Evidence and models of best practice should guide recruitment of gamete donors

We welcome much of what Kamal Ahuja wrote in his recent BioNews Commentary 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'. Like him, we believe there is no good evidence to demonstrate that paying 'donors' would increase the supply of donated sperm or oocytes. On the contrary, there is evidence to suggest that properly constructed donor recruitment programmes – such as the one pioneered at the London Women's Clinic – are capable of recruiting a good supply of altruistic donors...[Read More]

Biopsy of egg DNA to aid IVF

US researchers have developed a way to analyse the viability of human eggs at a genetic level without causing them harm. This technology will help improve the chances of successful IVF for couples with fertility problems...[Read More]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it: why the HFEA should leave the gamete donation policy alone

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has already made two decisions following its public consultation and review of gamete donation policies in the UK: first, intra-familial gamete donation can continue as before (subject to certain provisions); and second, the number of families which a single donor might help create remains limited to ten. The bigger question on compensation and benefit in kind to donors will not be answered until later this year...[Read More]

Fertility treatment in Germany

Germany is said to have one of the most restrictive legislation in the area of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments. In contrast to the UK, both oocyte donation and surrogacy are prohibited by the Embryo Protection Act. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has only become permissible as of July this year – it can now be carried out if the child will be born with a severe genetic disease, or if the embryo is so severely impaired that the pregnancy...[Read More]

Ovarian stimulation linked to egg abnormalities in older mothers

European researchers have linked ovarian stimulation in women aged over 35 to increased chromosomal abnormalities. Genetic screening shows that the production of oocytes is disrupted during fertility treatment involving ovarian stimulation...[Read More]

Google Baby: A lesson in global capitalism

Zippi Brand Frank's documentary 'Google Baby' gives us a fascinating insight into the global business of making babies. The programme follows an Israeli business man as he recruits commissioning parents via the internet, US brokers and egg donors, Indian assisted conception clinics and gestational surrogates ....[Read More]

Melatonin could improve women's IVF success

Women with poor egg (or oocyte) quality could double their chance of becoming pregnant through IVF if given melatonin, researchers have found. The work was presented at the World Congress of Fertility and Sterility in Munich last week...[Read More]

The role of humour in sperm donor recruitment

Unlike either oocyte or embryo donation, sperm donation presents a massive PR problem - masturbation. At least since Onan came to a sticky end, masturbation (aka 'self-abuse') has both suffered censure and has provided a fertile source for low-grade humour....[Read More]

Obituary: Dr Wesley Whitten

Dr Wesley Whitten, whose pioneering work in the field of reproductive physiology, which made the study of pre-implantation embryos possible, passed away on 24th May 2010....[Read More]

Consent agreements for cryopreserved embryos: the case for choice

Embryos created by IVF (in vitro fertilisation) can be cryopreserved (stored) for possible future use. All couples who have embryos stored in the UK are currently bound by law to a single form of agreement, allowing each genetic parent to withdraw consent at any time before the embryo is transferred. This article makes the case for allowing an alternative consent agreement...[Read More]

Reply to 'Gamete donation in the UK: Time to think again'

The Bridge Centre's plea to 'think again' about arrangements for gamete donation in the UK takes yet another ill-founded and unsubstantiated swipe at the lifting of donor anonymity and its impact on donor services. The Bridge Centre also indicts the removal of anonymity, together with donor compensation arrangements, as responsible for the 'explosive growth of fertility tourism'....[Read More]

Flash cooling holds promise for egg storage

Droplet size, temperature and composition can affect the vitrification process, according to research published in PNAS last month. The findings could be used to improve the vitrification techniques used to store biological materials, including eggs for IVF treatment...[Read More]

Is cross-border reproductive care a problem, and for whom?

As a clinician based in the UK, one cannot fail to be aware that some patients seek fertility treatments abroad. Until now we only had newspaper headlines or anecdotal evidence, but having presented the results of the first European study in Amsterdam at the annual ESHRE conference (1), we may now base our reflections on some facts, even if selected by the voluntary nature of participating colleagues and centres abroad....[Read More]

Advances in egg freezing trigger debate

Advances in egg freezing have leapt from the lab to the public, particularly in the US where clinics are unregulated, to offer assisted reproduction using frozen eggs despite the long-term effects being little known, according to the journal Science. A news article evaluated the reliability and significance...[Read More]

Unfertilised mouse eggs used in successful nuclear transfer

Scientists in Japan have succeeded in performing cell nuclear transfer on mouse eggs left unfertilised after IVF. Lead scientist on the study Teruhiko Wakayama said, 'Before our findings, it was believed that only fresh eggs could be used. But if incompetent eggs can be cloned, then scientists...[Read More]

Payment for egg donation debate continues

A leading bioethicist, Dr Insoo Hyun of Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, US, has called for women to be paid to donate eggs for stem cell research on the same basis that research participants are compensated for taking part in other medical research. In a Nature commentary...[Read More]

Defining the human embryo: A way with words?

In February this year, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (1) published a discussion paper entitled: 'Human Embryo - A biological definition'. This publication provides an authoritative and comprehensive summary of the scientific arguments and experiments that bear on our understanding of what a human embryo is and is...[Read More]

Egg donation for stem cell research: reconciling scientific progress and women's welfare

In the wake of the Hwang scandal, it became clear that the future success of developing patient-specific stem cell lines by somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning technology) will depend primarily on a sufficient supply of human oocytes (eggs). However, oocyte donation after ovulation induction presents certain risks for the donor...[Read More]

New egg test may increase IVF success rate

BioNews reporting from ESHRE conference, Prague (sponsored by Planer cryoTechnology). By Dr Kirsty Horsey: Italian scientists have presented research at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Prague, Czech Republic, showing that eggs can be screened - before they are fertilised - for chromosomal abnormalities...[Read More]

HFEA to consult on altruistic egg donation

At its open meeting held on 10 May in Belfast, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) announced that it will 'prepare a proper consultation programme' on oocyte (egg) donation so that it could assess the whole range of views and ethical issues that the...[Read More]