Fertility couples 'forced abroad'

COUPLES who need fertility treatment are being forced to travel abroad because of a shortage of British egg and sperm donors, according to research by Yorkshire academics.

So-called fertility tourism is becoming increasingly common, Spain, the Czech Republic and the USA being among the most popular destinations for those desperate to have a child.

Academics from Sheffield and Huddersfield Universities worked with colleagues from Swansea and De Montfort Universities to interview couples about seeking treatment abroad.

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More than 70 per cent said they had travelled because of a lack of donated eggs or sperm, while others said they went abroad because treatment was cheaper. In 2005 the Human Embryology and fertility Authority (HFEA) changed the rules, meaning donors lost anonymity. Since then the number of donations has fallen by a huge margin.

Dr Allan Pacey of Sheffield University interviewed people who had undergone treatment at foreign clinics and said almost all of them would have preferred to be treated back in Britain.

He added: "The overwhelming feeling from people was frustration. They felt that they had been forced out of the UK system and many of them felt uneasy about that process.

"Anonymity is not the whole story, and I think what we are really bad at in the UK is making it easy for people to donate. Most clinics are only open working hours like 8am to 6pm.

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"There are good reasons for this but it doesn't help. Men can only donate sperm in 80 locations across the country and the process for donating eggs is very time-consuming."

Dr Pacey said that the anonymity rule still existed in Spain and added that people there were paid 800 euros to donate sperm or eggs, both of which led to high donation rates.

In comparison women in the UK are paid just 250 in compensation and may have to attend several appointments if they want to donate eggs, while men are paid even less.

Dr Pacey added: "I am not an advocate of payment because I think it should be a gift. But this really explains why people are able to travel abroad and access treatment easily.

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"The problem is that in the UK, nobody is really wrestling with the issues. It is not a high priority for the NHS or the Government.

"The UK is really in a serious situation with regard to the availability of sperm and egg donors and it is quite shocking to think that UK citizens may be forced to go overseas for fertility treatment in order to get around our national shortfall."

In January this year, Dr Pacey published a paper showing that the number of donor-assisted conceptions in the UK had been falling in recent years and warned that couples may be forced to go overseas for treatment with donor sperm.

The latest figures show that in 2007, 1,779 patients received treatment with donor sperm – the lowest number ever.

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Susan Seenan of the charity Infertility Network UK said they were aware many patients were travelling abroad for infertility treatment because of a "severe lack of donors".

She added: "Although many patients do receive a high standard care abroad, this is not always ideal and the rules and regulations in other countries can be totally different from that in the UK.

"In addition, many couples find the added stress of having to be away from home, from friends and family, whilst undergoing treatment, extremely difficult.

"We need to find some way of increasing the number of both sperm and egg donors in the UK and it is important we continually review all the issues surrounding donor treatment, including the question of payment and compensation for donors as well as the wider issues including the infrastructure and resources needed to support them."

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Earlier this year the HFEA announced it would review a number of its policies relating to sperm, egg and embryo donation this autumn, including the issue of compensation and payment. Results are expected early next year.

UK couple seen in weeks in Spain

Nicola and Nigel Dawson had been trying for a family for five years when a consultant at a London clinic advised them to travel to Spain. Instead of facing a two-year wait, they were seen within five weeks.

Mrs Dawson, a 36-year-old project manager and her 43-year-old husband now have twins called Hannah and Mia who are 21 months old.

Mrs Dawson said that after trying for so long, the prospect of a two-year wait for treatment in the UK was too much for the couple to bear, and she appealed for donors to come forward.

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