The world’s most prominent fertility experts have been discussing whether IVF (in vitro fertilisation) should be restricted to patients who fit a set of rules.
Smoking over 15 cigarettes a day or drinking more than three units a day, along with a record of child abuse, violence or drug use, were all suggested as restrictions.
They were put forward by Professor Carl Wood, who runs an IVF clinic in Australia, to a conference in Italy of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
It is thought that his lecture will provoke those who don’t believe doctors should set the terms on which fertility treatment can be delivered.
Prof Wood said that, although he could not refuse IVF treatment on these grounds, he tried to persuade people to rethink and defer treatment.
He suggested treatment should be delayed in either the long or short term if:
- patients smoke over 15 cigarettes a day
- regularly drink more than three glasses of beer a day
- are habitual drug users
- have a criminal record of child abuse or violence
- have been admitted to hospital in the past for a serious psychotic disorder
- haven’t been vaccinated against German measles
- haven’t been taking folic acid.
IVF is more widely available in Australia than in the UK. At the moment whether you can receive IVF in this country is seen as a ‘postcode lottery’ because some health authorities have limited IVF treatment available on the NHS and others have none.
Around 6,000 babies are born by IVF each year in the UK, but only one in five courses of treatment are paid for by the NHS.
Doctors want to see a UK-wide IVF policy to end the situation where one couple is given treatment but another couple living five minutes down the road is turned away simply because they live in a different health authority.
There are also concerns because patients who undergo private IVF treatment are more likely to ask for three embryos (the maximum allowed in Britain) to be implanted, increasing the risk of complications due to a multiple pregnancy.
Loading ...
