# E-Petition to ask the government to reform the HFEA



## harley (Mar 1, 2005)

I'm sure you all know about the HFEA's involvement in your fertility treatment, but if not - a quick explanation.

They are a supposedly independent part of the government tasked with regulating the fertility industry. They grant licenses to clinics, make sure they are following rules and gather statistics on success rates etc from them. You contribute about £100 every IVF cycle towards their activities.

Nobody disputes that the industry needs regulating, however, the HFEA also control issues that your fertility consultant is best placed to decide upon - such as what drugs you are given and how many embryos can be replaced (they recently reduced this from 3 to 2 and now considering making it 1).

They provide advise to new patients with a clinic assessment. However, their method of scoring clinics, meant that some clinics with very high success rates scored lower than under performing clinics, or clinics that had for example, dropped embryos. This can not be right.

The UK invented IVF several years before the rest of the world, however we now only have an average success rate of 28%, compared to much higher rates in USA, Australia and much of Europe. HFEA allow some clinics with single figure success rates to continue practicing, mostly these are NHS funded clinics. This is criminal, where funds are so limited patients should be treated in clinics performing at least the national average.

The HFEA recently wasted tax payers money of over £1 million pounds when they were taken to Court by a clinic and lost the case.

For several years, campaigners have asked that the government review the HFEA and their activities. This campaign has recently gathered momentum and prominent MPs and Lord Winston are speaking out against them. This is our chance, the people they directly affect, to add our voice for reform and better infertility treatment.

Please sign the petition at : http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/REFORM-OF-HFEA/

Thank you for your time.

[red]This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.uk or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites[/red]


----------



## Beanieboy (Jul 23, 2007)

I think yesterdays announcement regarding Mr Taranissi was a sad day for anyone involved in fertility treatment. Both patients and medics

For patients it says that despite being a dedicated and very competant doctor these are not a good enough qualification if the HFEA says it isn't. It also says that form filling is of much more importance than patient satisfaction.

For medics it says all of this but also don't challenge the establishment.

Don't get me wrong, I do think that fertility treatment should be regulated but not like this.

Please read the wording of the petition before you make up your mind - there are now 155 signatures and we only need 200 to get it before ministers. *http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/REFORM-OF-HFEA/*

Do you think that the HFEA should be more accountable - did you know that the current complaints procedure means that if you have a complaint about the HFEA you should address it to ......... the HFEA.

Did you know that despite their being 3 patient representatives on the committee of the HFEA that they are interviewed and appointed by the HFEA not by those that they represent - us. Whilst there is no complaint about the individuals the fact that their ineraction with patients is controlled is just not right.

Did you know that there is a huge disparity between success rates of clinics, having an appalling success rate is not a good reason for the HFEA to investigate as long as the clinic does the required form filling properly. Surely achieving far below the national averages must be an indication of patients not being offered best advice and best practice.

I think another really important aspect is that competant doctors, with our medical history at their fingertips and personal interaction with us are the best ones to decide on the best treatment route for us. This decision shouldn't be made by bureaucrats sitting in an office someone making global decisions for everyone.

Did you know that the UK has its first IVF baby in 1979, the US and Europe were 2 years behind us yet their average success rates far outstrip ours. I found a clinic in the US that had success rates of 71% and one in Crete with 53% why is the national average for under 35's (the same comparison group) only 28%. The point of this is that bureacracy should not stifle medical advancement and doctors should be empowered.

Please just think about it for a moment.
Thanks

Wendy

/links


----------

