A fertility watchdog has warned that women paying for IVF treatment are being pressured to pay for additional products. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has said that clinics are selling unneeded add-ons, but it is unable to prevent this.

Extra treatments being offered to women include drugs to prevent rejection, screening to choose the best embryo and procedures to result in better implantation. IVF treatment costs around 4,000 per course and these add-ons can cost between 100 and 3,500.

However, many of these treatments are ineffective, meaning clinics are getting women's hopes up about having a better chance of the process working. Oxford University research that was presented on BBC's Panorama at the end of last year showed that just one of the 27 treatments had any effect.

Sally Cheshire, chairof the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, told a fertility conference in central London on March 29th that clinics offering these add-ons put more pressure on women who are already experiencing a lot of stress.

She said that the authority is concerned about the use of add-on treatments, but it cannot stop clinics from offering them or control the pricing.

Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, also spoke at the conference. He highlighted the fact that there is confusion for women over what is an actual add-on as many treatments that are being sold as add-ons are actually part of standard treatments, causing more confusion.

Originally posted here:
Fertility clinics selling 'ineffective' IVF add-ons - International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics