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12 August 2011

Summary of request

The Authority was asked for information about the trisomy rate in IVF pregnancies compared with the background rate.

 

HFEA response

The HFEA Register

HFEA licensed fertility centers submit information to us about the treatments they carry out. The forms currently used by clinics to submit information are available on the HFEA website here: http://www.hfea.gov.uk/fertility-clinic-forms.html . As you can see, Q13 of the main treatment outcome form requires clinics to report congenital abnormalities but, does not require them to report the type, eg trisomy.

 

Prior to this version of the form (introduced in 2007) clinics could report congenital abnormality type. However, having discussed this with our analysts the quality of data submitted is unlikely to enable an accurate trisomy rate to be calculated.

 

Database linkage

In 2010, the law governing the use of information held on the HFEA’s Register changed. This made it possible, via an application process, for researchers to link some information on the HFEA Register to other healthcare databases. It may therefore be possible for researchers to make the comparison in question by linking our dataset with another. More information about this method of accessing our data can be found on our website at http://www.hfea.gov.uk/5452.html .

Page last updated: 16 August 2012

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