NewsHealthExclusive: Some of these add-ons, which can cost as much as 2,500 each, could pose a 'significant risk' to patient safety

Friday, 28th February 2020, 9:50 pm

A British embryologist who trained under the father of IVF has expressed serious concerns over private fertility clinics in the UK selling pointless and potentially unsafe treatments to desperate patients.

Many British fertility patients are being seriously misled byIVF clinics which promote expensive and ineffective treatments known as add-ons which are said to improve chances of conceiving, Professor Peter Hollands has warned.

Some of these add-ons, which can cost as much as 2,500 each, could pose a significant risk to patient safety while the effectiveness of others has not been proven, he said.

Professor Hollands has decades of experience in the field and trained under the father of IVF, Professor Sir Bob Edwards, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010 for pioneering the treatment.

'Pointless' extra treatments warning

i reported earlier this month that the Competition and Markets Authority was developing the first official guidelines for private fertility clinics, and said it would not rule out taking enforcement action in the future, because of the concern about add-ons.

In a paper written with fellow fertility expert Dr Nicolas Zech, Professor Hollands has cautioned against a host of add-ons, from endometrial scratching to time-lapse video monitoring of embryonic development.

Basic IVF...is clearly a safe procedure providing the option of a family to millions of people which would not otherwise be possible, the paper states.

Fertility patients might be under the impression that add-ons offered by private clinics are also safe and effective but the scientific evidence is strongly to the contrary or at best vague, it says.

Some clinics could be said to be capitalising on vulnerable patients desperation, including those experiencing depression.

The only add-on the specialists believe should be used are pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which tests for serious genetic diseases.

'Corporate greed'

The growing number of add-ons offered is driven by patient pressure, corporate greed and the need of clinics to optimise their income, while an apparent lack of clarity surrounding these pointless treatments is also a serious concern, the paper, published in the Journal of Fertilisation, says.

IVF patients are very vulnerable even when they are totally well, Professor Hollands told i.

They are very stressed, sometimes angry...and this may turn into depression which...makes them even more likely, in their desperation, to accept almost any type of add-on offered to them by clinics.

Gwenda Burns, chief executive of the charity Fertility Network UK said: "Clinics...have a duty of care to patients, many of whom will have experienced years of distress and may be extremely vulnerable. That...should include ensuring fertility patients are given all the information they need to make the best decision for them."

The UKs fertility clinic regulator, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said it was aware that many clinics offer optional treatments that have not been proven to increase the chances of having a baby, often at a high financial cost to the patient.

We are clear that patients should not be misled or asked to pay for treatments where there is no evidence that they will make a difference to their chances of success, it added.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: Doctors providing fertility treatment must act in the best interests of their patient and ensure the patient has consented.

The UK fertility market is worth an estimated 320m per year and is growing by around 3 per cent annually, according to a 2016 report by LaingBuisson.

Case study: 'You dont know if the treatments are valid or not'

Will*, 34, from Somerset, and his partner underwent three rounds of IVF, after which they ran out of money

The treatment plan we chose cost about 15,000. Once youre in with the clinic you end up in their system. You stop looking for any other clinics, then they say to have a monthly blood test for 180, and the drugs are on top of that.

We knew there would be extra costs, but you just dont have another option. To go somewhere else would be such a step back. You dont want to go back to square one, you just have to see it through.

You dont know if the treatments theyre suggesting are valid or not - it might be really important.

The process we went through was unbelievably gruelling. Youre just waiting and hoping the embryos will survive. Its totally crushing.

We had really lovely doctors who we felt were caring for us. Theyre telling you This 700 test could see if something else might be wrong with your sperm. Youre staring down the barrel of a life without children or paying 700.

It was an extremely isolating experience. We werent lucky on our third attempt and by that time we didnt have any money left.

Theres a huge amount of shame around IVF. The success rate is quite low but we hear so few stories about failure. The narrative is totally unbalanced - it feels like youre alone and somethings wrong with you. The language around infertility is horrible.

I dont know what wed do differently but there needs to be some kind of additional support for couples going through IVF to help them. The HFEA became somewhere we could turn to.

During IVF you have no one to talk to except the people at the clinic or your GP or some family friend who once had it five years ago. We would have paid for independent support.

Original post:
IVF experts warn against clinics selling 'pointless' add-on treatments - inews