To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 3 December 2014 (HL2977), (1) what records are maintained by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regarding (a) any drugs given during the follicular and implantation phases or early pregnancy, (b) the use of EmbryoScope or other forms of time-lapse video microscopy, (c) the use of EmbryoGlue, (d) the use of calcium activation, and (e) the use of intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection; (2) whether additional powers are required to enable the HFEA to collect the data necessary to protect patients and embryos and, if so, what steps they plan to take to remedy this; and (3) how the HFEA ensures that additional interventions do not lead to epigenetic errors and future health risks.
Answered on
13 December 2016
As stated in the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 3 December 2014 (HL2977), the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not regulate the administration of drugs and, therefore, does not collect such data. However, the HFEA does collect information on whether stimulation was used in in-vitro fertilisation, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and donor insemination treatment cycles. The HFEA currently collects information on whether assisted hatching was used.
The HFEA has advised that as it does not regulate the administration of drugs, surgical procedures or laboratory equipment, it does not collect data on the interventions listed in the noble Lord’s question.
The HFEA has also advised that it has sufficient powers to collect the data necessary to perform its regulatory functions, as set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee regularly reviews the evidence of effectiveness and safety of a number of interventions, commonly described as treatment add-ons.