PET Director
Sarah Norcross is director of the Progress Educational Trust (PET) and Commissioning Editor of its flagship publication BioNews. Together with Sandy Starr, she organises PET's public events. Sarah often represents PET in the media nationally (including on the Today programme, BBC News, ITV News, 5 News, Good Morning Britain, Sunday Morning Live) and internationally (including on BBC World News, Mittagsmagazin and Fala Brasil and in Die Welt), as well as in more specialist publications (including Science magazine, the British Medical Journal and Reproductive BioMedicine Online). Sarah is also a Trustee at the British Fertility Society (BFS), Chair of the BFS Special Interest Group on Law, Policy and Ethics, and an External Adviser to the University of Cambridge's Reproduction Strategic Research Initiative.
Sarah serves on the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's Working Group on Add-Ons, on the National Infertility Group convened by the Scottish Government, and on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Patient Organisation Stakeholder Group. She was previously Co-chair of the campaigning organisation Fertility Fairness, and she also chaired a group of clinicians, scientists, patient support groups and medical research charities which campaigned and advised on the content of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 as it passed through the UK Parliament. She has advised on numerous research projects, most recently Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing and Donor-Conception and Egg Donation in the UK, Belgium and Spain. Previously, she worked as a Barrister carrying out advocacy in civil and criminal courts on the Northern Circuit.
The first question I asked when picking up this book was: What is the image on the cover? Closer inspection and the power of Google revealed it is a dried poppy head (somniferum papaver) not, as I first thought, the egg from Alien - the science fiction horror film. What message does this convey?
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Storage Period for Gametes and Embryos) Regulations 2009 came into force on 1 October 2009. Soon after, however, a prayer was moved for the regulations to be annulled...
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published new figures showing the number of new egg and sperm donors registered in 2008. The figures published on 31 July 2009 show that the number of both sperm and egg donors has increased....
We are pleased to announce that following years of dealing with out-of-date technology and increasing competition, the BioNews website and the free BioNews by email service have been overhauled...
Clare Lewis-Jones, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK (I N UK) and More to Life, the largest national charity providing help, support and information to those suffering the effects of infertility, has been awarded a MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to healthcare....
BioNews is published by the Progress Educational Trust a small UK registered charity which battles for funding to keep BioNews in operation and free of charge. Back in January we launched the 500 Fivers Appeal to coincide with the publication of...
The very fact that the 500th edition of BioNews went out last Monday demonstrates the dedication of the BioNews team. On Friday 20 March I received a letter from the landlord of our office stating that we would have to leave at 4pm on Monday as they would be starting...
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) consultations on the draft 8th Code of Practice, revised consent forms, on presenting clinic performance and outcome data both close at midnight on Wednesday 18th February. At the HFEA public consultation meeting held in London on 11th February Alan Doran Interim Chief Executive...
Like Janus, the two headed Roman god of gates and doorways, beginnings and endings, this commentary will look back over PET's work in 2008 and look forward to 2009. * Highlights of 2008 The last year was largely dominated by parliamentary work concerning the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which finally...
The Progress Educational Trust (PET) is delighted to announce a new service from BioNews: a 'jobs' section. Today's issue of BioNews contains PET's first job advertisement, placed and paid for by the Human Genetics Commission. Why has PET decided to do this? Like many small charities, PET struggles to find...
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