Date Published: 23 March 2010

HFEA calls for patients' views on fertility treatment

HFEA is inviting fertility patients to have their say in a new poll aimed at gaining the views and experiences of people throughout the UK who have had, are undergoing or are preparing for fertility treatment.

Tens of thousands of people go through fertility treatment every year. Their views and concerns about the treatment they receive are important in helping improve the quality of care across the sector.

Being run in collaboration with Ipsos MORI, the panel will be balanced in terms of age, gender, location and ethnicity, to provide a representative sample of people's experiences from across the UK.

People taking part in the ?Fertility - Have Your Say' panel will be contacted roughly every three months to be asked questions regarding their experiences, values and about the support they need at each stage of their treatment.

?Fertility - Have Your Say' will give people a chance to comment on their care and will help HFEA shape the broader policies affecting the fertility sector as a whole.

Prof Lisa Jardine, Chair of the HFEA, said:

“The views of people going through fertility treatment are important to us because they are the only ones who can tell us what it's really like.

Only through hearing about the experience of patients can we gain a real understanding of the issues facing people as they journey through the rollercoaster of fertility treatment.

The information we gather from this panel will be invaluable in helping to shape the fertility sector to provide the best possible experience and outcome for patients."

Note about the source of this item: The HFEA is the UK government's independent regulator for IVF treatment and embryo research. Their role is to protect patients and the public interest, to drive improvement in the treatment and research sectors and to provide information to the public and policymakers about treatment and research. The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (UK Law), 1990. The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), donor insemination (DI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos.

News is included on the IvyRose website to inform visitors about current health issues, but not to endorse any particular view or activity. Any views expressed in the article above are not necessarily those of IvyRose Ltd.. Material in this news item was released by the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) on 23 March 2010 and may have been edited (e.g. in style, length, and/or for ease of understanding by our international readers) for inclusion here. For further information, please visit their website.