EXCESS EMBRYOS

MORE THAN 390 FRESH EMBRYOS FROM IVF TREATMENT ARE DISPOSED OF EVERY DAY

In IVF hormones are injected to increase the number of eggs released in a cycle

Embryos can be frozen for up to 10 years

The number of embryos allowed to perish in 2017, by the number of eggs that were collected

MORE than 140,000 fresh embryos created in IVF cycles were allowed to perish in 2017.

The 142,434 fresh embryos that perished last year was up slightly from 142,318 in 2016, according to figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The fresh embryos would have been created through stimulated IVF - the most common form of IVF treatment.

In this process hormones are injected to boost the number of eggs a woman produces.

The egg is then fertilised with a partner or donor’s sperm to create embryos - a fused sperm and egg which can go on to become a foetus.

Producing more eggs means more embryos can be created.

A maximum of two embryos are then transferred into the woman’s womb in the hope that they begin to develop into a baby.

Embryos can vary in quality. If a person has more than one embryo, medical staff will discuss how many to implant into the womb but NICE guidelines place a limit on two. Any remaining suitable embryos can be frozen for up to 10 years or are allowed to perish. Freezing embryos can be costly, and HFEA estimates that the process can cost up to £400 a year. According to HEFA, the number of people having IVF treatment has remained fairly steady over the last few years. Each year there are around 48,000 new treatment cycles. Some 33,682 of the fresh embryos that perished last year had been fertilised when between one and nine eggs were collected.

There were 43,746 that perished from 10-14 eggs collected, and 37,304 from 15-20 eggs collected from a woman’s womb.

A further 27,702 fresh embryos were allowed to perish that had been fertilised following the collection of at least 21 eggs.

A HFEA spokesperson said: “Embryos are only allowed to perish if they are not of a good enough quality to be transferred or frozen, are not fertilised or if it’s the patient’s own decision to do so.” In 2009 a Californian woman called Nadya Suleman made the headlines after giving birth to eight babies following the implantation of 12 fresh embryos. The Medical Board of California opened an investigation into Suleman’s physician, Michael Kamrava, in an attempt to substantiate if there was a violation of the standard care in such a large implantation.

His licence was revoked later that year.