An overwhelming majority of infertility patients in the UK said they would contemplate travelling abroad for fertility treatment, according to the first comprehensive study on the strength and motivations behind the fertility tourism industry. Among the 339 infertile patients who responded to an online poll conducted by Infertility Network UK, 76 per cent stated they would be willing to seek fertility treatment outside the UK with 70 per cent citing their reasons would be to avoid higher costs and long wait-lists at UK clinics. Infertility Network UK performed the survey for this year’s National Infertility Day on Saturday, 19 July 2008, when it announced its findings at a conference in central London.
Other popular reasons provided by the patients for why they might prefer to receive fertility treatment abroad were high success rates (61 per cent) and the greater availability of donor eggs and sperm (54 per cent). The UK has suffered a decline in the number of egg and sperm donors since removing donor anonymity by law in 2005. The 24 per cent opposed to treatment in overseas clinics were commonly concerned about lower standards, lack of regulation and language-barrier difficulties.
Clare Brown, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK, blames the current ‘appalling’ difficulties - such as ‘postcode lottery’ arbitrary provision - that infertile couples face in Britain in order to access fertility assistance: ‘If the NHS funded three full cycles of treatment as recommended by NICE, many couples would not be forced to consider going abroad for treatment’, she said. She warned that regulations can be totally different for foreign fertility clinics and it is ‘absolutely vital’ for individuals to do ‘thorough research beforehand’.
Yet the study revealed an 88 per cent level of satisfaction from those who received treatment abroad, reportedly not only due to lower costs, shorter waiting-lists and successful pregnancy rates but also due to general staff attitude, atmosphere and state of the facilities. Clare Brown added that she hopes ‘that clinics in the UK take into account the findings of this survey and learn from the good experiences many couples have had at clinics abroad’.
Among those who were dissatisfied, 47 per cent experienced problems due to language and communication difficulties and 37 per cent due to unregulated practice. Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated, ‘The Government is working directly with Infertility Network UK, as well as experts in the NHS to ensure the needs of people with fertility problems are recognised and addressed’.
This Friday, 25 July, marks the birthday of Louise Brown, who was the world’s first IVF-conceived child born in England. Thirty years onward, roughly 3.5 million IVF-assisted babies have been born worldwide, averaging at least 200,000 annually. However, infertile individuals in the UK are among the least likely in the developed world to receive IVF with one of the lowest annual IVF performance rates in Europe - under 700 per million Britons. In 2005 just 1.6 per cent of total births were assisted pregnancies compared with rates of 3-3.5 per cent in Scandinavia.
A special-focus Economist article attributed the low statistics to the lack of public funding available and the low-priority ascribed to infertility as a medical condition in the UK. Only nine out of the 152 local primary-care trusts provide the three recommended IVF cycles. In 2005, two-thirds of the IVF cycles performed in Britain were privately funded.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Increased Fertility Problems For Men Over 40
Scientists have found further evidence to suggest that, like women, fertility drops in men as they age, heard delegates at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. The research, led by Dr Stephanie Belloc of the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction in Paris, France, said that the results - the first to show such a strong paternal effect on pregnancy and miscarriage rates - will have important implications for couples wanting to start a family.
'I think it's important to consider not only the woman, but both members of the couple in natural conception but also in assisted reproduction', Belloc told the Times, adding: 'We believe that the use of IVF should be suggested to infertile patients where either party is over 35 years of age'.
The researchers recorded rates of pregnancy, miscarriage and birth in 12,000 couples undergoing fertility treatment in the form of intrauterine inseminations (IUI), where sperm is injected into the woman's uterus while she is ovulating. They also examined the quality and quantity of the sperm, including their ability to swim, size and shape.
The results showed that, independent of the woman's age, the chances of miscarriage rose from 16.7 per cent if the man was 30-35 years old, to 32.5 per cent if he was over 40. Although the impact of the female 'biological clock' on fertility has been widely studied, this is the first time that such a strong paternal effect on reproductive outcome has been shown, said Belloc. 'Some recent studies have established a relationship between the results of IUI and DNA damage, which is also correlated with is also correlated with a man's age, suggesting that it might be an important factor, but until now there was no clinical proof', she said.
'I think it's important to consider not only the woman, but both members of the couple in natural conception but also in assisted reproduction', Belloc told the Times, adding: 'We believe that the use of IVF should be suggested to infertile patients where either party is over 35 years of age'.
The researchers recorded rates of pregnancy, miscarriage and birth in 12,000 couples undergoing fertility treatment in the form of intrauterine inseminations (IUI), where sperm is injected into the woman's uterus while she is ovulating. They also examined the quality and quantity of the sperm, including their ability to swim, size and shape.
The results showed that, independent of the woman's age, the chances of miscarriage rose from 16.7 per cent if the man was 30-35 years old, to 32.5 per cent if he was over 40. Although the impact of the female 'biological clock' on fertility has been widely studied, this is the first time that such a strong paternal effect on reproductive outcome has been shown, said Belloc. 'Some recent studies have established a relationship between the results of IUI and DNA damage, which is also correlated with is also correlated with a man's age, suggesting that it might be an important factor, but until now there was no clinical proof', she said.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Rs 9000 IVF in African Countries
Plans for an affordable and universally accessible IVF programme, which will be rolled out to tackle infertility in developing countries, were announced at a press conference at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting today. Dr Willem Ombelet, who heads up the ESHRE special task force on ‘Infertility and Developing Countries’, said that the scheme, now being piloted in Khartoum and Cape Town (and shortly in Arusha, Tanzania), aims to provide one IVF cycle for less than $200.
The UN Population Division estimates that 186 million women of reproductive age in developing countries (excluding China) are infertile, with more than 30 per cent in many African countries unable to conceive a second child. Without feasible treatment options, many of these woman become subject to the social and cultural realities of these countries, facing disinheritance, ostracisation, accusations of witchcraft, abuse by local healers, separation from their spouse or abandonment to a second-class life in a polygamous marriage, highlighted Professor Oluwole Akande, from University Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria.
While a single IVF cycle in Europe or the USA can cost anything from $5000 - $10,000, the new scheme will cut costs by simplifying procedures and customising services to ensure that patients are only given the minimum level of treatment that they need for their particular condition, said Professor Gianaroli, from the SISMER Reproductive Medicine Unit in Italy. ‘We will not be able to treat every type of infertility, but many women with tubal damage as a result of infection can be helped’, he told the press, highlighting that tubal damage resulting from disease or substandard abortions are thought to be a primary cause of infertility in developing countries.
Ombelet emphasised the need to educate the public about infertility and create an infrastructure capable of delivering the service effectively. ‘A universally accessible treatment service is impossible in most developing countries,’ he acknowledged. ‘ But a start can be made by integrating low cost treatments into existing family health services, where opportunities exist for contraception, health education, maternity and childcare, prevention and treatment of STDs and HIV. We have to make a start, and this is how we’re doing it,’ he said.
The full proceedings of an expert meeting on these issues, held in December 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania, is published this month by the journal Human Reproduction.
The UN Population Division estimates that 186 million women of reproductive age in developing countries (excluding China) are infertile, with more than 30 per cent in many African countries unable to conceive a second child. Without feasible treatment options, many of these woman become subject to the social and cultural realities of these countries, facing disinheritance, ostracisation, accusations of witchcraft, abuse by local healers, separation from their spouse or abandonment to a second-class life in a polygamous marriage, highlighted Professor Oluwole Akande, from University Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria.
While a single IVF cycle in Europe or the USA can cost anything from $5000 - $10,000, the new scheme will cut costs by simplifying procedures and customising services to ensure that patients are only given the minimum level of treatment that they need for their particular condition, said Professor Gianaroli, from the SISMER Reproductive Medicine Unit in Italy. ‘We will not be able to treat every type of infertility, but many women with tubal damage as a result of infection can be helped’, he told the press, highlighting that tubal damage resulting from disease or substandard abortions are thought to be a primary cause of infertility in developing countries.
Ombelet emphasised the need to educate the public about infertility and create an infrastructure capable of delivering the service effectively. ‘A universally accessible treatment service is impossible in most developing countries,’ he acknowledged. ‘ But a start can be made by integrating low cost treatments into existing family health services, where opportunities exist for contraception, health education, maternity and childcare, prevention and treatment of STDs and HIV. We have to make a start, and this is how we’re doing it,’ he said.
The full proceedings of an expert meeting on these issues, held in December 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania, is published this month by the journal Human Reproduction.
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