Choosing a fertility clinic with the HFEA and Emma the Embryologist

Welcome to this episode of The Fertility Podcast, in conversation with the HFEA and Emma Whitney aka Emma the Embryologist  Director of Embryology and Genetics at The Evewell also a trustee for Fertility Action. You'll hear from both ladies, about the work that is being done to help you make a more informed decision when it comes to choosing a fertility clinic.

What we discussed:

-What the HFEA does, how it is set up to license and inspect all fertility clinics and embryo research centres

-The duty it has to share data, which it has recorded since 1991 and it publishes data on what is happening across the UK

-The increase in IVF cycles has increased to 1 child in every classroom and how the laws are strict anonymity rules in terms of who can access information about who has treatment. 

-Increase in same sex couple and single patients having treatment 

-Increase in number of people freezing their eggs and the usage

-Funded cycles by the NHS and privately funded and how people are getting the money together - from remortgaging their house, doing crowd funding, bike rides for charity

-Plea for GP’s and primary care service providers to refer people as quickly as possible 

-Issues around outcomes in Black women and what more patients can do to get a referral from a primary care provider and how it’s an outrage that there is such discrepancy. 

-Choose a Fertility Clinic service - on the HFEA website, if you’re looking for a clinic and how you can look by postcode / name of clinic and there’s information on what the Inspectors think of the clinic. There’s an ability for other patients to rate it and how the feedback goes directly to inspectors. 

-How one of the most important considerations is location. 

-How the impact of social media and friends and family might affect your decisions and why it’s good to look at more than one clinic and that there are more and more clinics doing online open evenings as what might have been good for your friend, it has to be right for you. 

-How today people talk about it much more on social media 

-Emma shared her personal story and how she became a trustee for Fertility Action.

-Emma gives her insights on the Choose a fertility clinic data and we discuss what else patients need to be mindful of in terms of discrepencies and age consideration.

Links & Resources:

Let’s Stay Connected 

• DM Natalie on Instagram: @fertilitypoddy 
• Follow Fertility Action: @fertility.action
• Email thoughts or guest ideas: [e-mail] 
• Subscribe on your podcast app to stay updated 
• Read the HFEA report here 
• Visit the Choose a fertility clinic page here
• Follow Emma here