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A fertility clinic in Cheshunt is under investigation after it found itself at the centre of a sting by a national tabloid newspaper.

The Daily Mail alleged that the Herts and Essex Fertility Centre was one of three to offer financial incentives to poor women to donate their eggs - a practice which can be illegal.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates clinics, has contacted the facility and will be conducting an investigation.

Undercover reporters from the paper posed as couples seeking IVF treatment at the Cheshunt clinic, which lies a stone's throw from the Broxbourne Borough Council offices in Churchgate.

They claim they were offered cheap, or free, treatment in exchange for the donation of half the eggs the female partner would produce. Those eggs would then be used to provide IVF for other couples.

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Clinics are restricted by law from offering financial incentives for donations, and one doctor at a clinic in Darlington told the reporter she should refrain from putting money on the consent form.

The chairwoman of the HFEA Sally Cheshire said: "We are very concerned by the allegations made in this investigation. At the HFEA our priority is the best possible treatment and care for patients and donors.

"If any patients at these clinics have worries about their care, they should contact us while we investigate further. We have already contacted the clinics involved and our inspectors will investigate each allegation. If we find poor practice in a clinic, we will take regulatory action."

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Despite the HFEA confirming to the Mercury it has contacted the Herts and Essex Fertility Centre, the clinic's marketing manager Sally Day denied this is the case.

Consultant gynaecologist David Ogutu said the facility complies with all regulations and the scheme it offers is legal.

He added: "It is important to stress that egg share cycles involve treatment of only one recipient and one egg donor. Half the eggs received from an egg share donor are used to treat only one other patient, the recipient.

"The payment received from the recipient covers the donor's costs. At Herts & Essex Fertility Centre we are immensely proud to help hundreds of couples to have babies, who cannot afford fertility treatment and who through no fault of theirs, are not eligible for NHS funded treatment.

"Only through egg sharing can some couples hope to have a loving family and we have nothing to be ashamed of."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would be watching the HFEA investigation very closely. He added: "I will be paying close attention to the findings and in the meantime urge anyone with concerns to contact the HFEA without delay.

"The Mail's findings are both serious and worrying and they are right to have brought them to public attention."

According to the Daily Mail report, a poster in the waiting room at the Herts and Essex clinic advertises the scheme to prospective parents who cannot get NHS funding.

IVF can cost couples tens of thousands of pounds so the scheme is likely to be a significant draw for the less well-off.

A nurse in Cheshunt allegedly told the reporters egg donation was "just like giving blood" and reassured them that "an egg isn't a baby".

Potential donors at the clinic are reportedly given one hour of counselling about the experience of another couple raising their genetic children.

Mr Ogutu said: "Research has clearly shown that egg sharing women have similar success rates to that of comparable non-egg sharing women undergoing IVF treatment.

"So those women are not compromising their chances of success and on top of that, are getting their treatment free.

"As far as the mandatory independent free counselling is concerned, we do not dictate how many sessions egg sharing couples have.

"It is purely between the counsellors and the couples to decide if they require more sessions as we have no limit as to the number of sessions."

Link:
Cheshunt fertility clinic under investigation for 'paying poor women ... - Hertfordshire Mercury