US stem-cell therapy gets helping hand from FDA

A US company has been granted beneficial 'orphan drug' status by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an embryonic stem cell therapy it's developing to treat a rare form of blindness...[Read More]

US single embryo transfers on the rise

The percentage of IVF cycles using elective single embryo transfer has increased since 2007, according to a report released last week....[Read More]

Older mothers and global/national responsibilities

Much of the debate about elderly motherhood has focussed on the anomalous situation of a woman simultaneously qualifying for an old age pension and child benefit. It is an engaging topic, but the discussion needs to be widened to include a consideration of global/national responsibilities: the relationship of a woman who provides an egg to, following its fertilisation, the woman in whom the embryo is implanted....[Read More]

Merck receives EU approval for new infertility drug

The European Commission has granted approval of ELONVA, a first-in-class drug manufactured by White House Station pharmaceutical company, Merck. ELONVA is used for controlled ovarian stimulation in women embarking on IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment for infertility. With this approval, Merck has marketing authorisation for the drug in all EU member states....[Read More]

'Embryo destroyed' stories came from nowhere

Newspaper stories claiming that fertility regulators in the UK have allowed embryos to be destroyed for 'minor disorders' are unrelated to decisions taken at a recent regulatory meeting. Stories last week said the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) had allowed doctors to routinely screen out more than 100 genetic disorders using PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis). But, according to HFEA sources, the list of genetic disorders approved for PGD...[Read More]

The case for case-by-case regulation of PGD: a response to Dr David King

The Genetic Interest Group (GIG) welcomed the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)’s review of the case-by-case approach to the licensing of PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) for late-onset conditions and for tissue typing of embryos to produce a 'saviour sibling'. I attended the HFEA's consultation event at which Dr David King spoke on 1 December last year and heard his presentation. Then, as in the BioNews comment piece ...[Read More]

Early cord blood trial points to treatment for blood disorders

Scientists in the US have developed a new technique for multiplying the small number of stem cells found in umbilical cord blood and have tested it on leukaemia patients for the first time. It is hoped that the new technique could ultimately remove the need for tissue-matched bone marrow transplants....[Read More]

Telling is more important than ever: rights and donor conception

The last five years have seen a fundamental change in public policy in the UK over gamete donor anonymity. In 2004 the law allowed donor offspring to have access to identifying information about their donor when they reach 18 and the revised Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 now includes new provisions for disclosure of information for donor-conceived individuals and gamete/embryo donors. However, there is an important omission in these recent polic...[Read More]

The case for case-by-case regulation of PGD

On 20 January, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will decide whether to continue the case-by-case regulation of two types of PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) applications: those for late onset conditions and tissue typing of embryos to produce a 'saviour sibling'....[Read More]

IVF children may have altered gene activity, study finds

Differences in the pattern of gene activity between children conceived naturally and those conceived following IVF (in vitro fertilisation) have been identified, the Sunday Times newspaper resported last week...[Read More]

UK MP highlights need for comprehensive cord blood strategy

Conservative MP for Enfield, Southgate, David Burrowes, led an adjournment debate in the House of Commons this week on the issue of umbilical cord blood banking and use. Stem cells from the umbilical cord of newborn babies have been successfully used as an alternative to bone marrow in the treatment of many blood disorders such as leukaemia, sickle-cell disease and immuno-deficiencies. Clinical research has also shown that cord blood may be developed to treat diabetes, liver th...[Read More]

Book Review: Choosing Life, Choosing Death: The Tyranny of Autonomy in Medical Ethics and Law

Autonomy is commonly thought of as a guiding ethical principle which promotes the ability of an individual to determine their own 'life path'. It is commonly translated in the legal area in positive terms of self-determinism and negative constraints of non-interference. But the term holds a special meaning in the ethics/rights discourse as an inalienable virtuous human quality which generates rights and warrants respect...[Read More]

Study shows preimplantation screening is safe for singletons

The first large-scale study of genetic screening of embryos before implantation, published in January's issue of the journal Human Reproduction, has shown that the procedures used are safe for children born in single pregnancies....[Read More]

NHS must improve access to IVF, say nursing leaders

The NHS must improve access to IVF, according to a new policy briefing from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)...[Read More]

UK fertility watchdog report on embryo mix-ups due

The UK's fertility industry regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), is poised to report back this week on embryo mix-ups at Guys and St Thomas' Hospital in London. According to The Sun and Independent newspapers, a HFEA licence committee was due to meet today to review the findings of an investigation into what went wrong at the hospital and how to prevent a repeat incident. The hospital came under scrutiny after the embryos of three women were destr...[Read More]

Fertility watchdog to review donation rules

The UK's fertility watchdog - the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) - agreed at an open Authority meeting last week to review a range of its sperm, egg and embryo donation (SEED) policies during 2010....[Read More]

Embryo donation is not like adoption

The recent report by the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) (1), stating that the use of the term 'embryo adoption' is misleading, addresses a question which has been asked since the first successful donation of an embryo. Should treatment with donated embryos be approached as any other assisted reproductive technology (ART), or should it be seen as another form of adoption? Children conceived through embryo donation do resemble adopted chi..

Performance review of fertility watchdog published

An official review of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has commended the fertility watchdog in some areas, but warned that there is 'room for improvement'....[Read More]

Embryo donation is not adoption, says reproductive medicine group

Calling embryo donation 'adoption' is 'inaccurate and misleading', according to a new report by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)....[Read More]

Film Festival Review: 'Eugenics: Science Fiction or Future Reality?'

The Edinburgh Filmhouse ran its fifth Biomedical Ethics Film Festival from 20-22 November 2009 in partnership with the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics (SHCB), the British Science Association and the ESRC Genomics Forum at Edinburgh University. Its theme was 'Eugenics: Science Fiction or Future Reality?' and its format was film showings followed by comments from a panel leading off a general discussion with the audience. The first day's major film was 'Homo Sapiens 1990', a documentary on ...[Read More]