S.H. v Austria denies infertile Europeans human rights

Procreative liberty and the right to legal recognition of parent-child relationships continue to be prominent themes in disputes between individual citizens and government over access to assisted reproduction. The judiciary has been largely reluctant to state whether resort to reproductive technology is a human right...[Read More]

Crystal ball gazing: fertility treatment in 2012

Crystal ball gazing has never been my strong suit but I found myself rising to the challenge now that I have taken over the mantle of Chairman of the British Fertility Society. What is clear is that 2012 should turn out to be an interesting year...[Read More]

Mouse sperm grown in lab

Researchers have successfully extracted germ cells - the cells that give rise to gametes - from the testes of mice, and used them to grow sperm in the lab...[Read More]

Lesbian woman in US who donated eggs to ex-partner granted parental rights over child

A Florida court has granted equal parental rights to two lesbian women who created a child using the eggs from one of the women, while the other carried the baby to term. It ruled that egg donors may acquire parental rights to children resulting from their gametes under the Florida and US Constitution....[Read More]

Sperm donor told to halt production by US regulator

A man in the United States is reportedly being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after offering his sperm for donation. Trent Arsenault, a 36 year-old computer security expert from California, has set up a website offering his sperm without charge to anyone who wishes to use it to have a baby....[Read More]

Of family and finance: Israeli citizens without rights and HFEA remuneration

Living in Israel, where gamete donor anonymity still rules supreme, I confess I envy the UK's clear focus on the welfare of the donor conceived child and the evolution of the legal rights of offspring...[Read More]

Frozen embryos 'lost' by Ramsgate IVF

A fertility clinic in Kent is under investigation after reports that staff may have lost a woman's embryos. Alison Austin-Hennessy, 31, said she and her husband Michael were informed by a consultant at the private Chaucer Hospital that their embryos had been misplaced....[Read More]

TV Review: Donor (episode of Moving On)

'All I want is some bodily fluids, are you really going to begrudge me that?' - 'Donor', the third episode in BBC One's contemporary daytime drama series 'Moving On' tackled issues of infertility, sperm donation, parenthood and the societal expectation on women to become mothers...[Read More]

'Stolen' sperm spawns twins, lawsuit

A man is suing a US fertility clinic in negligence for 'mental and economic injuries' after alleging it used his 'stolen' sperm to impregnate his girlfriend without his consent....[Read More]

Should IVF children in the US conceived after a parent's death receive benefits?

The US Supreme Court will decide whether children conceived through IVF after the death of their biological father are entitled to receive survivor benefits - general welfare benefits paid by the state designed to replace the lost support of a deceased wage earner....[Read More]

IVF treatment rises six percent in a year

There was a six percent rise last year in the number of fertility treatments carried out in the UK, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)...[Read More]

Accidental destruction of sperm samples at Cardiff IVF clinic

Apologies have been issued by a Welsh IVF clinic following the accidental destruction of three patients' sperm samples. The samples, known as straws, were collected from patients undergoing treatments for blood disorders and cancer that may affect their fertility. An investigation is underway as to why no senior staff were informed when the samples were destroyed in March this year...[Read More]

Progress in the marketplace

This year the Progress Educational Trust decided to exhibit at the Fertility Show again. The Fertility Show is a popular consumer event aimed at those who want information or advice on fertility. But as such, it evokes mixed feelings...[Read More]

Fertility clinics and their patients suffer from HFEA's (lack of) communication strategy

The general public has been well informed about the HFEA's proposed changes in compensation for gamete donors. However, there has been no direct communication with licensed centres and no clear indication of when regulations will change. As a result we are having difficulty dealing with a wave of enthusiasm from potential donors...[Read More]

European Court of Human Rights upholds Austria's ban on egg or sperm donation for IVF

IVF using donated egg or sperm other than from a spouse will remain banned in Austria. This was the final decision made by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) on 3 November in the closing of the case SH and others v Austria....[Read More]

Is intentional parenthood good for children?

In today's debates about the family a new phrase can often be heard: 'intentional parenthood'. The term appears to have originated in the 1990s to resolve disputed surrogacy or lesbian parenting family law cases...[Read More]

Film Review: In Vitro

'You can run but you can't hide; not forever'. The opening sequence of 'In Vitro' speaks to anyone who has ever made a mistake or a bad decision. But what if your decision was responsible for changing the world we live in forever? Despite being an educational film, the stunning cinematography and thought-provoking content makes this a must-see for anyone...[Read More]

A private sperm donor writes...

A shortfall in donated sperm, we are told, has pushed potential recipients onto websites where private sperm donors hawk their reproductive wares. If only the officially sanctioned sperm banks were well stocked, the thinking goes, women would not have to venture into that murky world. But is that correct? What if sperm donation outside the official channels actually carried certain advantages over the clinic system...[Read More]

Reflections on gamete donation

'How far should society go in encouraging people to donate their bodily material?' is the question at the heart of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' report on the ethics of donation for medicine and research, which was published earlier this month...[Read More]

Perhaps the Government is right to plan to abolish the HFEA

Perhaps the Government is right to plan to abolish the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The astonishing behaviour of its members at last week's open Authority meeting over compensation for egg and sperm donors will lower its reputation in the eyes of some of its erstwhile supporters. Those who might have manned the barricades to halt the Government's plans may now wonder whether the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – the health and social care regulator set to take over the H...[Read More]