In the first move of its kind, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - the agency responsible for regulating food, drugs and biological medical products - has recommended a genetic test prior to the prescription of a drug, Warfarin, in order to gauge potential patient response. Warfarin, sold...
A study has found that exposure to the 'harsh' cool-white fluorescent lighting commonly used in fertility clinics, research labs and most office environments could be particularly damaging to an embryo's healthy development. A joint team of researchers in Hawaii and Japan conducted the study on mouse embryos...
A BBC investigation has found that women receiving IVF on the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK may have a lower chance of conceiving than private patients because treatment is not always provided at the most appropriate time. There is an optimal time to perform the...
Last month a gene therapy trial for arthritis, carried out by US company Targeted Genetics, was halted when following the death of 36-year-old participant Jolee Mohr. Although the exact cause of her death is still unknown, the usually mild fungal infection found throughout Mrs Mohr's body...
Women with fertility problems would rather take the risks associated with multiple pregnancies than risk not becoming pregnant at all, reveals research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG) this month. Researchers from the University of Aberdeen surveyed a total of 74 women...
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Comment
Infertility treatment and the welfare of the child
by Professor Eric Blyth
The UK was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce comprehensive legislation regulating fertility treatment. Since the issues and practices regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act were - and remain - contentious, it is hardly surprising that the Act itself has been controversial. Section 13(5) of the Act...