June 23, 2026

What is the evidence for the majority of IVF ‘add-ons’?

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) add-on therapies are optional, additional extras offered to patients undergoing IVF which are intended to improve success rates. According to the HFEA, 73% of fertility patients in the UK had used an additional test, treatment or emerging technology in treatment.

The add-ons can be procedures, medications or techniques which range from PGT-A and endometrial scratching to platelet-rich plasma infusion into the uterus and acupuncture. Over the past decade more have been developed and they have become more widely available, despite a lack of rigorous evidence for efficacy and a high number of untrustworthy studies in the field.

This new study, a systematic review and meta-analysis, published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health, which included 85 trials aims to correct this lack of evidence. Journalists came along to hear directly from the authors about the efficacy and safety of the ten most common IVF add-ons, and for which we do not have enough high-quality evidence to say.

Speakers included:

Dr Pedro Melo, Senior Fellow & Consultant Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine, Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford

Dr Sarah Lensen, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at the University of Melbourne

Dr Madelon van Wely, Lecturer, Centre for Reproductive Medicine at the UMC University of Amsterdam