The new edition of the Code of Practice comes into effect from today (2 January 2019).
The new edition contains wide-ranging revisions to 23 of the 33 guidance notes within the Code of Practice. The following areas of guidance are being introduced or updated: leadership, patient emotional support, information provision to patients, implications of treatment and consent, counselling, extension of storage, consent, surrogacy, screening, egg sharing, OHSS, data protection, import and export of gametes, Single European Code, and data submission. Minor corrections, clarifications and minor amendments have also been incorporated.
For more information on the changes we’ve made to the update, please see this Chair’s letter and our guidance on how clinics can respond to these changes.
We are currently experiencing some technical issues with the web version of the Code of Practice; however, in the meantime you can find a PDF version of the new 9th edition of the Code of Practice until these have been resolved.
If you have any questions, please contact your clinic inspector or email policy@hfea.gov.uk
Publication date: 9 April 2026