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A summary of the one hundred and twenty second meeting of the
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on 28th November 2002

Matters arising from the October meeting

The minutes of the October meeting were approved subject to minor amendments.

It was reported that a meeting between the Chief Executive and Chair and members of the Association Of Clinical Embryologists was being planned to discuss laboratory procedures and standards.

It was agreed that all HFEA licensed centres should be contacted to ascertain what risk assessment strategies are being used and, following further discussions, for letters to be sent out to centres concerning risk assessment policies.

It was noted that the Eleventh Annual Report would be published at the beginning of December.

Chairman's Report

The Chair introduced the new interim Chief Executive Angela McNab, and announced the appointment of four new Members: Clare Brown, Executive Director of CHILD, Professor Neva Haites, Professor in Medical Genetics at Aberdeen University, Dr Maybeth Jamieson, a Clinical Embryologist at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and Mr Walter Merricks, Chief Ombudsman and founder of the Donor Conception Network. The Chairman also welcomed the recent announcement from the Government of additional funding that increases the HFEA's annual funding to £5.5 million.

Funding

The Chief Executive reported that that this increased funding would provide the HFEA with the opportunity to create realistic targets and to create an appropriate staff structure and related strategies. The Chief Executive introduced a proposed new staffing structure which was generally approved by Members, although details of the new structure were to be discussed at the away day strategic planning meeting.

Definitions of cycles

Existing confusion regarding the definition of treatment cycles at clinics was discussed, with some proposals made for the `correct' definition for reference dates for cycles. However, it was agreed that an HFEA seminar should be convened early in 2003 to discuss this matter in detail. The Chief Executive said that a seminar would be held in January 2003 and that views of those at the seminar could inform a decision to be made by the Authority at its January meeting.

The HFEA Code of Practice

Discussion on a new draft of the HFEA Code of Practice illustrated the need for a more `user friendly' version of the Code which could be more easily used and understood by clinics and other interested parties. It was also suggested that a CD Rom version of the Code be produced for use by clinics. Members approved the draft of the new Code with some minor editorial changes. There was some discussion about the need to clarify the distinction between the requirements of the HFE Act 1990 and further guidance issued by the HFEA concerning proper conduct. It was also suggested that other organisations producing similar codes should be approached for their opinions and suggestions as to how to improve the HFEA Code.

Discussion around the new draft of the Code of Practice generated some debate about the HFEA's existing responsibilities and the need for those responsibilities to be reflected in future editions of the Code.

HFEA Publications Schedule

A draft of the new HFEA Publications Schedule was presented at the meeting and minor amendments suggested to reflect the HFEA's desire to be an open an transparent organisation but also to consider specific issues of confidentiality relating to the HFEA's work and also work at HFEA licensed clinics.

Other business

The date of the next HFEA Annual Conference was announced as was the acceptable of an invitation to the Minister of Health to address the conference. (The Annual Conference will be held in London on 28 January 2003.)

The Chair asked for a paper to be prepared on current progress concerning the regulatory function of the HFEA. The Chair also suggested that a Special Interest Group should be formed to review the information sets for the HFEA Register.

The cost of processing research applications was discussed, and in the light of recent investigations, it was suggested that similar work needs to be done in relation to costs of processing research and research licence applications.

Date of next meeting

The date of the next Authority meeting is 16th January 2003.

Page last updated: 24 October 2011

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