Are couples being conned into IVF fertility treatment?

Fertility pioneer ROBERT WINSTON delivers a devastating attack that will send shockwaves through the health service
• Professor Robert Winston has worked in fertility for 40 years
• Says many couples are being exploited by a grasping, unethical industry
• He believes that the government and NHS are not doing enough to help
Babies are noisy, deprive you of sleep, destroy free time and are extremely expensive. Yet we feel like melting when we see them: their wide, gummy smiles, the adorable way they curl their tiny fingers around your thumb. This is not rational - it's in our genes. The urge to reproduce is burnt into human consciousness. It is innate, instinctual, essentially programmed through evolution.
But what if you are infertile? I have spent nearly 40 years talking and listening to people devastated by their lack of offspring, believing they are not 'proper' women or not 'proper' men. We have made considerable strides in fertility treatment. But the sad fact is that more and more infertile couples are being exploited by an increasingly grasping industry that frequently ignores ethical standards. And neither the Government nor the NHS are doing nearly enough to help.
It is not only some doctors who are responsible. Many commercial practices, run by people who have little or no professional training, are offering homespun treatments that simply do not work.
As a doctor who has been so closely involved with fertility treatment, I deeply regret that in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has become so commercial. I had thought practitioners would be sensitive enough to realise that they were dealing with people at their most fragile.
Such is my anger that I felt compelled to write a book. It will no doubt be very unpopular with some of my colleagues because it is critical of so much medical practice. But my aim is purely to help people to ask their doctors the right questions and to understand the treatment they are offered.
I am proud that Britain led the way in pioneering IVF. But it has become immensely profitable - and the truth about its success rates is frequently hidden. Each IVF treatment is, on average, only successful in under one-third of cases. Of course, it can be repeated - at great cost, often with much anxiety. But people are led to believe that it is the only treatment available to them - and the most successful. This is utterly wrong.
There is excellent evidence that more than half of those referred to IVF could be treated as or more successfully by far cheaper alternatives. If you went to your doctor complaining of chest pain and were immediately referred for open-heart surgery without proper investigation you would think: 'What a dreadful doctor!' That pain might be due to indigestion, chest disease, a sore rib, or a viral infection.
But now the chances are that if you complain of infertility, you will be referred straight to an IVF clinic - where there may be no proper attempt at making a diagnosis.
To fail to find the cause of any symptom is bad, irresponsible medicine. Each cause of infertility - and there are many - may need a different course of action. IVF most frequently fails when the underlying cause is not first established.
The NHS is much to blame. So often, it does not take infertility seriously. The guidelines for treatment are laughable. As soon as possible, patients are shunted into the private sector.
Then there is the cost: unquestionably, IVF should not cost nearly as much as what is commonly charged - anywhere up to £5,000. Even NHS hospitals frequently make a profit that goes to support other services.
Read more ...

75% of people disagree with IVF for women over childbearing age

Almost three-quarters of people do not think women should receive IVF to help them conceive beyond their natural childbearing years, a poll has found. A quarter believe women should stop trying to bring babies into the world past the age of 40 while 43 should be the cut-off for men. The survey of more than 2,000 people across the UK found 31 per cent think the current age limit of 42 for IVF on the NHS is too old. Some 26 per cent said they thought 40 should be the maximum age limit for either NHS or private treatment. Meanwhile, almost three-quarters (72 per cent) said science not should intervene to help women become pregnant beyond their natural childbearing years. The poll was released to mark the TLC documentary Tina Malone: Pregnant At 50, which will air on Tuesday. The Shameless actress travelled to Cyprus for IVF treatment and conceived her daughter, Flame, with donor eggs, giving birth aged 50. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they thought children born to women aged 50 to 55 were negatively affected by having an older mother. This figure rose to 73 per cent of over-50s surveyed. Some 52 per cent said women who are 50 cannot be a good parent for a child through to adulthood. When asked about men aged 50 and over having children, 43 per cent said the same. Malone, now aged 51, had her first child aged 17. She said: 'People might consider me over the hill and too old to be a mum but physically, emotionally, mentally and financially I am much better off now, as a mum at 50, than I was as a mum at 17 when nobody criticised me for having a baby. 'I have more stamina and energy than most 27-year-olds, and all the time to give to my baby. Of course there has to be a cut-off, but if you are fit and healthy and financially secure, then you should be allowed to have a child at 50.' Today's survey also revealed people's main concerns when it comes to older mothers. Some 72 per cent said the main worry for mothers over 40 was their health during pregnancy and birth, while 68 per cent said the impact on young children when their parent dies is also a concern. Meanwhile, 62 per cent said the health of the child owing to having an older mother was an issue. When asked what was the ideal age for women to have their first baby, 27 was the most popular age. Susanna Dinnage, managing director of Discovery Networks UK, said: 'The findings reveal that most people believe 40 should be the cut-off for parenthood. 'However, juxtaposed against this public view, Tina gives a very moving and compelling account of one woman's personal decision to have a child at 50, three decades after she had her first child.' Article: 7th February 2014 www.dailymail.co.uk Read more about IVF and sperm and egg donation at www.prideangel.com

Failed IVF treatment triples chance of divorce

All parents know that having a baby can put a strain on the strongest of marriages. But now, new research suggests struggling to have a baby can make divorce or separation even more likely. Danish researchers found couples who have a rocky patch because of failed IVF treatment are three times more likely to end up separating than those who do become parents. The researchers, who published their findings in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, found that within 12 years of failed fertility treatment, 27 per cent of women are no longer living with their partner. They studied 47,000 women with an average age of 32 from the Danish National Patient Registry and the Danish In Vitro Fertilization Registry, Medical Daily reports. The women studied all sought medical help for infertility between 1990 and 2006. Seven years later, 43 per cent remained childless and they were three times more likely to have separated from their partners than those who had children. ‘This research is important because although earlier research has shown that fertility problems and its treatments are major stressors…especially if the treatments are unsuccessful, we did not know how many of these couples actually decide to split up if they did not get a child,’ lead researcher Trille Kristina Kjaer told Medical Daily. She added: ‘Now that we know that there is a higher probability of divorce if you do not get a child after a fertility evaluation the individual couples, and also the medical staff that work with these women, can initiate proper interventions earlier and hopefully prevent some of the break ups.’ IVF patients have claimed the treatment is as stressful as any other major life event, such as divorce or the death of a family member. For people having the treatment privately, there can be significant financial stresses involved which can put a strain on relationships. The treatment can also cause significant disruption to family, work and social activities which can also cause marriages to become strained. While IVF is very stressful, there is no guarantee it will be successful. For women under the age of 35, there is a 32 per cent chance of each cycle of IVF resulting in a live birth. For women who are 40, there is a 13 per cent chance of the IVF being successful. Article: 31st January 2013

Baby outcomes and birth risks revealed in IVF study

The study, which compared the outcomes of hundreds of thousands of births, looked at the risk of stillbirth, low birth weight, premature birth and infant death. Both traditional IVF, involving fertilisation in a glass dish, and the injection of sperm directly into eggs increased the chances of complications, the Australian researchers found. But a leading British fertility expert stressed that many of the problems may be related to patients' infertility rather than IVF treatment. Scientists from the University of Adelaide studied 17 years of data from more than 300,000 births in South Australia, of which 4,300 were the result of assisted reproduction. All forms of available fertility treatment were assessed, including traditional In-Vitro Fertilisation, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (Icsi) - injecting sperm straight into eggs - ovulation induction, and freezing embryos. "Compared with spontaneous conceptions in couples with no record of infertility, singleton babies from assisted conception were almost twice as likely to be stillborn, more than twice as likely to be pre-term, almost three times as likely to have very low birth weight, and twice as likely to die within the first 28 days of birth," said study leader Professor Michael Davies, from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute. "These outcomes varied depending on the type of assisted conception used. Very low and low birth weight, very pre-term and pre-term birth, and neonatal death (infant death) were markedly more common in births from IVF and, to a lesser degree, in births from Icsi. "Using frozen embryos eliminated all significant adverse outcomes associated with Icsi but not with IVF. However, frozen embryos were also associated with increased risk of macrosomia (big baby syndrome) for IVF and Icsi babies." Significantly, the study also looked at birth outcomes for women who found it hard to get pregnant but never received intensive fertility treatment. Their chances of experiencing complications were much higher than average. "Women in this group who eventually conceived without the help of invasive assisted reproduction gave birth to babies who were nine times more likely to have very low birth weight, seven times more likely to be very pre-term, and almost seven times more likely to die within the first 28 days of birth," said Prof Davies. "This may be due to the underlying medical conditions related to their infertility, or the use of fertility medications or therapies that are not recorded." Fertility expert Dr Dagan Wells, from Oxford University, said this finding indicated that fertility treatment may not be to blame for the higher risk of birth problems seen in patients. "Perhaps the most striking finding is that rates of prematurity, low birth-weight and infant death were highest of all for couples who had a fertility problem but eventually succeeded in conceiving without the help of IVF," said Dr Wells. "This suggests that the problems seen for babies born after IVF may be related to the patient's infertility rather than the treatment itself. In fact, for couples with reduced fertility, IVF seemed to lessen these risks compared to natural conception." He added: "It is very important that patients are provided with useful information concerning the risks as well as the benefits of any medical interventions they might undertake so that they can make an informed decision about whether a given procedure is right for them. "Although this study suggests that some adverse outcomes are higher in pregnancies conceived using IVF, it is important to understand that the overall risk of these problems remains low. As such, I doubt these findings will deter many infertile couples from using IVF." Sheena Lewis, professor of reproductive medicine at Queen's University, Belfast, agreed. She said: " We have known for some time that couples conceiving spontaneously after a period of infertility have poorer outcomes. This indicates that these problems may come from the disease rather than the fertility treatment. "Also a very positive finding in this study is that the use of frozen embryos eliminates all the adverse outcomes following Icsi. Freezing embryos is a routine procedure in fertility clinics and may be a useful option for those couples concerned about these findings." The research is published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE. Article: 9th January 2013 www.telegraph.co.uk Read more about alternatives to IVF at www.prideangel.com

Mom of twins tells her infertility journey

It still startles me that people make babies with sex. Privately. Easily. Fast. Then there's a birth, and no one looks back. For me, like many women, conception was an agonized, un-caffeinated blur of escalating medical procedures, followed by a pregnancy that seemed to last not the actual 36 weeks, but rather the whole 36 months it took to get there. The physical and emotional strain of those years lingers on into motherhood, like an inner mark as real as my C-section scar. Strange as it sounds, I feel more changed by the trials of infertility than by the transition to parenting -- and that's saying something, with my toddler twin boys turning 2 this month. I still identify with infertility, as if it were a chip I'd been given in AA, though in AA, you can stay forever, whereas with the "TTC" community -- "trying to conceive," in online parlance -- you leave the minute you succeed. Parents of multiples flock together and offer tremendous support, both tactical and abstract, and many of the twin moms I know probably conceived like I did, with DNA mixed in dishes and delivered by needle. Nevertheless, issues of post-infertility stress aren't explicitly broached. Most twin parents practice prison code: you don't ask what anyone else did to get there. When I lived in TTC-land, I had a term for mothers prone to excess oversharing: vagina ladies. Into this category fell any woman who used Christmas parties to talk about the details of gory birth or tricky breastfeeding, while childless me wiggled one leg nervously at the dessert table, gobbling a Santa cookie. How much were you dilated? My nipples cracked and bled! Even before I knew the extent of my infertility, I didn't think that baby-driven hardships should be so defining. In reward for my foolish assumption, fate has deemed that I become a vagina lady myself. This is another odd dimension of my post-TTC existence -- becoming someone who would have once greatly annoyed me. I've got my double-wide stroller, the kind that used to make me shudder. Though I consider my twins a miracle, I like the miracle to sleep, and I sometimes complain when the miracle wears me out. Once, I would have considered this akin to whining about how my pile of money was so heavy it hurt my back to lift it. Read more ... Article: 5th January 2013 www.huffingtonpost.com Looking for a sperm or egg donor? search profiles at www.prideangel.com

'First Christmas with our wee miracle baby' a fertility journey story

Janelle Shaw shares the story of her fertility journey. If you have battled with fertility, share your story with us. This year is our first Christmas with our wee miracle, Olive. My husband and I were married in Auckland in 2004 and took it for granted that we would start a family within a few years. We moved to Invercargill, where I am originally from, to prepare ourselves for parenthood by buying and doing up our first house and continuing our careers. After five years my husband and I were termed with 'unexplained fertility'. None of the invasive testing showed us what our problems were or how we could fix them. So we joined the increasing number of couples in the public systemwaiting list for IVF treatment. We were very open about our journey and our colleagues, friends and family offered us plenty of support. Time was needed to travel to Dunedin for scans and treatments on a regular basis. Our house began to look like some sort of science lab with the drugs around. All social engagements revolved around jab timings, which were set to my cellphone. Three years later, after two rounds of IVF and six embryo transfers we were reaching the end of our stamina and courage to continue. Luckily, I found the support I needed to continue in an online IVF group where others were in the same boat. Many of these people have remained close friends. From research provided by my online group we managed to convince our fertility specialists to try a different protocol on our third cycle. I remember the nurse telling me I should 'rattle as I walked' with the number of drugs I was taking. This was the first time we got a positive. The pregnancy was not without its own complications and the angel at the top of our Christmas tree represents our lost twin in utero. At about 30 weeks Olive was termed 'growth restricted' and had slowed her growing right down. We were assigned to the obstetricians who were hoping for me to reach 38 weeks and Olive to grow to 5 pounds (2.268kgs). We lasted until 37 weeks when pre-eclampsia signs set in. Out Olive came the day after New Years 2013, weighing 4 pounds 5 ounces (1.956). I have put together an album for Olive sharing the journey we took to get her here with the inscription 'Never forget how wanted and loved you are, love Mummy and Daddy'. In the album are doctor's letters, ovary scans, blessed stones from well-meaning aunties, along with the scans of her and her twin My online group started up a 'lucky sock' trend. During the egg extraction operation each of us chose a pair of socks to wear. For Olive's first Christmas I have made her her own Santa sock with her initials 'OS' sewn on the top from the lucky socks worn at her egg extraction and the following successful egg transfer. Finally we have our first Christmas as a family. Sod the expensive Christmas presents and blow the scurrying around for weeks beforehand that seems to go with the big day. This year we have been blessed enough to discover the true meaning of Christmas. Article: 29th December 2013 www.stuff.co.nz

Fertility doctors aim to reduce the rate of twins

Doctors are reporting an epidemic — of twins. Nearly half of all babies born with advanced fertility help are multiple births, new federal numbers show. In the five years since the "Octomom" case, big multiple births have gone way down but the twin rate has barely budged. Twins aren't always twice as nice; they have much higher risks of prematurity and serious health problems. Now fertility experts are pushing a new goal: One. A growing number of couples are attempting pregnancy with just a single embryo, helped by new ways to pick the ones most likely to succeed. New guidelines urge doctors to stress this approach. Abigail and Ken Ernst of Oldwick, N.J., did this to conceive Lucy, a daughter born in September. Using one embryo at a time "just seemed the most normal, the most natural way" to conceive and avoid a high-risk twin pregnancy, the new mom said. Not all couples feel that way, though. Some can only afford one try with in vitro fertilization, or IVF, so they insist that at least two embryos be used to boost their odds, and view twins as two for the price of one. Many patients "are telling their physicians 'I want twins,'" said Barbara Collura, president of Resolve, a support and advocacy group. "We as a society think twins are healthy and always come out great. There's very little reality" about the increased medical risks for babies and moms, she said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent numbers show that 46 percent of IVF babies are multiples — mostly twins — and 37 percent are born premature. By comparison, only 3 percent of babies born without fertility help are twins and about 12 percent are preterm. It's mostly an American problem — some European countries that pay for fertility treatments require using one embryo at a time. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is trying to make it the norm in the U.S., too. Its guidelines, updated earlier this year, say that for women with reasonable medical odds of success, those under 35 should be offered single embryo transfer and no more than two at a time. The number rises with age, to two or three embryos for women up to 40, since older women have more trouble conceiving. To add heft to the advice, the guidelines say women should be counseled on the risks of multiple births and embryo transfers and that this discussion should be noted in their medical records. "I n 2014, our goal is really to minimize twins," said Dr. Alan Copperman, medical director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, a Manhattan fertility clinic. "This year I'm talking about two versus one. Several years ago I was talking about three versus two" embryos. Article: 3rd December 2013 www.huffingtonpost.com

Single mum by choice achieves her dream of a family

Four years ago, Margaret Ambrose thought life couldn't get much worse. In the space of a year, she turned 40, her dog died and her long-term relationship broke down while she was preparing to start IVF. The Melbourne journalist who was yearning to be a mother thought she was facing a childless future. ''I thought there goes my dream of having kids,'' she said. ''I was 40 at the time so I thought, realistically, by the time I find someone, date them, decide to commit, how old will I be?'' Not content with her chances of finding a man in time to conceive, Ms Ambrose decided to join a growing band of single women who are using sperm donors to embark on motherhood alone. According to new figures from the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority, single women and lesbians are behind a huge rise in the number of Victorians using sperm donors to conceive children since a new law gave them access to IVF treatment in 2010. Before the change, women had to be deemed medically infertile to use IVF in Victoria - a rule that excluded women without male partners. The change has caused demand for sperm to soar in Victoria. Last financial year, the sperm of 445 men was available in clinics, up from 192 the year before. Newly recruited donors have also surged from 38 in 2011-12 to 64 last year. The number of women who used their sperm has increased from 452 in 2008-09 to 1901 last year, leading to 318 pregnancies. At first, Ms Ambrose said the list of potential donors at an IVF clinic was confronting. Instead of being overwhelmed by profiles of tall, dark, handsome professional men, she found just two out of about 20 who seemed suitable. ''I was so traumatised when I saw the list that I called a girlfriend to come over. She said let's start by you telling me what you don't want and I'll eliminate them. It was so funny, I remember her saying 'I assume you don't want one who can't fill out the form properly?''' But within months, Ms Ambrose had chosen a donor who shared her values and his sperm was being used to create embryos in a laboratory. It took just three IVF cycles for her to fall pregnant with her daughter Greta, who is now three. When Greta was one, she returned for a second baby and had Rori, who is now 15 months old. Ms Ambrose said although being a single mother was difficult in some ways, her mother and friends had helped her raise her two girls who are now ''the loves of my life''. ''In a way being single is harder, but it's also easier. You don't have someone else to factor into decisions and negotiate with. I never have to have conversations about whether we tell the girls about God or Santa. It's like I'm the dictator of my own little world,'' she said. However, Ms Ambrose said there had been some hard times and she still hoped to meet a man who would be a father to her girls. Read more ... Article: 6th November 2013 www.theage.com

http://blogs.prideangel.com/post/2013/07/55-million-reasons-to-be-thankful-for-IVF-treatment.aspx

The world’s first test-tube baby has paid tribute to the fertility pioneers who gave her and millions of others life as she celebrates her 35th birthday. Louise Brown was born at Oldham General Hospital on July 25, 1978, after her parents Lesley and John became the first parents to successfully undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Her birth attracted controversy, with religious leaders expressing concern over the use of artificial intervention and some raising fears that science was creating “Frankenbabies” who could experience medical difficulties later in life. There are now thought to be more than 5.5 million IVF babies worldwide and, as she prepared to celebrate her birthday with a private family meal, Mrs Brown said she hoped the public could now see the benefits of the breakthrough. “When I was born they all said it shouldn’t be done and that it was messing with God and nature but it worked and obviously it was meant to be,” she added. “It’s helped millions all around the world and if it can help improve success rates, obviously it’s a good thing. “I’ve now had my own son without IVF and lots of people I know or have heard of have gone on to have children naturally. “That shows that it is just the beginning of life that’s a little bit different, the rest is just the same.” Mrs Brown, whose younger sister Natalie was also the product of IVF, now lives near Bristol. She is married and has a six-year-old son, Cameron. She recently unveiled a plaque to honour IVF pioneers gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and reproductive biologist Robert Edwards at Bourn Hall, the clinic they founded in Cambridge and where the techniques and drugs now used worldwide were first developed. Their research led to the successful fertilisation of a human egg outside the body and the transfer of the resulting embryo to the womb. Sir Robert, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010, died aged 87 in April this year. Steptoe died in 1988 and did not receive the prize as it is not awarded posthumously. Article: 25th July 2013 www.cambridge-news.co.uk

Babies with three genetic parents could be born by 2015 to prevent Mitochondial disease

The first baby with three parents could be born as early as 2015 after a landmark decision to move ahead on a controversial genetic treatment. Britain could become the first country to sanction the creation of babies with three genetic parents, despite fears it might lead to ‘designer babies’. The Government will publish draft regulations later this year that will bring techniques a step closer to giving women affected by devastating hereditary diseases the chance to have healthy children. The techniques involve replacing defective DNA in the mother’s egg with material from a donor egg. The resulting healthy child would effectively have two mothers and a father. For the first time the ‘germ line’ of inherited DNA from the mother would be altered which, critics say, marks a turning point in the ethics of test-tube babies. But the Government’s chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said the alteration did not affect fundamental DNA that determines an individual’s make-up such as facial features and eye colour. She compared the new techniques to replacing a defective ‘battery pack’ in a cell that would virtually eliminate the chance of a severe disease in the child. She said: ‘Scientists have developed ground-breaking new procedures which could stop these diseases being passed on, bringing hope to many families seeking to prevent their future children inheriting them. ‘It’s only right that we look to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can. ‘What we’re going to do now is start to develop the regulations, to consult on the regulations, and then to take them into Parliament.’ If MPs approve the regulations at the end of next year, the first patients could be assessed and approved for treatment in 2015. It is expected that between five and ten healthy babies with three parents could be born each year to couples who might otherwise face the heartbreak of seeing them severely disabled and often dying prematurely. In these cases, a healthy child would inherit the parents’ nuclear DNA, along with mitochondrial DNA from a donor. Dame Sally denied the UK was leading the way to designer babies. She said there was a ban on changing nuclear DNA which ‘I don’t see changing in the foreseeable future’. She said: ‘I do think quite carefully about ethics, I always did as a clinician and I still do, perhaps because my father was a theologian. 'I am comfortable with this. I think we will save some five to ten babies from being born with ghastly disease and early death without changing what they look like, or how they behave, and it will help mothers to have their own babies.’ One in 6,500 babies is born seriously affected by a mitochondrial disorder which can lead to hearing and vision loss, heart, lung and liver problems, and bowel disorders. An estimated 12,000 people in the UK live with the diseases. The move to consult on regulations which would legalise the technique comes after a consultation requested by the Government and run by the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which found there was ‘general support’ from the public. Article: 29th June 2013 www.dailymail.co.uk Read more about IVF and fertility treatments at www.prideangel.com

IVF clinic in Nottingham offers free Chromosome screening

A CITY fertility clinic is inviting prospective IVF patients to join a clinical trial to have their embryos screened free of charge for abnormalities. Care Fertility has pioneered the of egg and embryo screening, called Array CGH. The aim of the study is to test whether transferring normal embryos significantly increases pregnancy and live birth rates in younger women undergoing IVF for the first time. People who take part must meet a number of criteria: - Female age less than 35 - Male and female BMI less than 35 - No previous IVF treatment - No history of miscarriage - Normal sperm count Patients can apply online to join the trial. If accepted they will undergo an IVF cycle, paying only for their IVF treatment and drugs. Chromosome screening, normally costing £2,435, will be free of charge. Managing director Dr Simon Fishel said: "My personal goal for our patients is to improve the chances of conceiving a healthy embryo and a healthy baby in the first attempt at IVF." Article: www.thisisnottingham.co.uk

After donating eggs Louise ironically can't have her own children

Whenever Louise Milano sees a boy aged about 12 in the street, she finds herself staring intently at him, searching his face for any clues that he just might be her biological child — the son she has never met. It is 13 years since Louise, then a vibrant young career woman in the prime of her fertility, donated her eggs to help a couple she didn’t know have a child. Since then, in the bitterest of ironies, all attempts to have children of her own have failed. Louise has spent more than £30,000 on six rounds of failed IVF treatments, and donors have even given their eggs to try to help her become a mother. But at the age of 44, Louise remains childless. She now believes that her dream of cradling her baby in her arms will never be realised. Instead, every year, she is left to ponder one haunting date: September 9, 2000 — the day on which the biological son she has never seen was born. Louise says: ‘I would love him to contact me when he’s grown up. I think of him so often, and when I see a boy of a similar age walking down the street, my heart flips. ‘I think of him on his birthday every year. I imagine him tearing open his presents, hugging his parents and enjoying his party. I wish more than anything that I could see his face on this day, and share some of the joy he’s experiencing. ‘I know he’s loved, and that makes me happy. It’s just that I’d do anything for the chance to experience the happiness of motherhood myself.’ Louise was married and working as a high-flying estate agent when she made the decision to donate her eggs. She had met her husband David at work at the age of 28, and they married two years later, in 1998. The couple settled in Norfolk, where Louise still lives. ‘Neither of us wanted children at the time,’ she says. ‘We were both enjoying our careers and our social life. David’s friend Paul and his wife Catherine became our closest friends, and every weekend we’d do something together. ‘Unlike me, Catherine was then desperate to conceive a child. She’d had two courses of IVF, but both had failed.’ Once, when the two couples were having dinner together, Catherine took Louise aside and asked if she’d be willing to help them have the baby they longed for by donating her eggs. Catherine explained that she needed donor eggs to conceive, but that the NHS waiting list for them was two years long. ‘In those days, strict ethical guidelines from the clinic treating Catherine banned me from giving my eggs directly to a friend,’ says Louise. ‘I could only donate anonymously. ‘Due to these rules there was a shortage, and to encourage women to donate, the clinic had devised a scheme whereby friends could donate to other women on the waiting list. ‘The eggs would be used to help another infertile couple to get pregnant, and in return the clinic would allow Catherine IVF treatment using an anonymous donor. ‘I said “yes” immediately,’ Louise recalls, ‘and Catherine threw her arms around me. I had no maternal yearnings then, but I realised Catherine felt an absolute need for a baby. ‘I thought I had plenty of years for a family of my own, and in the meantime I was happy to help my friend.’ Over the next few weeks, Louise underwent treatment at the fertility unit at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. A course of hormone injections was administered to boost her production of eggs, with side-effects which included bloating and discomfort. Louise says: ‘I cried a lot because of the hormones I was given, but I didn’t regret what I was doing for a single moment. ‘David supported me completely. It was a chance for his best friend to become a dad, so he was equally grateful for what I was doing.’ In November 1999, a surgeon removed 19 of Louise’s eggs, to be shared between two couples undergoing fertility treatment. Louise says: ‘A nurse gave me two cards written by the families I was helping, and each of them was so heartfelt they made me cry. Both women thanked me for giving them the chance to become mothers. They wrote that they could never find the words to express what it meant to them.’ One of the couples failed to conceive, but the other was successful. On September 9, 2000, Louise received a phone call from a nurse at St Barts telling her that a baby boy had just been born, conceived from an egg Louise had donated. The nurse wasn’t able to give her any further details, and it was only when Louise put the phone down that the full implications of what she had done sunk in. ‘Until then, egg donation had been something clinical and practical — a means to help a dear friend,’ she says. ‘But suddenly I realised I had a biological son I would never meet. It unnerved me, but at the same time I was delighted for his parents. The nurse wasn’t able to give her any further details, and it was only when Louise put the phone down that the full implications of what she had done sunk in ‘I told myself that one day, when the time was right, I’d become a mother too.’ Within a couple of months, there was more good news. Catherine fell pregnant with twins conceived from donor eggs as part of the scheme that Louise had agreed to. Louise says: ‘When she rang to tell me, I cried with joy. I went with Catherine to her scans, and when her twins were born in December 2001, I was one of the first people to see them. ‘Cradling one of the tiny babies in my arms, I felt a new emotion. For the first time I felt a yearning to hold a child of my own. I thought “This will be me one day”. ‘Seeing Catherine’s joy, and the ease and love she showed with her son and daughter, made everything worthwhile. ‘She and Paul chose me as godmother, and I shared with them the delight of the twins’ first smiles, their first words and their first steps.’ But Louise’s joy in her role as godmother masked the pain of the collapse of her marriage. David had started his own computer business, but long hours and stress drove the couple apart. In August 2002, Louise’s marriage ended. She says: ‘I was single again. But now I didn’t just want to fall in love, I wanted a baby of my own, too.’ Then in June 2003, tragedy struck when Catherine was rushed to hospital with meningitis and died soon afterwards. ‘It was the most ghastly loss of my life,’ says Louise.The children are now being brought up by their father, and Louise still sees them regularly. Two years later, as she was coming to terms with the death of her friend, Louise found love again — with Alex, a 29-year-old building contractor. She was 38 by then but unconcerned by the age gap. She and Alex fell in love, and immediately started trying for a baby. ‘I’d produced 19 healthy eggs at the age of 31, so I didn’t for one second believe that we’d have any trouble conceiving,’ she says. ‘But every month, when I discovered I wasn’t pregnant, I felt the same sickening disappointment.’ Gradually this disappointment became a gnawing fear, and by April 2008, when she was 40 and still hadn’t become pregnant, Louise went to see her GP about IVF. ‘He told me: “I’m sorry, we don’t give IVF to women aged 40 and over.” To be honest, it felt like a slap in the face. ‘I’d helped out the NHS as an egg donor, and granted the gift of life to another woman. Now, when I desperately wanted a baby of my own, the NHS wouldn’t help me in return. ‘They were happy to exploit my fertility when I was young, but now that I wasn’t so fertile, doors were suddenly slamming in my face.’ Louise’s only option was expensive private fertility treatment. She and Alex spent £7,500 of their savings on a course of IVF at a clinic in Cambridge. Once more, drugs were used to stimulate Louise’s ovaries. Three eggs were harvested, then mixed with Alex’s sperm. There then followed a two-day wait to see how many eggs had fertilised. Louise says: ‘I firmly believed that IVF brought about happy endings. There was no doubt in my mind that this would work, and Alex and I would soon be decorating a nursery for our own baby. ‘Instead, the consultant rang and said: “I’m afraid none of your eggs has fertilised.” The shock left me reeling. He then suggested I consider using donor eggs. ‘I felt cheated. At that moment, my dreams of holding my own biological child ended. It was an irony so bitter that it made me feel physically sick. ‘I realised how devastated the women I had helped must have felt when they learned that their fate lay with anonymous donors.’ But then, happily, Louise’s younger sister, Helen, 30, offered to donate her eggs. This time, direct donation was possible. ‘I was overcome with gratitude,’ says Louise. ‘It was as if I’d been given another chance of motherhood, and I couldn’t thank Helen enough.’ Louise remortgaged her three-bedroom house to pay the £8,500 for private fertility treatment. Helen’s eggs were harvested and mixed with Alex’s sperm, and this time nine eggs were fertilised. Louise says: ‘I actually screamed when they rang me with the news!’ Two of the embryos were put into Louise’s womb. She says: ‘Two weeks later, I did a pregnancy test at home and watched as a positive line appeared. ‘I’ll remember that feeling for the rest of my days — it was the happiest moment of my life. ‘But a week later I began to bleed heavily and was rushed to hospital, where a scan revealed that I had lost my baby. I was distraught, but still determined not to give up.’ Two eggs from the previous batch of nine remained, so Louise remortgaged her home again to fund another round of treatment. Sadly, neither of the two embryos resulted in pregnancy. As Louise’s dream of motherhood crumbled, so too did her relationship with Alex. ‘The fertility treatment tore us apart,’ she says. ‘Alex loved me and wanted to see me happy, but I was obsessed with IVF. ‘We had no money for holidays or to enjoy life. Getting pregnant was my sole driving force, which killed the passion and the romance and the love between us. As a result of the incredible strain, we split up.’ ‘We had no money for holidays or to enjoy life. Getting pregnant was my sole driving force, which killed the passion and the romance and the love between us. As a result of the incredible strain, we split up.’ Louise was again alone, but still resolute in her desire to become a mum. She says: ‘I thought of the little boy I had helped to conceive, and the fact that he was out there somewhere made me all the more determined not to give up.’ In June 2011, Louise flew to Greece for IVF treatment with donor eggs and sperm at a cost of nearly £2,000. But the treatment failed, as did three further IVF attempts. To date, she has undergone six IVF treatments costing more than £30,000. She remains single, and admits she is still struggling to come to terms with the huge financial and emotional price she has paid for her dream. ‘I don’t regret donating my eggs when I was 31, but I wish the NHS would point out to young career girls eager to help others that one day their own fertility might be in jeopardy. ‘If I’d had the chance to freeze my own fertilised eggs, I might have had the opportunity to become a mother myself. ‘I work as an ambulance emergency call centre operator now, and it can be tough. A few months ago, for example, I heard a baby being born on the other end of the phone. ‘I heard his first cry and his mother’s sobs of delight, and I had to gulp back my own tears.’ Louise is now considering adoption, having realised that despite her long-held dreams she is unlikely ever to have a child of her own. ‘All I want is to hold my own baby, and feel a little hand slipping into mine, or to hear a sweet voice call me “Mummy”,’ she says. Meanwhile, she’s hoping that the boy born from her donated egg will one day trace her. ‘I’m not allowed to look for him — but I’d love to meet him and hold him in my arms,’ she says. Article: 13th September 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

DuoFertility - Your very own fertility PA

A new fertility product to help you conceive naturally How the DuoFertility programme can help you overcome the fertility challenge and take control of an emotional journey. Lara’s story Lara heard about DuoFertility from her mum, after she read about it in the paper. ‘DuoFertility was just what I needed. I wanted to be reassured that I was actually ovulating and if possible avoid, or even just identify whether I might need fertility treatment. DuoFertility helped us do this effectively and in the shortest amount of time possible so we didn’t delay.’ DuoFertility kept a close eye on Lara’s cycles and the DuoFertility reports gave her the information she was looking for. ‘It was great to see that I was ovulating every month and this really put my mind at rest, especially because I knew age was a big factor in fertility.’ ‘I really liked being able to ring up and speak to someone about my charts too for that extra detail about my cycles. Although I thought I was reading the graphs properly, it was reassuring to talk things through with a fertility advisor to make sure I didn’t come to the wrong conclusions.’ ‘In the end, we didn’t need any treatments because DuoFertility had helped us conceive after only five months into the monitoring programme’ After receiving her kit, Lara quickly found DuoFertility was really simple to use. ‘I do lots of swimming and exercise so at first I was unsure how I would get on with attaching the sensor every day. My bra strap secured the sensor in place and so I felt comfortable wearing it. I soon forgot I was wearing the sensor at all.’ Lara wanted to share her experiences with others to encourage them to consider what DuoFertility can offer. ‘I have talked to colleagues about DuoFertility. They confided in me about their infertility issues after I opened up about my own journey. I knew they could also benefit from the support DuoFertility gave me.’ DuoFertility is an extremely accurate yet simple to use fertility monitoring service. Get the convenience of fertility predictions up to six days in advance of your fertile window, giving you plenty of time to plan ahead. As well as the fertility predictions, the monitor confirms ovulation actually occurred which is that extra reassurance your cycle is working as it should be. From the comfort of your own home, your plug-in device connects to the DuoFertility Centre via your computer. The team of fertility experts will review any unusual patterns in the menstrual cycle in case there are reasons to follow up on testing or treatment with your doctor – which can help avoid any further delays in conceiving. The DuoFertility Money back guarantee Qualifying couples can apply to use DuoFertility on a 12 month programme with the promise of their money back if they don’t manage to conceive naturally The reassuring element to DuoFertility is that all couples can seek advice from the expert team whenever they have questions. This includes being able to ask the team of advisers whether DuoFertility is suitable in exactly your own situation. Find out if DuoFertility is right for you by using the online tool Article: 18th August 2012 www.duofertility.com

New IVF proposals for same sex couples and women up to 42 years

Same-sex couples and women aged up to 42 may soon be eligible for IVF treatment, according to new draft guidelines published today. The proposals were issued by the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and featured prominently in the news, although they also include a range of recommendations not covered by the media. NICE last issued full guidelines on IVF in 2004, but since then there have been advances in the drugs and techniques available. To take these changes and recent evidence into account, NICE has drawn up new extensive guidelines on everything from who should get IVF to the individual drugs that should be used. The provisional recommendations include raising the upper age limit for IVF from 39 to 42 for some women and offering fertility treatments to same-sex couples, people whose disability prevents them having sex and people whose fertility might be damaged by cancer treatment. Despite the tone of some newspaper coverage, the guidelines are currently at a provisional “consultation stage” where outside parties can voice their views on what should be included. The recommendations are not final, and could change significantly before they are officially published later this year. Have the guidelines changed? NICE is the body responsible for setting out the guidance and standards for treating specific diseases and conditions within the NHS in England and Wales. NICE last published full guidance on IVF in 2004, and since then there have been advances in research and fertility treatments, which means there is now a better understanding of different fertility techniques. Further to these developments, NICE has begun updating its guidance on IVF and has released a draft version proposing new recommendations on the way infertility is assessed and treated. The draft update includes several new recommendations. It is important to note that the recommendations in the draft guidance are only provisional, and that these may change following consultation with various organisations and experts in the field, including medical bodies and charities. The final guidelines are set for publication around the end of 2012. What do the new proposals say? The updated draft guidelines released today for public consultation include the following key suggested changes: - extending the upper age limit of women who can receive one cycle of IVF to 42 years old - increasing the number of embryos implanted into the womb during a cycle of IVF - excluding oral ovarian stimulation agents that have previously been recommended - making new groups of the population eligible to receive fertility treatment The draft proposals suggest making IVF available to: - people who are unable to have sexual intercourse (such as those with a physical disability) - people preparing for cancer treatment who may wish to preserve their fertility (some cancer treatments damage fertility) - same-sex couples - people carrying an infectious disease, such as hepatitis B or HIV Under the draft guidelines, some of these groups would be granted access to IVF under slightly different criteria from “conventional infertility treatment”, as their circumstances may warrant modified approaches. For example, the regular eligibility criteria normally applied to freezing eggs would no longer apply when trying to preserve the fertility of women awaiting cancer treatment. When discussing the guidelines, Dr Gill Leng, deputy chief executive at NICE, said: “Infertility is a medical condition that can cause significant distress for those trying to have a baby. This distress can have a real impact on people's lives, potentially leading to depression and the breakdown of relationships. “The aim of these new and updated recommendations is to ensure that everyone who has problems with fertility has access to the best levels of help,” Dr Leng added. Who is currently eligible for IVF? The current 2004 NICE guidelines recommend that three stimulated cycles of IVF treatment should be offered to couples with identified fertility problems or infertility for at least three years if the female partner is aged between 23 and 39 years old. What happens next? The draft NICE clinical practice guideline on fertility will now undergo a period of external consultation until July 2012. Relevant interested parties and experts in the field are invited to make comments on the guidelines if they feel there are elements that may need reviewing or altering. When published, the update will replace some, but not all, of the original guideline. The guideline is likely to be finalised towards the end of 2012 and, until final publication of the updated guidelines, NHS bodies should continue to follow the recommendations set in the current 2004 guidelines Article: 1st August 2012 www.eastlothiannews.co.uk

IVF treatment in younger women may increase chance of breast cancer

IVF treatment in younger women dramatically increases their chance of developing breast cancer later in life, research suggests. Women who started taking fertility drugs and went through IVF around their 24th birthday were found to have a 56 per cent greater chance of developing breast cancer than those in the same age group who went through treatments without IVF. But there was no increased risk for women who started fertility treatments when they were about 40 years old, regardless of whether they had IVF or not, according to the Australian study The researchers said: 'For younger women there is some cause for concern, because it appears that they may face an increased risk of breast cancer after IVF treatment.' The findings were based on a study of more than 21,000 women and published in the journal Fertility and Sterility. Study author Louise Stewart from the University of Western Australia said younger women might see an increased risk of breast cancer because they are exposed to higher levels of circulating estrogen during their cycles of IVF treatment. In the UK 45,264 women had IVF treatment in 2010. A third of women under 35 successfully had a child as a result However, she added: 'I don't think it's a huge increased risk that you should worry or panic (about).' The researchers collected information on 21,025 women between the ages of 20 and 40 who went through fertility treatment at the hospitals of Western Australia between 1983 and 2002. They were able to piece together enough data to follow the women for some 16 years to see if they developed breast cancer. Roughly 1.7 per cent of the 13,644 women who only used fertility drugs without IVF ended up developing breast cancer by the end of the study. That figure was about two percent for women who used fertility drugs and underwent IVF - a difference that researchers said wasn't statistically significant. This changed when women were divided into different age groups, with women aged 24 about one-and-a-half times more likely to develop breast cancer if they had IVF alongside other fertility treatments. However, Stewart said they couldn't yet say that IVF was causing the increased cancer risk in younger women, as these women could be different in some significant way from those who only have other types of fertility treatment. 'If for example, younger women who had IVF were more likely to have a specific cause of infertility, and this was related to an increased risk of breast cancer, then it would appear that IVF was related to breast cancer when in fact it was the type of infertility that was more common in women who had IVF,' she said. Linda Giudice, president-elect of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, added: 'The development of breast cancer is linked to estrogen exposure and the longer one is exposed, the greater the risk. 'In an IVF cycle there is a short, but significant elevation in circulating estrogen, and whether this is linked to the observations found in the study is not clear at this time.' The researchers said the study results would reassure women who start IVF treatment in their 30s and 40s. However, they added: 'Women should be aware that delivering their first child late in reproductive life, whether assisted by IVF or not, is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.' Statistically, younger women have a greater chance of successfully having a baby following IVF. They suggested a follow-up study of women who undergo a greater range of cycles to see if there's a connection between IVF 'dose' and breast cancer rate. Article: 25th June 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Mum of first IVF test-tube baby Louise Brown dies today

The mum of the first test-tube baby to be born after IVF treatment in 1978, has died after a short illness. Mrs Lesley Brown made history when she successfully conceived after treatment by Dr Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards. Her daughter Louise, now 33, was born in July 1978 in Oldham General Hospital after she and her husband John had tried to have a baby for nine years. Louise's arrival paved the way for millions of couples to have children via fertility treatment. Mrs Brown went on to have a second daughter, Natalie, after another round of IVF. She also leaves a stepdaughter, Sharon, from her husband's first marriage, and five grandchildren. Speaking on behalf of the family, Louise, who has a five-year-old son called Cameron, said: "Mum was a very quiet and private person who ended up in the world spotlight because she wanted a family so much. We are all missing her terribly." Mrs Brown had been unable to conceive naturally because her Fallopian tubes were blocked Describing her referral to Dr Steptoe, she said: "It was a very different process to what it is now. "So many people now need to go through IVF whereas, at the start, I felt like I was the only one." Tributes were also paid by bosses at the clinic, set up by Nobel Prize-winner Professor Edwards, which developed the treatment. Mike Macamee, from the Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, said: "Lesley was a devoted mum and grandmother and through her bravery and determination many millions of women have been given the chance to become mothers." A family friend described how photographers desperate for a photograph of newborn Louise had triggered a bomb scare at the hospital, leaving Mrs Brown "mortified". Martin Powell said: "Everyone had to evacuate the hospital. Lesley was so mortified, she said she felt she was to blame for people having to leave their beds." Her husband John, a former railway man, died in 2007 aged 64. Article: 21st June 2012 www.telegraph.co.uk

IVF has higher risk of complications and multiple births

A recent report states that there is a higher risk of complications and multiple births in pregnancies that result from IVF techniques. A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said there were increased risks of premature births, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities. However, it said the vast majority of IVF children were as healthy as other children. IVF accounts for over 1% of UK births. Advances in fertility research have allowed more infertile couples to have children and at an older age. Risks The Royal College's Scientific Advisory Committee reviewed the risks of IVF, which it said were directly related to the number of foetuses and that IVF techniques appeared to double the risk of twins. It said: "About one in four of all IVF pregnancies result in a multiple birth in the UK owing to the common practice of replacing two or three embryos." It also said there was a 23% increased risk of a premature birth, but the risk remained low. "IVF pregnancies still demonstrate an increased risk of low birth weight," it said. Heart defects, cleft lips and other congenital anomalies are also more common. It said around 5% of all babies were diagnosed with an abnormality, but IVF babies were around a third more likely to have a problem. Long term Later in life, the report said there were no differences in brain, language or behavioural development and there "appears to be little impact at age 12". Prof Jenny Kurinczuk, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said: "IVF pregnancies carry an increased risk of poor birth outcomes and complications. Nevertheless the majority of the children born following IVF will have a good outcome just like any other children. "The poor birth outcomes and complications may be a combination of treatment and underlying features of the couple such as older maternal age. However, treatment strategies can be altered to improve outcomes such as the adoption of elective single embryo transfer." Read more about alternatives to IVF such as home insemination and the Duo-fertility monitor which is as effective as one cycle of IVF after 6 months of use. Article: 6th June www.bbc.co.uk

Couple finally conceived afer five cycles of IVF by eating eggs and soya oil

Couple finally conceived twins after they went through five cycles of IVF and spent £25,000 over five years - after she was prescribed a diet of egg and soya oil. The rich fatty solution was found to boost IVF success rates by six times in a recent study. Sara Conyers, 33, was drip-fed the Intralipid infusion at a fertility clinic in Nottingham to try and stop her own body destroying embryos. The technique was successful and now she and her husband Matthew, 40, from Solihull, are now parents of twin boys William and Ben. 'It's been a long and difficult journey but it's been worth it,' said Mrs Conyers. 'This whole experience has made us even stronger. I've been prodded and poked by a lot of doctors and, hormonally, I've been up and down. But we never gave up hope and always remained positive.' The teacher and 40-year-old Matthew, who works in finance, started trying for a baby immediately after they wed in August 2007. But after six months, the pair became worried that nothing had happened so went to see their GP. Various tests found there was nothing wrong with the couple, yet more than two years later they were still unsuccessful in conceiving. They decided to go private and began IVF at CARE Fertility, in Nottingham, in January 2010. Mrs Conyers explained: 'The first time the IVF didn't work and we were devastated. However, I'd produced 18 eggs and they were frozen so they could be used for the next two rounds I had. But still nothing happened.' That's when Sara decided to take an immunology test to find out if the real reason she wasn't getting pregnant was because her own body attacking the embryos. 'The result said I was slightly immune,' she added. 'So on the fourth IVF attempt I was given the soya oil and egg yolk. It didn't work on the first occasion - but the second time round I was so happy to find out I was pregnant.' Intralipid infusion emerged in 2009 in the U.S as an experimental fertility treatment. It is a brand name for a fat emulsion, made partly from eggs and soya oil usually used when tube-feeding very sick patients. However, it has also been shown to lower the activity of the natural killer cells component of our immune systems. This was found to have a beneficial effect on women whose bodies were attacking their own eggs. A 2011 study found it increased the odds of an IVF pregnancy up to six times while also inhibiting chemicals which causes miscarriages. Mrs Conyers was drip fed the solution for two hours on three separate occasions: the day her eggs were collected, the day two fertilised embryos were put back inside her body and on the afternoon she found she was pregnant. Despite being born eight weeks prematureon April 4 the twins are healthy babies and finally came home last week. Philip Lowe, Medical Director at CARE Fertility, said: 'Our reproductive immunology programme has provided essential support for Matthew and Sara and we're pleased to have helped them achieve their dream of having a family.' Article: 17th May 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

ICSI fertility treatment has double the chance of birth defects

Fertility clinics are facing demands to restrict the most popular form of IVF after a shocking new report linked it to an increased risk of birth defects. The study created a major alert after revealing the ICSI treatment, used by 23,000 women in the UK every year, creates a ‘sky high’ chance of having a baby with serious abnormalities. The procedure, which involves injecting a single sperm into an egg, is used in both the NHS and the private sector, and now represents more than half of all IVF treatments. But it is more expensive than standard IVF, raising fears some clinics may be promoting it to increase profits. Scientists behind the latest survey of 300,000 births found that one child in ten born following ICSI has a defect – twice the level of the general population – but that standard IVF has no extra risks compared with natural births. Following the report, other experts called for clinics to use ICSI only when there was no medical alternative, and demanded a national database of children born from IVF be set up urgently. Women who undergo the most popular IVF treatment in Britain are twice as likely to have babies with birth defects as the rest of the population, the shocking new survey revealed. Women who undergo the ICSI process, in which a single sperm is injected into an egg, are more likely to have a baby with problems including cleft palate, heart and lung conditions, cerebral palsy and blood disorders. The extensive research found that ten in every 100 births from ICSI had a defect, compared with five in 100 natural births. But other forms of IVF are no more risky than natural conception. When other factors such as the mother’s age, smoking habits and underlying health problems are taken into account, the ICSI treatment is linked to a 57 per cent increase in birth defects, compared to natural conception. The treatment was designed to help infertile men become fathers, but has become the dominant IVF process, accounting for 52 per cent of all such treatments carried out in this country. More than 23,000 women were treated using the technique in 2010, when 6,500 babies were born as a result. Previous studies have raised concerns over birth defects from all forms of IVF, but the new research, published yesterday in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that the abnormalities stem specifically from using the ICSI method. The study’s author, Professor Michael Davies from the University of Adelaide, said: ‘We know from the study that standard IVF is safe. But we also now know that with ICSI, the risk is sky high.’ Last night, British doctors said ICSI was too widely used and said it should only be offered if there is no alternative. They also suggested its popularity was caused by clinics promoting the treatment for commercial profit, as it costs an additional £1,000 on top of the £2,500 fee for standard IVF. Scientists also called for a national register of births for all IVF treatments to be established to allow research into long-term effects. Prof Davies said ICSI – intracytoplasmic sperm injection – effectively creates children from single sperm that Nature might have weeded out as unsuitable. By contrast, in standard IVF, eggs are placed in a dish with a sperm sample and allowed to be fertilise naturally which means it is still the strongest sperm which reaches the egg. Infertility consultant Gedis Grudzinskas said: ‘The use of ICSI has increased in the UK over recent years and in some centres it is used universally. That’s irresponsible and this study should cause those centres to rethink their policy. ‘Some of these ICSI decisions could be commercially driven, although I would hope not.’ Dr Alastair Sutcliffe, an expert on the effects of IVF in children, added: ‘I’m against the widespread increasing unrestricted use of ICSI because it’s hardly a Darwinian way of reproducing. Now this paper’s come out, those who are close to the wind on this issue might think twice.’ Part of the popularity of ICSI is because it has a conception rate of just under 30 per cent, compared to around 25 per cent for standard IVF. Figures from regulators, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), show that fewer than half of couples using ICSI do so because of male infertility. In one large unit, the London Women’s Clinic, 83 per cent of IVFs were ICSIs. But medical director Peter Bowen-Simpkins denied it was offered to generate profit. He said: ‘That’s an inevitable criticism, but many of our patients are single women and same sex couples using frozen donor sperm which means ICSI will be more successful.’ The new research paper, one of the most comprehensive ever, looked at 300,000 births in South Australia over 16 years, including 6,100 from fertility treatment. It found 8.3 per cent of babies born from any fertility treatment had some defect, compared with 5.8 per cent of those conceived naturally. But when they took into account other factors, standard IVF was no more risky than naturally conception. In contrast, ICSI babies did have a high risk of defects, even after these factors were taken into account. Out of 939 single babies born from ICSI, 91 were found later to have a birth defect – a rate of 9.9 per cent. The researchers said in general ICSI babies were therefore 57 per cent more likely to have an abnormality than those born after standard IVF or conceived naturally. But that figure could be as much as 90 per cent in a worst-case scenario. The risk of cerebral palsy also doubled following ICSI treatment, although it was still rare (0.4 per cent compared to 0.2 per cent conceived naturally). Prof Davies, who did not call for the technique to be abandoned, said it was unclear whether the increased birth defects following ICSI was down to a problem inherent in the technique, or because of the quality of sperm used, which could carry damaged DNA. He said: ‘There are some seriously defective sperm that can be selected and there are many occasions when that sperm could never naturally fertilise an egg. But we can’t jump to that conclusion straight away. ‘This is a technology that’s operating at the absolutely limits of available knowledge, which does open up a debate about how fast should some of these things be implemented.’ Advice on the HFEA website has not been updated since March 2009. It says: ‘Although some research suggests that fertility treatment may be associated with an increased incidence of birth defects, this risk remains low. ‘Research to date does not show with absolute certainty that any increased risk is due to fertility treatment. Other causes cannot be discounted, including underlying sub-fertility in the parents, their age and unexplored factors.’ Last night the regulator said it has ‘no plans’ to update its guidance as a result of the latest research. A spokeswoman said: ‘Research into the area is ongoing and, to make sure patients understand the risks of fertility treatment, we keep research of this kind under review.’ The question all couples must now ask: Do you REALLY need this procedure? Researchers said children born via ICSI were 57 per cent more likely to have an abnormality than those born by standard IVF. Unless you’ve had personal experience of infertility, it isn’t easy to understand how devastating it can be to find that you’re not able to become pregnant naturally or the lengths to which you would go in order to have a much-longed-for baby. Couples who are trying unsuccessfully to conceive are faced with an ever-expanding fertility industry offering everything from the latest high-tech treatments to the wackiest complementary therapies. ICSI, the focus of the new research, was developed in the early Nineties and has been a huge step forward in the treatment of male infertility. It has allowed men who once would never have been able to have their own genetic children to become fathers. ICSI has been so successful that some clinics now use it widely, and may offer it even when there isn’t a male fertility problem. Cynics might suggest that this is because ICSI is a more expensive treatment and makes the specialists more money, but it’s also true that some clinics believe they get better success rates when they use ICSI. So what should couples do if they’re about to embark on fertility treatment in the light of this new research? The message for anyone having standard IVF is extremely positive and reassuring, but there may be more concerns for those who have been recommended ICSI. Talking it through with your fertility specialist is a good idea, and if you’re considering ICSI as an optional add-on to your treatment, you may want to think about whether you really need it. For couples where there is a male factor fertility problem and ICSI is the only possibility, the real risks are still small, and ICSI has produced many thousands of healthy babies. What’s more, one interesting result from the research was that when embryos created using ICSI were frozen, the risks were reduced. It has been suggested that only the most robust embryos will survive the freezing and thawing process. The researchers themselves haven’t concluded that couples who need ICSI for male fertility problems should not go ahead with the treatment, but have shown that considering freezing embryos before having them transferred is something couples may want to think about. This particular research paper is actually a good news story for fertility patients, as it has found that babies born after standard IVF treatment have no greater risk of problems than those conceived naturally. Infertility is tough, and one of the best ways to help yourself get through it is to ensure that you are well-informed. If you’ve got concerns about any aspect of infertility or treatment, it’s always advisable to raise them with a doctor or fertility specialist who will be able to offer the best advice for your individual situation.

21 year old frozen sperm worked after only one cycle of IVF

The news could hardly have been more devastating for policeman John Powell. Diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 32, he was given only six months to live and told that aggressive chemotherapy would leave him infertile.
That was 21 years ago – and now he and his wife are celebrating the arrival of a daughter. Mr Powell had a sperm sample frozen before he began the treatment and, when he was finally given the all-clear after two decades, it was used to create baby Jasmine.

‘We couldn’t be happier – she is a wonder of medical science,’ said Mr Powell at home with wife Chenphen in Orpington, Kent. ‘I look at little Jasmine and think she is nothing less than miraculous. I honestly didn’t believe she was real until the moment she was born and I saw her face. Now I hold her and think she is part of me from 20 years ago, before I had chemotherapy.

‘It’s astonishing that something as beautiful and perfect as Jasmine could come out of a time that was so painful and difficult.’ For Mr and Mrs Powell, the birth of their daughter on February 20 is even more of a wonder because they had enough money to fund only one cycle of IVF.

They were also fighting against the clock because strict rules meant Mr Powell’s sperm would have had to be destroyed when he reached the age of 55. Medical staff at the Bridge Centre in London, where they underwent the treatment, believe it is a British record for 20-year-old sperm to be successful in its first cycle.

Trevor White, an engineer from Manchester, became a father in 2004 after his sperm had been frozen for 21 years. However baby Daniel was conceived after four separate rounds of IVF.

‘I never thought we would be lucky enough for it to work,’ said 53-year-old Mr Powell, a former superintendent with the Metropolitan force.
‘I didn’t allow myself to believe it had been a success until the moment Jasmine was born.’
Mr Powell already had a daughter, now 23, with his first wife when he was diagnosed with cancer in 1990. They split a few years later and after a period alone he visited Thailand, where friends introduced him to Chenphen.
They married in March 2008 but only after he warned her that they could probably not have a family.

Mrs Powell, 36, said: ‘John explained to me that his cancer meant we were probably not going to be able to have a baby. ‘Obviously I was upset but I loved John so much that all I could think about was our future life together, if that was without children then that was okay.
‘But we knew there was a chance of having a baby with the frozen sperm. I knew we only really had one chance of it working so I didn’t really believe it would.
‘It was so unexpected when we found out I was pregnant, John had a huge smile on his face and it was obvious how happy he was.’ Mr Powell, a keen runner who has coached athletes to world championship level, had the sperm sample frozen in April 1991 and it was exactly 20 years later when his wife found she was pregnant.

He is the first Briton to survive a pioneering treatment. Bone marrow was drained from four holes drilled into his pelvis at Guy’s Hospital in London before he was given extremely high doses of chemotherapy. Months later the bone marrow – which had been frozen – was transplanted back into his body and his long road to recovery began.

Mr Powell kept a diary throughout the whole traumatic period of his treatment. He said: ‘I was confronted with the prospect of having just six months to live or having a chance of survival if I took the new treatment. I was determined to fight. It was a terrible time and it has only been since we were expecting Jasmine that I have been able to look at the diary again.’

The couple plan to fly to Thailand in September to show their daughter off to Mrs Powell’s mother. ‘She was crying down the phone when I told her Jasmine had been born,’ said Mrs Powell. ‘It is her first grandchild. I don’t know how she is going to wait until September.’