Clinic Choice 'can Increase Chance Of Ivf Success'

Women who have in vitro fertilisation treatment can be up to six times more likely to give birth depending on which clinic they attend, according to a report published today.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Guide to Infertility 2005 shows that women under 35 had more than one chance in four of success per IVF cycle in 2002-03 compared with one in five in 1997-98. The document shows that fertility clinics have widely varying results, with some operating at more than twice the national average success rate.

It is the first time that the HFEA has provided figures allowing couples seeking fertility treatment to compare the performance of clinics.

At the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, 59 per cent of patients under 35 gave birth after undergoing IVF using fresh eggs. The success rate for women under 35 at the Thames Valley Nuffield Hospital in Wexham, near Slough, was 10 per cent. At St Mary's Hospital in Manchester it was 12 per cent.

Angela McNab, the chief executive at the HFEA, said the authority hoped to work with clinics with low success rates to try to reduce the variation in results.

Ms McNab said: "There will always be some clinics that will have better delivery outcomes than others. However even at those with lower success rates, there will still be some couples going home with a baby that they would otherwise not have had."

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