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Nearly all costly add-on treatments offered by UK fertility clinics to increase the chance of a birth through IVF are not supported by high-quality evidence proving that they work, a study has revealed.
The findings are the result of research commissioned by BBC Panorama and conducted by Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, world experts in assessing medical studies.
On average, only one in four cycles of IVF (in vitro fertilisation) across all age groups results in a live birth.
Many clinics offer add-ons, treatments on top of standard IVF, in an attempt to boost the chances of having a baby.
'Shocked'
The Oxford team spent a year searching for every claim made about each treatment available at UK clinics and researched more than 70 websites - identifying 27 treatments that are considered to be add-ons.
However, its research found that 26 of them were not backed up by good scientific evidence of success.
The treatments include genetic screening tests, additional drugs, blood tests to measure the immune system and special devices to house an embryo. They can cost from...