Inside Britain's fertility business.

Deborah Cohen, reporter, investigates how fertility clinics are offering expensive additional treatments not backed up scientifically by the medical profession. Professor Lord Robert Winston is one of the spokespeople who are concerned about this issue. A group of people who have experienced infertility explain the expense of this treatment. The private sector accounts for many IVF treaments. To improve couple's chances, people are offered 'add-ons'. One 'add-on' relates to the mother's immune system; killer immune cells are not medically proven to affect pregnancies. But not all the benefits and harms are being shared with patients about these treatments meaning fully informed consent is not possible. Under cover, Cohen visits a fertility clinic to hear about the immune therapy treatment. Professor Ashley Moffett, Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Immunology at Cambridge University watches a recording of a consultation in a private clinic and comments how the role of killer immune cells on the embryo has been misunderstood. A dietary supplement, Intralipids, consisting of egg and soya oil, is being used intravenously to boost couple's chances of a successful pregnancy. Moffett says that there is no evidence that Intralipids have any affect on the placenta. IVF is becoming big business; Robert Winston believes that many treatments are unproven. Cohen goes to Oxford University and the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine; Professor Carl Heneghan is shocked over the number of unsubstantiated claims. Only well-controlled randomised trials can provide a credible evidence-base. Sebastiaan Mastenbroek from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine in University of Amsterdam is looking at one 'add-on' which sounded beneficial to infertile couples (PGS). He discovered that the treatment had an adverse affect on outcomes. Secret filming at a UK-based Fertility show reveals that many fertility clinics are still offering this treatment and extolling its virtues. A consumer law barrister comments that doctors are not supplying enough material for patients to make fully informed consent. A spokesperson for the rights of consumers is Jessica Hepburn spent many thousands of pounds on unsuccessful IVF treatments. A visual monitoring system which observes how the eggs develop in vitro is often offered privately and is being trialled by Professor Simon Fessel. He believes it has good results but still has to charge his clients for the staff time required to carry out the monitoring.