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27 April 2006

As we enter the season for booking summer holidays, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) – the UK's regulator for fertility treatment – is urging people to think twice about taking an ´IVF holiday' and undergoing fertility treatment abroad.

The HFEA's role is to ensure that care and treatment in UK licensed clinics is of the highest standard –UK patients can be confident clinic inspections and monitoring ensure standards remain high. However, the HFEA do not have the powers to regulate treatment carried out abroad – even when UK clinics are able to refer patients to clinics abroad – and so cannot assure patients that they will receive safe and high quality care.

We would urge patients to consider the risks and implications of going abroad for treatment and have provided key information on the most important issues that patients should be aware of on our website.

As the UK is unique in its standards of fertility treatments we advise that patients who are considering going abroad must check the standards and regulation of clinics in that country. For example, key issues to consider include:

• What happens if treatment abroad goes wrong?
• Is patient information kept safe and confidential?
• The legal position for donors in that country - are they anonymous?
• Do donors have legal responsibility for the child?
• How are  ethical considerations made regarding how donors are recruited, compensated and screened?

If a patient is not satisfied with the treatment they have received at a UK licensed clinic then they can follow the clinic's complaints procedure, which is monitored by the HFEA. However, if they are unsatisfied with treatment they have received abroad, they do not have the same opportunity as their clinic will not be regulated by the HFEA.

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the HFEA, said:

"We know that a relatively small number of people choose to travel abroad to undergo fertility treatment and that sometimes the treatment is packaged as a "holiday" where the patient can convalesce in the sun.

"However, we are concerned about people who choose to have their treatment abroad should know about the potential risks.

"We have heard of some clinics which offer treatment to patients that is so dangerous that it has been banned in the UK ? for example implanting five embryos which significantly raises the chance of multiple pregnancy ? the biggest risk of IVF for both mothers and babies.

"It is very sad when we receive complaints from patients about their treatment abroad and we are not able to help or reassure them. We would urge patients to think twice and consider the risks and implications before going abroad for treatment."

Suzi Leather has spoken recently about this topic at the First World Forum on Science and Civilisation that took place in Oxford last month. Her speech can be accessed from our public events section.

Ends

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Notes to editors

The HFEA is the independent regulator for IVF treatment and embryo research. Our role is to protect patients and the public interest, to drive improvement in the treatment and research sectors and to provide information to the public and policymakers about treatment and research.

The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.  The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), donor insemination (DI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos.

For further information please contact the HFEA press office.

Page last updated: 11 March 2009

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