Ethics and Policy Policy and Regulation
RRM Academy Synopsis
Most HFEA consultation respondents oppose one combined IVF statistic
About 8 out of 10 respondents said no to one statistic combining all IVF types. In 2025 the HFEA, the UK fertility regulator, analyzed 273 responses on its clinics' main profile statistic from patients, the public, professionals and organizations. Preferences among the four options differed only slightly, and births per embryo transferred scored highest.
Key Findings
- The HFEA analyzed 273 responses: 31% from patients (85), 4% from members of the public (12), 44% from professionals (121) and 20% from organizations (55).
- Preference scores favored births per embryo transferred (3.37), then births per egg collection procedure (3.31). The lowest scores, 3.22 each, went to births per embryo transfer procedure and births per cycle started.
- Patients and members of the public scored births per cycle started highest (3.73 and 3.50). Professionals favored births per embryo transferred (3.68), and organizations favored births per egg collection procedure (3.58).
- Of 270 respondents, 77% did not think one combined statistic should be presented. Of 223 who then answered on embryo transfers, 80% favored including both fresh and frozen cycles.
- Among 221 respondents answering, 69% favored excluding cycles that use donor eggs and 23% favored including them; 51% favored excluding PGT-A cycles and 38% favored including them.
Interpretation
The report summarizes a public consultation about how to display clinic statistics, and the HFEA itself calls the differences among the four options small. Professionals formed the largest group of the 273 responses (44%), and most of them worked at HFEA-licensed clinics (86%). Some respondents noted that births per embryo transferred leaves out cycles that do not reach transfer. Some professional and organizational respondents referred to the HFEA add-ons list, which states that PGT-A has limited evidence of improving the chance of a baby for most patients.
RRM Context
All four consultation options count steps inside IVF: cycles started, egg collections and embryo transfers. Large restorative reproductive medicine cohorts report cumulative births per couple over months of follow-up. A small number of respondents suggested births per new patient over a set period.
Abstract
The HFEA presents an overview of its public consultation, held in August and September 2025, on the main profile page statistics for clinics on its Choose a Fertility Clinic (CaFC) webpage, published in December 2025. The overview states that 273 responses were included in the final analysis, from patients, members of the public, professionals and organisations. Respondents rated four options for the main statistic, and the report states that differences between preferences were small, with births per embryo transferred most preferred overall and preferences differing between response groups. The report also summarises views on presenting one combined statistic and on including fresh and frozen embryo transfer cycles, treatments using donor eggs and treatments using PGT-A in the main profile page statistic.
Read the guide
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ART Registries and Codes of Practice: A Reference for Patients and Clinicians
A global reference to national IVF registries (HFEA, RTAC, ANZARD, Q-IVF, CDC, DIR, JSOG, CARTR Plus, REDLARA, ESHRE EIM, ICMART) and the codes of practice that govern fertility clinics. What each measures, and what they miss.
