clinics offer all treatments, and some have better success rates than others for women of different ages. The proximity of a clinic to home should also be taken into consideration. For more advice on how to choose a clinic, you may want to see my November posting on the subject. You can read more detail about all the latest HFEA figures here
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority figures are always rather out of date by the time they are published, and these relate to 2005, but they show success rates had risen by 0.9% to 21.6 overall. For younger women, the increase was slightly better, with success rates for women under 35 rising from 28.1% to 29.6%. Meanwhile the number of patients having IVF has risen by six percent.
At the same time, the HFEA released the success rates for each individual clinic in the UK, but this year the Authority made a point of warning patients that the league tables should not be used in isolation as the only way to select a clinic. Not all clinics offer all treatments, and some have better success rates than others for women of different ages. The proximity of a clinic to home should also be taken into consideration. For more advice on how to choose a clinic, you may want to see my November posting on the subject. You can read more detail about all the latest HFEA figures here
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