HFEA strengthens commitment to reducing multiple births
06 January 2004
The Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) has today published its 6th Code of Practice which has new guidelines for clinics on the number of eggs and embryos that can be transferred during fertility treatment. Accompanying the new Code of Practice is an information leaflet for patients aimed at highlighting the medical and psychological problems associated with multiple births.
Suzi Leather, HFEA Chair said:
"Women are designed to have healthy babies, one at a time, and with natural conception this is what usually happens. But over half of babies born as a result of fertility treatment are twins or triplets. The aim of the HFEA is to bring the number of multiple births from fertility treatment closer to that which occurs naturally.
"Multiple births can be reduced by limiting the amount of eggs and embryos that are transferred during fertility treatment. In most women, limiting the amount of embryos has a significant impact on the number of multiple births without reducing their chance of having a baby."
Statistics show that the success of fertility treatment decreases significantly with age so the HFEA have had to balance reducing multiple births with the need to maximise a woman's chance of having a healthy baby. The 6th Code of Practice therefore makes a distinction based on age. The 6th Code of Practice states that in a single treatment cycle, a maximum of two eggs or embryos can be transferred to a woman of less than 40 years of age, with no exceptions. Women aged 40 and over may receive a maximum of three eggs or embryos.
The guidelines are accompanied by a new patient leaflet on multiple births. The leaflet, Avoiding Multiple Births - deciding how many embryos to transfer, informs patients about the risks associated with multiple births.
Jane Denton, Director of the Multiple Births Foundation and member of the HFEA, said:
"For some patients the prospect of twins or triplets may seem an ideal way to have the family they long for. But the reality can be very different. Multiple births are associated with premature and low birth-weight babies and the risk of death before birth or in the first week of life is significantly greater. Compared with one baby, long term disability like cerebral palsy is around five times higher for twins and 18 times higher for triplets. And multiple births not only affect the babies. There is also increased risk for the mother including complications during pregnancy, and after the births - stress, depression and exhaustion due to coping with more than one baby."
Ends
Notes to editors
The 6th Code of Practice will be available on the HFEA website from 6th January 2004 and is being sent to clinics this week. It will come into force on 1 March 2004.
In August 2001 the HFEA announced its decision to reduce the maximum number of embryos transferred from three to two, although in exceptional circumstances clinicians were still allowed to transfer three embryos. The decision announced today means that from 1 March 2004 no woman under the age of 40 can have more than two eggs or embryos transferred during treatment, regardless of the circumstances.
Latest statistics show that nearly 15 births out of 1,000 in the UK are multiple. This includes those conceived naturally and through assisted conception. (Multiple Births Foundation UK birth figures for 2001 collated from the Office of National Statistics, General Registry Office Scotland and GRO Northern Ireland)
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.
Page last updated: 12 March 2009
Multiple pregnancy is the greatest health risk for women following IVF.