Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority logo.svg
Non-departmental public body overview
Formed1990
Headquarters2nd floor
2 Redman Place
London
E20 1JQ
United Kingdom [1]
Non-departmental public body executive
  • Julia Chain, Chair
Parent department Department of Health and Social Care
Website www.hfea.gov.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the United Kingdom providing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination and the storage of human eggs, sperm or embryos. It also regulates human embryo research.

Contents

Background to the establishment of the HFEA

After the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF baby, in 1978, there was concern about the implications of this new technology. In 1982, the UK government formed a committee chaired by philosopher Mary Warnock to look into the issues and see what action needed to be taken.

Hundreds of interested individuals including doctors, scientists and organisations such as health, patient and parent organisations as well as religious groups gave evidence to the committee.

In the years following the Warnock report, [2] proposals were brought forward by the government in the publication of a white paper Human Fertilisation and Embryology: A Framework for Legislation in 1987. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 [3] was drafted taking the report into account.[ citation needed ]

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990

The 1990 Act provided for the establishment of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), an executive, non-departmental public body, the first statutory body of its type in the world. The HFEA is the independent regulator for IVF treatment and human embryo research and came into effect on 1 August 1991. The 1990 Act ensured the regulation, through licensing, of:

The Act also requires the HFEA keep a database of every IVF treatment carried out since that date and a database relating to all cycles and use of donated gametes (egg and sperm).

Cloning

In 2001, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001/188 extended the purposes for which embryo research could be licensed to include "increasing knowledge about the development of embryos", "increasing knowledge about serious disease", and "enabling any such knowledge to be applied in developing treatments for serious disease".

This allows researchers to carry out embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning providing that an HFEA Licence Committee considers the use of embryos necessary or desirable for one of these purposes of research.

The Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 was introduced to explicitly prohibit reproductive cloning in the UK, but it was repealed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.

Donor anonymity

In 2004, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (Disclosure of Donor Information) Regulations 2004/1511, enabled donor-conceived children to access the identity of their sperm, egg or embryo donor upon reaching the age of 18.

The Regulations were implemented on 1 April 2005 and any donor who donated sperm, eggs or embryos from that date onwards is, by law, identifiable. Since that date, any person born as a result of donation is entitled to request and receive the donor's name and last known address, once they reach the age of 18.

European Union Tissues and Cells Directive

The European Union Tissues and Cells Directives (EUTCD) introduced common safety and quality standards for human tissues and cells across the European Union (EU).

The purpose of the directives was to facilitate a safer and easier exchange of tissues and cells (including human eggs and sperm) between member states and to improve safety standards for European citizens. The EUTCD was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 2 March 2004 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 7 April 2004. Member States were obliged to comply with its provisions from 7 April 2006.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008

In 2005, the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee published a report on Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law.

This inquiry investigated the legislative framework provided by the 1990 Act and challenges presented by technological advance and "recent changes in ethical and societal attitudes".

In light of the Committee's report, and legislative changes that had already been made, the Department of Health undertook a review of the 1990 Act. They then held a public consultation based on their review of the Act, and following this published a White Paper, Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, within which Government presented its initial proposals to revise the legislation.

A Joint Committee of both houses scrutinised the Government's recommendations, and provided its views on what ought to be the final form of the Bill to be brought to parliament.

The Bill was finally brought to the House of Lords in November 2007, passing through the House of Commons through Spring and Autumn of 2008, and finally receiving Royal Assent on 13 November 2008. The HFE Act 2008 updates the law to ensure it is fit for purpose in the 21st century. It is divided into three parts:

  1. amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
  2. parenthood
  3. miscellaneous and general.

The main new elements of the Act are:

Current responsibilities

The current statutory functions of the HFEA, as a regulator under the HFE Acts 1990 and 2008 and other legislation include:

Policy decisions

Multiple pregnancy is the single biggest risk to patients and children born as a result of fertility treatment. Women undergoing IVF treatment are twenty times more likely to have a multiple birth than if they conceive naturally.

After carefully considering views from clinics, patients and professional bodies, the HFEA decided to set a maximum multiple birth rate that clinics should not exceed, which will be lowered each year. All clinics will have their own strategy setting out how they will lower the multiple birth rate in their clinic by identifying the patients for whom single embryo transfer is the most appropriate treatment. The HFEA aims to reduce multiple births from IVF treatment to 10% over a period of years.

Current and former members

Former Chairs include Professor Lisa Jardine, Walter Merricks, Shirley Harrison, Lord Harries, Dame Suzi Leather, Baroness Deech, Sir Colin Campbell and Sally Cheshire.

Other notable former members include Professor Emily Jackson and Margaret Auld, [10] former Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In vitro fertilisation</span> Assisted reproductive technology procedure

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from their ovaries and letting a man's sperm fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After the fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is transferred by catheter into the uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisted reproductive technology</span> Methods to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryos, and/or the use of fertility medication. When used to address infertility, ART may also be referred to as fertility treatment. ART mainly belongs to the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Some forms of ART may be used with regard to fertile couples for genetic purpose. ART may also be used in surrogacy arrangements, although not all surrogacy arrangements involve ART. The existence of sterility will not always require ART to be the first option to consider, as there are occasions when its cause is a mild disorder that can be solved with more conventional treatments or with behaviors based on promoting health and reproductive habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sperm bank</span> Facility that allocates human semen

A sperm bank, semen bank, or cryobank is a facility or enterprise which purchases, stores and sells human semen. The semen is produced and sold by men who are known as sperm donors. The sperm is purchased by or for other persons for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy or pregnancies other than by a sexual partner. Sperm sold by a sperm donor is known as donor sperm.

A donor offspring, or donor conceived person, is conceived via the donation of sperm or ova, or both.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) is a British charity whose stated purpose is to avoid unwanted pregnancy by advocating and providing high quality, affordable services to prevent or end unwanted pregnancies with contraception or by abortion."

Jane Denton,, is a United Kingdom nurse and midwife notable for her contributions to fertility nursing and genetics. She was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in 2006.

The hamster zona-free ovum test, or hamster egg-penetration test, or sometimes just hamster test, is an in-vitro test used to study physiological profile of spermatozoa. The primary application of the test is to diagnose male infertility caused by sperm unable to penetrate the ova. The test has limited value, due to expense and a high false negative rate.

Sammy Lee was an expert on fertility and in vitro fertilisation

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which is in charge of human embryo research, along with monitoring and licensing fertility clinics in the United Kingdom.

Donor registration facilitates donor conceived people, sperm donors and egg donors to establish contact with genetic kindred. Registries are mostly used by donor conceived people to find out their genetic heritage and to find half-siblings from the same egg or sperm donor. In some jurisdictions donor registration is compulsory, while in others it is voluntary; but most jurisdictions do not have any registration system.

Sperm donation laws vary by country. Most countries have laws to cover sperm donations which, for example, place limits on how many children a sperm donor may give rise to, or which limit or prohibit the use of donor semen after the donor has died, or payment to sperm donors. Other laws may restrict use of donor sperm for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, which may itself be banned or restricted in some way, such as to married heterosexual couples, banning such treatment to single women or lesbian couples. Donated sperm may be used for insemination or as part of IVF treatment. Notwithstanding such laws, informal and private sperm donations take place, which are largely unregulated.

The Centre for Human Reproductive Science was established in December 2006 to further develop research and innovation in fertility diagnosis and treatment, working in partnership as the academic and research wing of the Birmingham Women's Fertility Centre at Birmingham Women's Hospital and the University of Birmingham Medical School. A particular emphasis in the biomedical research strategy is placing research and discovery in the true physiological context.

Fertility tourism is the practice of traveling to another country or jurisdiction for fertility treatment, and may be regarded as a form of medical tourism. A person who can become pregnant is considered to have fertility issues if they are unable to have a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Infertility, or the inability to get pregnant, affects about 8-12% of couples looking to conceive or 186 million people globally. In some places, rates of infertility surpass the global average and can go up to 30% depending on the country. Areas with lack of resources, such as assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), tend to correlate with the highest rates of infertility.

Sperm donation is the provision by a man of his sperm with the intention that it be used in the artificial insemination or other "fertility treatment" of one or more women who are not his sexual partners in order that they may become pregnant by him. Where pregnancies go to full term, the sperm donor will be the biological father of every baby born from his donations. The man is known as a sperm donor and the sperm he provides is known as "donor sperm" because the intention is that the man will give up all legal rights to any child produced from his sperm, and will not be the legal father. Sperm donation may also be to known as "semen donation".

Religious response to assisted reproductive technology deals with the new challenges for traditional social and religious communities raised by modern assisted reproductive technology. Because many religious communities have strong opinions and religious legislation regarding marriage, sex and reproduction, modern fertility technology has forced religions to respond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act constitutes a major review and update of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.

Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), sometimes called mitochondrial donation, is the replacement of mitochondria in one or more cells to prevent or ameliorate disease. MRT originated as a special form of in vitro fertilisation in which some or all of the future baby's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) comes from a third party. This technique is used in cases when mothers carry genes for mitochondrial diseases. The therapy is approved for use in the United Kingdom. A second application is to use autologous mitochondria to replace mitochondria in damaged tissue to restore the tissue to a functional state. This has been used in clinical research in the United States to treat cardiac-compromised newborns.

Partner-assisted reproduction, reception of oocytes from partner (ROPA), reciprocal IVF,shared motherhood, partner IVF or co-IVF is a method of family building that is used by couples who both possess female reproductive organs. The method uses in vitro fertilization (IVF), a method that means eggs are removed from the ovaries, fertilized in a laboratory, and then one or more of the resulting embryos are placed in the uterus to hopefully create a pregnancy. Reciprocal IVF differs from standard IVF in that two partners are involved: the eggs are taken from one partner, and the other partner carries the pregnancy. In this way, the process is mechanically identical to IVF with egg donation. Reciprocal IVF offers the highest chance for pregnancy and a lower chance of a multiple births.

Simon Fishel is an English physiologist, biochemist and pioneering in vitro fertilisation (IVF) specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Women's Clinic</span>

The London Women's Clinic is a private healthcare centre situated in London's Harley Street. Owned by Dr Kamal Ahuja, and founded in 1992, the centre has a reputation for helping single women and lesbian couples conceive with a total of over 85% of patients at its London clinic being in one of these categories.The clinic is closely associated with the London Sperm Bank and the London Egg Bank.

References

  1. ↑ "Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA)". Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA). Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Report of the Committee of Enquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  3. ↑ "Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990". www.opsi.gov.uk.
  4. ↑ "Code of Practice: 11. Donor recruitment, assessment and screening (version 8.0". UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Retrieved 22 September 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ HFEA statement on its decision regarding hybrid embryos Archived 9 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Altruistic egg donation 'allowed'". 21 February 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Embryo checks 'should be widened'". 8 May 2006 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "Embryo with two mothers approved". 8 September 2005 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Scientists given cloning go-ahead". 11 August 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Auld, Margaret Gibson, (11 July 1932–10 Sept. 2010), Chief Nursing Officer, Scottish Home and Health Department, 1977–88", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u6010, ISBN   978-0-19-954089-1 , retrieved 4 November 2019
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