Scientists warn of potential mitochondrial replacement IVF health risks
A group of scientists has expressed concerns that it may be too soon to bring mitochondrial replacement techniques, which are still under development, to the clinic....
BioNews
HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)
A UK non-departmental public body established by an Act of Parliament in 1990, which regulates treatment using eggs and sperm, and treatment and research involving human embryos. It sets standards for, and issues licences to, fertility treatment and embryo research centres.
496 articles
Informal sperm donation and introduction websites: a case for more regulation?
The recent judgment handed down in the case of M v F and H [2013] on 5 July highlights difficulties with regard to legal parentage in cases of informal donor situations, which are not regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)...
Surrogacy law: a call for change?
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority intends to update its guidance on surrogacy for clinics, and while we welcome this clarification, it is also important to consider how surrogates feel the law shapes their experiences...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Book Review: Fertility and Reproduction
Fertility and Reproduction is extremely up-to-date on current issues, discussing saviour sibling treatment, eugenics as well as mitochondrial replacement, all of which have been extremely topical in bioethics...
Higher risk of childhood cancer for those born from women with fertility problems
Children born from mothers with fertility problems are at a higher risk of developing cancers during childhood and young adulthood, according to a large Danish study...
HFEA will remain independent, says UK Government
The Department of Health has announced that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority will remain the independent regulator of assisted reproduction and embryology research in the UK...
IVF not linked to higher childhood cancer risk
Children born as a result of assisted reproduction do not have a higher risk of developing cancer during childhood than those conceived spontaneously, according to a large UK study...
UK Government backs mitochondrial replacement
The UK Government is to support the introduction of mitochondrial replacement therapy. The IVF-based procedure could allow women with mitochondrial disease the opportunity to have healthy children, by replacing their own, faulty, mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a donor....
After the tyranny of the embryo?
In her commentary in BioNews 707, Professor Alison Murdoch highlighted what she described as cultural problems affecting fertility treatment in the UK. In this commentary I consider some related cultural and governmental issues for embryo research....
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
IVF: the real moral debate
The culture of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is now one based on self-aggrandisement and self-preservation. But cultural problems with fertility treatment in England and Wales do not stop there and other stakeholders must also be called to account...