The IVF lottery

In 2007, the world's media reported - with various degrees of shock and disapproval - on a Big Brother-style TV programme being created in Holland. This was Big Brother with a bizarre twist: instead of a cash prize and a moment of minor celebrity, the winner would get ... a kidney. Fast forward to 2011. A similar media outcry has been provoked by the announcement by fertility charity To Hatch of a lottery where the prize is - not cash; not a kidney, but... fertility treatment...[Read More]

Should doctors harvest eggs from a comatose woman?

A novel dilemma has arisen recently, recalling past debates over the removal of sperm from dead or dying men. However, the current case is a first, in that that it involves eggs, rather than sperm. Ultimately, the request was denied, but not necessarily for the right reasons...[Read More]

Consent for embryo creation and storage: time for a change in the law?

When Natallie Evans lost her case to prevent the destruction of her embryos in 2007, many people were moved by her plight. The letter of the law had been followed, but with tragic consequences for her...[Read More]

Time to put a stop to postmenopausal mothers?

When Liz Buttle (then aged 60) became the UK's oldest mother in 1997, she was subjected to a storm of media criticism. Since then, debate over appropriate age limits for fertility treatment has shown no signs of abatement, while a growing number of postmenopausal women seek treatment in the UK and abroad....[Read More]

Genetic testing of children prior to adoption

Recently, a new angle to the many and varied debates over predictive genetic testing has emerged. A number of clinical geneticists in the UK have been requested to undertake genetic tests on children who are up for adoption. When advised that these tests were not in the interests of the children concerned, several local authorities obtained court orders enforcing the tests....[Read More]

Incarceration and infertility: do prisoners have the right to access IVF?

In October 2008, it was reported that a Spanish woman, Elena Beloki, had been granted permission to receive IVF treatment. Beloki is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence for her involvement with the Basque separatist organisation, Eta. Her fertility treatment will be carried out while on bail, and will...[Read More]

Posthumous retrieval of gametes: a case of deja vu?

To those who followed the story of Diane Blood in the '90s, the plight of the woman referred to as 'L' in recent news articles has a strong sense of deja vu (1). Once again, sperm has been obtained from the body of a man without his prior consent. Once...[Read More]

Artificial gametes: the end of infertility?

An article published recently in the New Scientist alerted readers to ongoing developments in the creation of 'female' sperm and 'male' eggs (1). If - and it is a big if - this technological breakthrough ever comes about, it is suggested that such artificial gametes could offer the possibility of genetic reproduction...[Read More]

The review of the HFE Act: ethical expertise or moral cowardice?

The development of reproductive technologies has continued apace since the birth of Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, in 1978. The regulatory framework is constantly assailed by new possibilities which may not have been envisaged by those who drew up the original legislation in this area. Do the moral arguments...[Read More]

There's no such thing as a free egg

Earlier this year, at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) conference in Lyons, France, it was reported that Melanie Boivin, a Canadian woman, had decided to have her eggs surgically extracted and preserved for the later use of her daughter, who at this time was seven years...[Read More]