Fertility treatment wait
(sz) New Zealand women are being forced to wait for a new fertility treatment which has been held up for three years awaiting approval. An Auckland fertility specialist says up to 25 women are on a waiting list for the treatment and he is frustrated by the delays.
In vitro maturation (IVM), which matures eggs in the lab rather than in the woman’s body, dispenses with costly fertility drugs. It is therefore safer for women who have polycystic ovaries, for whom fertility drugs can be life-threatening.
The technique has been used in Canada, South Korea, Scandinavia and Britain. But in New Zealand, IVM is still being assessed by the independent Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (Acart). It has been on its books since the committee was set up in 2005.
Simon Kelly, a consultant with Fertility Associates, told the Herald on Sunday he had submitted IVM to the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction in 2004 - before Acart was established - and it had been approved. But it had to be assessed again when Acart replaced the old Ethics Committee after the passing of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Hart) Act in November 2004.
“It has been sitting with them for two years. Hence the frustration. I have been raring to go and actually have patients waiting to try the treatment. I have at least 20-25 patients interested.” more…
From: »The New Zealand Herald«