July 4, 2011

comments on stories from EHSRE

Scientists offered comments on various stories to come out of the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology (ESHRE) in Stockholm.

Gum disease can increase the time it takes to become pregnant

Sarah Norcross, Director of the Progress Educational Trust , said:

“It would be interesting to see if gum disease also effects the success of fertility treatment because if something such as regular flossing could improve success rates many women would welcome this low cost way to improve their chances of successful IVF.”

For the first time, the European IVF Monitoring Group reports on cycles using frozen eggs

Sarah Norcross, Director of the Progress Educational Trust , said:

“What is disappointing about these figures is that in the year when Sir Bob Edwards received the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in developing IVF the UK lags so far behind Sweden when it comes to providing IVF.

“Spain and the Czech Republic are popular destinations for British people seeking egg donation and so it isn’t really surprising to see they are at the top of the table for numbers of egg donation cycles carried out.”

New, non-invasive test for chromosome abnormalities may also shed light on genetic origins of faulty eggs

Sarah Norcross, Director of the Progress Educational Trust , said:

“The promise of a test which avoids biopsying the egg is to be welcomed especially if the development of the test leads to a better understanding of which eggs are likely to make the most viable embryos and lead to healthy babies.”