Aussie and NZ fertility clinics selling expensive IVF 'add-ons' that may not work

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-02-17 05:00

Australia; New Zealand; VIC

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Aussie and New Zealand scientists assessed the IVF (in vitro fertilisation) 'add-ons' offered by 40 Australian and New Zealand clinics online, and say 31 were offering add-ons. They identified a total of 21 different add-ons, the most common being preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (offered by around two-in-three clinics), time-lapse systems (offered by around one-in-three), and assisted hatching (offered by just over one-in-four). In most cases, clinics claimed the add-ons provided benefits, but none are supported by high-quality evidence, the experts say. And some of the add-ons were expensive, costing up to $3,700. While some clinics did state that evidence for benefits of offered add-ons is lacking, the experts say all clinics should clearly state that there is no evidence that these add-ons are beneficial.

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Research Wiley-Blackwell, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: ANZJOG

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Melbourne, Monash University

Funder: No specific funding was obtained for this work. SL is supported by a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship (University of Melbourne), LG is supported by departmental funding (University of Auckland).

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