Statistics accompanying the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)'s publication of the results of its sperm, egg and embryo donation (SEED) review show that the profile of sperm donors in the UK has changed. The statistics show that men who donate sperm are now far less likely to...
An Indian man has become the country's first single man to have a child using IVF and surrogacy. Amitava Banerjee, a 45-year old accountant from Calcutta will now have to overcome a number of legal obstacles before he can be recognised as the father of the child, who he...
A new technique for freezing human eggs increases the pregnancy rate per embryo transferred to 34 per cent, scientists report. A research team based in Japan, Denmark and the US, 'vitrified' the eggs on the surface of a fine plastic strip before thawing and fertilising them using intracytoplasmic sperm injection...
Japanese companies have built a desk-top machine that allows doctors to check their patients' DNA before writing a prescription, the journal Nature reports. The device, which they say will be on sale for five million yen (£25,000) in a year's time, uses a single drop of blood and delivers results...
A Wisconsin University-based research group, WiCell, is set to host the first federally-funded US bank of human embryonic stem (ES) cells. The National Stem Cell Bank will house many of the ES cell lines approved for use in research paid for by the government, the National Institutes of Health (NIH...
The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has published the results of its sperm, egg and embryo donation (SEED) review, which included a survey of UK clinics and a review of current scientific and clinical evidence in this area. An accompanying public consultation, which closed in February 2005, sought...
Up to a third of all cases of breast cancer could have a genetic basis, a leading UK scientist said last week. Speaking at the annual conference of the National Cancer Research Institute, Professor Bruce Ponder said that research suggests there could be hundreds of variations in dozens of genes...
Scientists based at Hong Kong University have found a way to identify traces of fetal DNA in a pregnant woman's blood, bringing non-invasive prenatal testing a step closer. The researchers, who published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have developed a new technique for distinguishing...
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The HFEA's father figures: Lies, damn lies and statistics?
by Professor Kirsty Horsey
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)'s recent publication of the results of its review of sperm, egg and embryo donation in the UK was accompanied by a press release detailing the profile of current donors. 'Who are the UK's sperm donors?' it asked, answering that the 'stereotype of...
'Egg sharing' affects validity of a woman's consent
by Veronica English
On 7 October, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published the results of its sperm, egg and embryo donation (SEED) review. The British Medical Association (BMA) welcomes the majority of the conclusions in the report and particularly the principle that donation of gametes should be 'cost neutral' - that...