New IVF techniques trials call

Too many new fertility treatments are being offered to patients without sufficient proof that they work, many experts believe.

Almost half the doctors, nurses and scientists taking part in a survey agreed that new procedures are being brought in too hastily.

Almost all those questioned wanted to see more clinical trials to test the effectiveness of novel In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) techniques.

The survey of 186 mostly British experts was carried out to mark the 30th birthday of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown. Louise was born at Oldham and District General Hospital in Greater Manchester on July 25, 1978, ushering in a fertility revolution which continues to this day.

IVF is now a major industry with clinics competing fiercely to provide the best birth rates.

A total of 46.2% of participants in the survey agreed that new procedures were being introduced "far too quickly" before they had been adequately tested.

Eighty-five percent thought more clinical trials should be conducted to assess the effectiveness of new treatments.

A large proportion of the experts took a hard line with people whose lifestyle choices put their fertility at risk. More than 40% believed access to IVF should be conditional on lifestyle - so that, for instance, smokers were disqualified. They outnumbered the 28.8% who agreed with the statement "access to IVF should be offered to all regardless of lifestyle".

Although most IVF experts work in the private sector, more than 70% of those surveyed thought fertility treatment should be paid for by the NHS.

Despite steadily improving IVF success rates, almost two thirds of the experts predicted infertility rates rising in Europe over the next 30 years.

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