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
PETBioNewsNewsRecommendations on cross-border reproductive travel published

BioNews

Recommendations on cross-border reproductive travel published

Published 14 November 2012 posted in News and appears in BioNews 614

Author

Rose Palmer

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.

The shortage of egg and sperm donors, and the cost of IVF in the UK, need to be addressed to reduce the number of people travelling abroad for fertility treatment, according to a report published this week....

The shortage of egg and sperm donors, and the cost of IVF in the UK, need to be addressed to reduce the number of people travelling abroad for fertility treatment, according to a report published this week.

The recommendations follow research undertaken as part of the Transnational Reproduction (Transrep) project, which aims to improve understanding of cross-border reproductive travel from the UK perspective.

Lead researcher, Professor Lorraine Culley said: 'The recommendations from the Transrep study are aimed at addressing concerns both with the current provision of fertility treatment in the UK, especially the shortage of donors, as well as making suggestions to help safe-guard those who decide to cross borders in their quest for a child'.

In their work Professor Culley and Dr Nicky Hudson from De Montfort University emphasise the need for a properly funded strategy to raise awareness of donor shortages, and to improve recruitment and supply. This could include an accessible central database, providing information about donor location and availability and the waiting times for particular clinics.

In their key findings, published in the journal Human Reproduction, they stress that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines should be fully implemented. These state that three full cycles of infertility treatment should be provided on the NHS, and costs should be kept down for those who have to pay.

The document also recommends measures to ensure good practice in the treatment of those who choose to go abroad. These included the provision of objective information on travelling abroad for treatment.

'Our research demonstrates that people have varied reasons for travelling abroad and that fertility travellers do not conform to media stereotypes', said Professor Culley. 'Most felt that the UK could not offer them either timely or affordable treatment and in some cases people were unhappy with treatment they had previously received in UK centres'.

Several of the patients in the study welcomed the idea of shared care between UK and overseas clinics, but found it difficult to find information about which UK clinics offered this service. The researchers therefore recommended that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Association (HFEA) should provide information about which clinics have overseas links.

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has a 'good practice guide' for centres treating foreign patients in the UK. To protect patients, families and donors from potential exploitation and inappropriate treatment the researchers recommended these be properly employed. It also suggests that, in the longer term, a system of benchmarking and accrediting clinics should be developed.

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.
Reviews
29 April 2013 • 4 minutes read

Book Review: Reproductive Donation - Practice, Policy and Bioethics

by Petra Nordqvist

Assisted conception gives rise to some truly fascinating questions about human reproduction. Conception enabled through donated sperm, eggs, embryos and surrogacy, in particular, open up a vast number of new possibilities...

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
6 December 2012 • 2 minutes read

NICE recommends more scans for multiple pregnancies

by Rebecca Hill

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new guidelines saying that women pregnant with twins or triplets should be monitored more closely, receiving specialist care from a team of healthcare professionals...

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
19 November 2012 • 2 minutes read

Moving pinboard boosts IVF success

by Harriet Vickers

Scientists have increased the quality of embryos developed for IVF - by culturing them on a bed of pins. Currently, embryos are fertilised in a dish, and left there to culture for a few days before being implanted. However, Professor Gary Smith, a researcher on the project, says this doesn't mimic how embryos naturally gestate...

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
31 October 2012 • 1 minute read

Journalists launch  'fertility tourism' investigation

by Julianna Photopoulos

A BBC Radio Scotland investigation examining examples of 'fertility tourism' has highlighted the emotional, physical and financial concerns faced by couples travelling abroad to seek fertility treatment...

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 December 2010 • 1 minute read

'Fertility tourism' clinics urged to partner across borders

by MacKenna Roberts

European fertility clinics are being encouraged to collaborate and ensure fertility patients receive safe and fair access to treatment abroad, according to guidelines approved this month by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)...

PET BioNews
Comment
26 November 2010 • 4 minutes read

Progress Educational Trust conference: The evidence for cross-border reproductive care

by Dr Vivienne Raper

Are European airlines bursting with 'fertility tourists' risking their health by travelling abroad? Do most people seeking fertility treatment overseas fit the media stereotype - white, middle-class career women over 50? Does cross-border reproductive care (CBRC) include eggs imported from abroad? Dr Françoise Shenfield and Professor Lorraine Culley tried to answer these questions during the first session of last Wednesday's Progress Educational Trust (PET) annual conference...

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
2 July 2010 • 2 minutes read

What's driving UK fertility tourism? First study published

by Seil Collins

Expensive UK fertility treatment and long waiting times related to a shortage of egg and sperm donors are the major reasons people seek fertility treatment abroad, according to the first academic study into cross-border reproductive care....

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
22 March 2010 • 4 minutes read

Problems with legislating against 'reproductive tourism'

by Dr Zeynep Gurtin

Earlier this month, the Turkish Ministry of Health revised its regulations pertaining to assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs). The new regulatory structure considerably extends the specifications and requirements for the practice of ARTs in Turkey, and introduces a range of additional prohibitions. Two new developments are particularly striking. The first stipulates that all women in their first cycle of IVF can only have a single embryo transferred, with a maximum of two embryos for wom...

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
20 August 2009 • 4 minutes read

Is cross-border reproductive care a problem, and for whom?

by Dr Françoise Shenfield

As a clinician based in the UK, one cannot fail to be aware that some patients seek fertility treatments abroad. Until now we only had newspaper headlines or anecdotal evidence, but having presented the results of the first European study in Amsterdam at the annual ESHRE conference (1), we may now base our reflections on some facts, even if selected by the voluntary nature of participating colleagues and centres abroad....

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
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Britain's next oldest mother highlights increase of 'fertility tourism'

by Sarah Pritchard

At 66 years old, Elizabeth Adeney is set to become Britain's oldest mother when she gives birth to a child conceived following fertility treatment at a clinic in Ukraine. The example highlights the growing trend among fertility patients to travel abroad to access treatment which in Britain...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« HIV drugs can lead to premature ageing of mitochondrial DNA

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

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Complex structures of the human heart bioengineered

8 August 2022 • 1 minute read

Brain tumour gene also linked to childhood cancers

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

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