Fertility Clinics Must Stop Unproven Treatments, Watchdog Warns

Both NHS and backstage fertility clinics must extremity offering unproven treatments that don't thief group person children, caller charismatic guidelines say.

The draught guidance advises against respective celebrated fertility "add-ons", including alleged endometrial scratches.

These add-ons tin "give mendacious dream and put group done unnecessary procedures astatine an already difficult time", experts astatine nan National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) say.

They besides urge fertility preservation services specified arsenic ovum freezing should beryllium much wide available, including to women pinch severe, recurrent endometriosis.

The line committee considered a recent survey by nan fertility regulator, nan Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which showed almost three-quarters of group who had had fertility curen betwixt September and October 2024 had said they were utilizing further tests aliases emerging technologies, contempt astir not being proven to work.

And only 37% of those questioned said nan risks of immoderate add-ons had been explained.

The updated draught guidance specifically advises against:

• intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for men pinch patient semen – wherever a sperm is straight injected into an ovum successful a laboratory

• endometrial scratch – wherever nan lining of nan womb is "scratched" pinch a mini sterile integrative conduit earlier IVF

• hysteroscopy - a good scope for illustration instrumentality is utilized to visualise nan womb, arsenic a pre-treatment to amended IVF outcomes

• tests connected nan lining of nan womb called endometrial receptivity testing, arsenic a suggested add-on earlier embryo transfer

The guidance says patients must beryllium fixed each nan accusation basal astir treatments, including really apt they are to beryllium successful and nan risks and benefits involved.

Dr Fergus Macbeth, chair of NICE's fertility line committee, said clinics should attraction connected proven treatments alternatively than offering unproven add-ons that whitethorn do much harm than good.

"People going done fertility curen are often consenting to effort thing that mightiness thief them conceive.

"This makes them susceptible to being offered treatments that sound promising but haven't been decently tested. Our recommendations are designed to protect patients and guarantee they only person attraction that we cognize works," he added.

The guidance besides looks astatine fertility preservation services (for illustration freezing eggs, embryos aliases sperm) which are presently mostly offered to group pinch cancer.

The updated draught suggests these treatments should besides beryllium offered group pinch aesculapian conditions aliases undergoing curen that tin impair their fertility.

This includes women pinch terrible recurrent endometriosis, group who person had room that tin impact their reproductive organs and those pinch familial aliases metabolic conditions that whitethorn impact their chances of having a baby.

People who consciousness they whitethorn use should person talk nan options disposable pinch healthcare professionals, NICE says.

The updated guidelines besides see who should beryllium offered IVF.

NICE's committee recovered stronger grounds than has antecedently been disposable that 3 afloat cycles of IVF springiness couples a bully chance of a baby, and that nan curen represents bully worth for nan NHS.

NICE recommends:

• three afloat cycles of IVF for women nether 40 if they person fertility problems and meet definite criteria
• one afloat rhythm of IVF for women aged 40 and 41 if they person fertility problems and meet definite criteria

While NICE provides recommendations connected this, backing decisions are taken locally by organisations called integrated attraction boards.

NICE's main aesculapian officer, Prof Jonathan Benger, said: "We recognise nan NHS faces important financial challenges and integrated attraction boards must measurement up section priorities erstwhile determining really galore IVF cycles to fund."

The draught guidelines for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are unfastened for nationalist consultation until Tuesday 21 October and nan last recommendations will beryllium published successful 2026.