British Fertility Society statement on the safety of IVF
10 August 2006
The British Fertility Society is saddened to hear about the death
of a woman following a recent IVF procedure. Although it has not
yet seen specific details about this case, and the extent to which
the IVF procedure may have contributed to her death is currently
unknown, the Society is issuing this statement on behalf of its
members to provide information to couples who might be currently
undergoing IVF or be about to in the future.
No medical procedure is totally risk-free but Assisted Conception
Units in the UK have comprehensive risk management procedures in
place to try and minimise the risks as far as possible. Life threatening
risks are thankfully very rare.
The Chairman of the BFS, Dr Mark Hamilton said, “The BFS
is sorry to hear of this tragic death and our sympathy is extended
to the family. Worldwide more than 3 million babies have been born
as a result of IVF. In the UK over 30,000 women receive IVF treatment
each year and more than 10,000 children are born as a result. The
procedures used in clinics are very safe and serious complications
for patients are extremely rare*. Anyone with anxieties about their
own treatment should contact staff at the clinic providing their
care.”
Dr. Allan Pacey, Honorary Secretary said “IVF treatment
is now a routine component of modern infertility care. The risk
of serious harm from treatment is very small and similar to that
of many minor operative procedures performed in hospitals every
day.”
In August 2005, the BFS published a fact sheet on its website,
to try and explain the risks associated with Assisted Conception
Procedures and this can be found at: http://www.fertility.org.uk/public/factsheets/conceptionrisks.html
*Earlier this year the European Society for Human Reproduction
and Embryology (ESHRE) published statistics for Assisted Reproduction
in Europe. This shows that in 2002, there were 2 maternal deaths
out of 224,000 procedures. See the 2006 paper by Nyboe Andersen
A., Gianaroli L., Felberbaum R., de Mouzon J. and Nygren K.G. at http://www.eshre.com/emc.asp?pageId=496.
Maternal death figures are on page 8.
For more information: please contact the British Fertility Society press office
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