Evaluating infertility treatments

• The National Health Service (NHS) is a free health care system in the UK
• NHS has to choose which couples they can fund for IVF (in vitro fertilisation)
• If couples cannot be treated on the NHS, they can choose to pay privately for IVF treatment, which costs approximately £5000
• The chances of a successful pregnancy through IVF vary depending on the age of the woman involved
• In 2010, the percentage of IVF treatments resulting in a live birth was:

  • 32.2% for women under 35
  • 27.7% for women aged 35-37
  • 20.8% for women aged 38-39
  • 13.6% for women aged 40-42
  • 5% for women aged 43-44
  • 1.9% for women aged over 44
• Advantages of IVF:

  • Allows people to have babies who can't due to various reasons
  • Safe track record since 1978
  • Embryos can be screened for genetic diseases, only unaffected embryos are used
  • Unused eggs can be used for research or donated to other couples
• Disadvantages of IVF:

  • Side effects from drugs used, such as hot flushes and severe headaches
  • Possibility of multiple births, which is dangerous
  • Ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHS)
  • Emotionally and physically stressful
  • Success rates are not high
• Ethical concerns about IVF:

  • Concerns about 'designer babies' and selective fertilisation
  • Unused embryos may be destroyed, viewed as unethical by some who consider embryos to be new lives