August 8, 2008

experts react to BMJ papers on infertility treatments found to be unlikely to improve fertility

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have found that two commonly used fertility treatments, intra-uterine insemination and the drug clomid, are unlikely to improve the likelihood of pregnancy. The study is published in the British Medical Journal.

Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at the University of Sheffield and Secretary of the British Fertility Society, said:

“It is very important that we have a strong evidence base to support the treatments that are offered to infertile couples and as such this study is very valuable. Intra-uterine Insemination has been offered to couples with unexplained infertility for many years, but if there is no benefit in doing so then we should re-evaluate the clinical guidelines so that NHS money is used wisely. This study re-iterates why the British Fertility Society is supporting a Clinical Studies Group in infertility so we have a national infrastructure to be able to undertake large studies like this and answer other important questions about the effectiveness of infertility treatments. A recent survey commissioned to mark the 30th anniversary of the first IVF birth (see http://www.fertility.org.uk/news/documents/BFS_IVF_SurveyResultsTable.pdf) found that 85% of British Fertility Society members wanted to see more clinical trials to assess the efficacy of new procedures in infertility treatment.”