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A summary of the one hundred and sixth meeting of the
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on 22 February 2001

Professor Dervilla Donnelly, the Chairman of the Irish Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, made a short presentation to Members prior to the main meeting. Members were given an opportunity to ask and answer questions.

Matters Arising from minutes of the January Authority Meeting

The minutes of the January meeting were approved.

The Chairman informed Members that the HFEA had written to the Department of Health about the budget and a meeting had been arranged.

Members were informed that the police investigation was still ongoing at the Hampshire clinics and a further licence committee had been arranged for after the Authority meeting to discuss additional issues relating to these clinics.

The Chairman informed Members that the papers relating to the judicial review on the subject of replacing more than three embryos were before the Judge.

The Department of Health representative provided the Authority with the latest information relating to the judicial review that had been instigated by the Pro-Life Alliance. The Chairman reminded Members that the Authority had given assurances to the Department of Health that it will not licence any research involving Cell Nuclear Replacement until the legal proceedings surrounding the Regulations were finalised. Licence Committees were, however, permitted to issue research licenses for research into stem cells providing the embryos were not created using Cell Nuclear Replacement techniques.

The Chairman informed Members that a letter had been sent to the centre wishing to import sperm in bulk from the US requesting further information, but no response had been received.

Members were told that the 4th edition of the HFEA Update that was approved at the January meeting had been circulated to licensed centres and would be posted on the website.

Chairman's Business

Members agreed to the increase in fees for centres for the forthcoming financial year as follows: IVF treatments from £36 to £40 per treatment cycle and DI from £14 to £18 per treatment cycle.

Members were informed that two new Members have been provisionally approved to join the Authority subject to Ministerial approval.

Discussion Papers

In vitro maturation (IVM) of Oocytes and use in Treatment
Members discussed the technique of maturing oocytes in vitro. Members were reminded that the proposal was only for oocytes that would require only a short period of maturation time in vitro. This protocol would potentially be helpful to patients at risk of developing Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. Members considered the evidence and decided that there was a considerable body of research on the maturation of eggs in vitro and babies had been born elsewhere in the world without any signs of abnormalities, however the technique had a very low success rates at present.

Members approved the preliminary research work that had been adopted to develop this technique and wished to encourage the same approach for future technological advances. Members noted the useful input provided by the British Fertility Society, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Association of Clinical Embryologists on this topic.

It was agreed that the clinical outcome should be monitored at the end of the year and the long term follow up of the children born from oocytes matured in vitro should be strongly encouraged. Members agreed that the details of licensing this technique should be developed by the Licensing and Fees Committee.

Draft 4th revision of the Code of Practice Paper III
Members were informed that the draft 5th Edition of the Code had been sent to the Department of Health for the Secretary of State's consideration.

Members approved the new 5th Edition of the HFEA's Code of Practice and a draft Chairman's letter to centres setting out all the major policy changes contained in the Code.

Chief Executive's Business

The Acting Chief Executive drew Members' attention to a Chief Executive's letter clarifying confidentiality provisions, which had been circulated to centres and would be posted on the website.

Reports from Committees and Working Groups

Reports were presented from the Licensing and Fees Committee, the Ethics Committee, Working Group on New Developments in Reproductive Technology (WGNDRT), Audit Committee, Information Committee, Organisation and Finance Committee and the Registry Project Board.

The Licensing and Fees Committee reported on their discussions about the pool of inspectors and the release of inspection reports. The Ethics Committee reported their discussions on Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis with the emphasis on multiplex screening and tissue typing.

The WGNDRT reported on several topics that they had been discussing including the use of in vitro matured eggs in treatment, follow up studies of ICSI children, evidence that use of donor gametes increases hypertensive problems in pregnancy, the adoption of a formal evidence evaluation methodology. Members were asked to approve a Chairman's letter informing centres of the anecdotal evidence that had emerged relating to ICSI and the evidence relating to the use of donor gametes and hypertensive problems in pregnancy. In addition, the HFEA ICSI leaflet had been amended slightly to try and encourage patients to consider participation in follow up studies.

The Audit Committee reported on discussions on the appointment of a new internal auditor, changing the focus of the audit programme to look more closely at core data, implementation of Turnbull guidelines on internal control, a progress report on the data and systems audit.

The Information Committee reported on the following topics that they had discussed at their meeting: the discussions on the Patients' Guide and clinic data reporting included the presentation of egg sharing data, incorrect reporting of abandoned cycles, presentation of live birth rates per two embryo transfer.

The Organisation and Finance Committee reported on discussions on the draft business and corporate plans and draft budget for 2001/2002 and securing Investors in People status.

The Register Project Board reported on their discussions at their previous meeting, which included: changing the name of the register project board to the register management board; the implementation of the verification programme; the lack of resources available to carry out IT functions; the comparative merits of auditing core and non-core data; the need to check clinics' systems and procedures; cost savings through the removal of data tables from the Patients' Guide and Annual Report and the introduction of Electronic Data Interchange.

Any Other Business

The Chairman drew attention to a letter that she had received from the Chief Medical Officer detailing anecdotal evidence about ICSI children and the potential increased risks of abnormalities that had recently come to his attention. The Chairman informed Members that a letter had been sent to the CMO explaining that the WGNDRT had addressed this issue and she would be writing to centres accordingly.

Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next Authority meeting is Thursday 22 March 2001, followed by the Members' Retreat.

Page last updated: 24 October 2011

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