UK fertility regulator wants fewer IVF twin births in order to save lives

The fertility regulator in the UK, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has called for a reduction in the number of twin births from IVF.

Walter Merricks, the interim chair of the government fertility regulatory body says a new strategy is needed to reduce from 25% to 10% the number of twin and triplet births caused by fertility treatment.

Following a public consultation process the HFEA is calling for a three-year national strategy to change the way fertility clinics operate, so that fewer women have two or three embryos implanted simultaneously.

Merricks says current techniques were leading to hundreds of unnecessary baby deaths and he wants clinics to use fewer embryos and the NHS to pay for more IVF cycles to maintain success rates.

Very often clinics will implant more than one fertilised embryo in order to boost the chances of a pregnancy, with the result that 40% of IVF babies are either twins or triplets, compared with approximately 1% of those conceived naturally.

As twins and triplets tend to be born earlier they often face far greater health problems and as many as 60% need to spend some time in neonatal units, compared to 20% of singletons.

Multiple births represent the single biggest risk factor for babies born by IVF as they significantly increase the risk of premature birth and cerebral palsy, and pose long-term risks including heart disease.

Merricks says research has shown that in 2003 alone, the deaths of 126 IVF twins could have been avoided, had they been born as singletons.

The HFEA wants to see many women offered just one fertilised embryo, a step which would minimise the chances of a twin birth and would reduce the rate of multiple births.

Refinements in fertility treatment techniques now means that in many cases the chances of pregnancy are as good with a single embryo.

But the HFEA has not called for a total ban on the use of more than one embryo as some women who are older or have certain fertility problems may still need more than one embryo implanted to stand a reasonable chance of success.

At present the National Health Service (NHS) usually funds just one IVF cycle.

The HFEA also wants funding for fertility treatment to be increased, and treatments such as donor insemination and fertility hormone injections which also contribute to twin and triplet births to be regulated.

The British Fertility Society has welcomed the results of the consultation saying there was an "overwhelming case for change".