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Leading scientists are calling for a change in the law to help IVF patients donate unused embryos to biomedical research after a collapse in donations over the past 15 years.
The increasing commercialisation of IVF, overstretched NHS clinics and cumbersome paperwork are blamed for a 25-fold decrease in the number of donated embryos. Scientists described some patients going to “extraordinary lengths” to ensure their embryos could be used for research rather than discarded, with many private clinics failing to routinely offer donation as an option.
“There are tens of thousands of good quality embryos that are no longer needed by patients which could be incredibly valuable for research,” said Prof Kathy Niakan, of the University of Cambridge. “Unfortunately, very few clinics offer the option to donate.”
Figures obtained by the Guardian show that the number of embryos donated to research, after IVF treatment, fell steadily from 17,925 in 2004 to 675 in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available. In the same year, 76,427 embryos were transferred in IVF cycles and 172,915 were discarded, according to figures...