PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsPrivate IVF clinics 'exploiting' older patients, says HFEA chair

BioNews

Private IVF clinics 'exploiting' older patients, says HFEA chair

Published 26 April 2019 posted in News and appears in BioNews 996

Author

Martha Henriques

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

Sally Cheshire, chair of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, has warned that private IVF clinics are misleading older patients about success rates and overcharging for their services...

Sally Cheshire, chair of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has warned that private IVF clinics are misleading older patients about success rates and overcharging for their services. 

Between 2004 and 2017, the success rate for births after IVF for women aged 44 or older was just one percent. However, clinics are presenting 'very selective' information on success rates to patients while reportedly charging up to £20,000 per cycle, Cheshire told the Telegraph.

'Some of the private sector clinics use very selective success rates in their sales tactics which we are also trying to stop. Because they need to be honest about their results by age group, by category of patient – all of which is available on [the HFEA] website,' said Cheshire. 

The number of women in their 40s seeking to have a child through IVF has doubled since 2004, reaching 10,835 women in 2017. However, only 75 women a year aged 42-43 will have a baby through IVF, using her own eggs. Over the age of 44, the figure is less than two. The success rate is boosted if the woman uses eggs frozen from when she was younger. 

'I would like our clinics to be honest about the success rates,' said Cheshire. 

Cheshire, who is 50, recalled being personally approached by IVF providers at the Fertility Show in 2018. 'I said, "Do you realise I am the chair of the HFEA? You really shouldn't be offering this."' 

She also called for the HFEA to be given powers to intervene where IVF clinics are overcharging patients. Add-on treatments – many of which are not proven to boost pregnancy rates and are potentially dangerous - are behind the inflation of IVF costs, Cheshire said. Three-quarters of patients take up an add-on option. 

'We have no legal powers to regulate prices. But a cycle shouldn't cost more than £5000, £3000 to £4000 [for the basic cycle] plus an extra £1000 maybe for an extra frozen embryo transfer,' said Cheshire. 

'We need to be doing the right thing by our patients – making sure that the price is not exploitative; that the information is accurate and that patients are not being offered add-on treatments that are unproven without the facts.'

Related Articles

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
7 July 2020 • 2 minutes read

Infertile couples overestimate their chance of IVF success

by Catherine Hill

Couples undergoing fertility treatment markedly overestimate their chance of IVF success, men to a greater extent than women, according to new research...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
10 May 2019 • 2 minutes read

Record numbers of single women seeking fertility treatments

by Jakki Magowan

Women without male partners are increasingly seeking fertility treatment according to a new report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Comment
1 April 2019 • 4 minutes read

Why we need Siobhain McDonagh's bill to amend the HFE Act

by Eleanor Harrison

For the last few months I have been involved with Siobhain's parliamentary push to protect the welfare of women in IVF law...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Comment
4 February 2019 • 4 minutes read

The HFEA statement on add-ons in IVF can turn hope into reality

by Dr Kamal Ahuja and 1 others

Recently, the HFEA released a statement on adjunct treatments in IVF. The regulator had provided clear notice of its publication and both its stated intentions and content were as anticipated...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
18 January 2019 • 2 minutes read

HFEA: patients should not pay for unproven IVF 'add-ons'

by Rikita Patel

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has published a final consensus statement advising that IVF clinics should not charge patients for add-on treatments that are not proven effective by clinical trials...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Lung-disease gene edited in mice in the womb

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Call to end ban on HIV-positive partner gamete 'donation'

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Melanoma invades new tissues using nerve cell gene

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Exceeding alcohol limits could damage DNA and accelerate ageing

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Blood cell gene mutations affect mitochondria, increasing cardiovascular disease risk

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Jumping gene helps immune system fight viruses

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856