On Tuesday 21 November, representatives from over 40 fertility clinics came together at a workshop to discuss research and clinical innovation in the fertility sector.
The day was split into two parts, with the first half exploring how best to ensure new treatments and treatment add ons are introduced responsibly in clinics. Anna Quinn (Scientific Policy Manager at the HFEA) began by giving an overview of a stakeholder meeting held earlier in the year. At this meeting we met with several professional and patient organisations and agreed to work together to produce a consensus statement on how to introduce new technologies into clinical practice. The discussions held in the November workshop will help to produce a statement that takes into account the views of clinics.
The afternoon session turned the focus towards embryo research. Dr Kathy Niakan from the Crick Institute in London and Professor Daniel Brison from St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, shared their experiences of building partnerships with clinics to help recruit donors. This was followed by a Q&A session to explore some of the issues raised and how barriers could be overcome. The last part of the day saw five researchers give presentations on their research, followed by one-to-one discussions with interested clinics to explore partnership opportunities.
Peter Thompson, Chief Executive of the HFEA, concluded the day and emphasized the HFEA’s continued commitment to working in partnership with clinics on these important areas.
Read the discussion paper summarising our work on treatment add ons to date and what’s coming up.