Fertility treatment success rates are seven times lower in some parts of the UK because of a cruel ‘postcode lottery’, experts have warned.
Couples having the procedure at Lanarkshire Acute Hospital NHS Trust in Scotland have just a six per cent chance of having a baby.
By contrast, the success rate of an IUI cycle at Glasgow Royal Fertility Clinic – just a 20-minute drive away – is 42 per cent.
IUI, or artificial insemination, involves placing healthy sperm inside a woman’s uterus to fertilise her egg.
It is commonly used by people who are using donated sperm in their treatment, including single women and female couples. But it is also be used by some heterosexual couples when the man is infertile.
The disparity was today described as ‘cruel and unjust’ by charities who said couples shouldn’t be denied the chance to become parents based on their ‘postcode or pay packet’.
IUI success rates are seven times lower in some parts of the UK because of a cruel ‘postcode lottery’, experts have warned. The top five best and worst clinics are shown (source: University Hospital Coventry)
A normal IUI cycle costs between £200 and £800. But couples may have to fork out at least ten times before a pregnancy at some clinics.
Just nine per cent of cycles resulted in a birth at the Bristol Centre For Reproductive Medicine, the second poorest performing clinic in Britain.
University Hospital in Coventry had the highest success rate (43 per cent), according to 2017 data published by UK’s fertility watchdog in December.
Responding to the data, Gwenda Burns, chief executive of charity Fertility Network UK, told MailOnline: ‘The postcode lottery is cruel and unjust.
‘Access to quality fertility treatment should be dependent on your medical need, not your postcode or pay packet.
‘The UK pioneered IVF over 40 years ago, but that achievement means nothing if only those who can afford to pay for private fertility treatment benefit from it.
‘Facing fertility problems is distressing enough, without being denied medical help because of where you live.’
To work out the success rates of each clinic, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) looked at all live IVF births for patients under 38 years of age at NHS and private clinics around Britain in 2017.
The data was published online and interpreted by researchers at University Hospital in Coventry.
The HFEA said that some clinics specifically looked after older patients – who find it harder to conceive – which may have skewed the figures.
Just over one in ten (12 per cent) of transferred embryos result in a pregnancy at St Jude’s Women’s Hospital in Wolverhampton – making it the third worst performing fertility centre.
Newlife Clinic in Epsom, Surrey, and the Harley Street Fertility Clinic in Marylebone, central London, were equally bad, with just 15 per cent success rates.
By comparison, four out of ten embryos resulted in a birth at the Simply Fertlility clinic in Chelmsford.
CARE Fertility Northampton, Nuffield Health Assisted Conception Services in Woking, The Agora Clinic in Hove, CARE Fertility Nottingham, Leeds Fertility Clinic and CREATE Fertility in St Pauls, central London, all had a success rate of 35 per cent or above.
A spokesperson for HFEA said: ‘Going through fertility treatment can be a highly emotional time for patients and we understand that many people will focus exclusively on success rates when choosing a fertility clinic.
‘However, it’s important to remember that a great fertility clinic isn’t just about providing effective treatment.
‘Looking at average rates do not take into account differences in patient characteristics across clinics such as age, reason for infertility, partner type or prior treatment, all of which will have an impact on the success rate.
‘When comparing success rates, it’s important to choose a clinic with success rates comparable to the national average, instead of focussing on small differences between percentage point.
‘Even then, these figures are clinic averages and patients should not read them as predictions of their chance of success.’
| CLINIC | LIVE BIRTH RATE | CLINIC | LIVE BIRTH RATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRM Coventry | 43% | Care Manchester | 28% |
| Glasgow Royal Infirmary | 42% | Complete Southampton | 28% |
| Simply Fertlility | 40% | Create Manchester | 28% |
| Create London St Pauls | 39% | Fertility and Gynaecology London | 28% |
| Leeds | 39% | Hewitt Knutsford | 28% |
| Care Nottingham | 37% | James Cook | 28% |
| Agora | 37% | Leicester | 28% |
| Nuffield Health Assisted Conception | 37% | Wessex Fertility Limited | 28% |
| Care Northampton | 36% | Regional Ferility Centre Belfast | 27% |
| ARGC | 35% | Hammersmith | 26% |
| Gateshead | 35% | Aberdeen | 26% |
| Kings | 34% | CRGW Wales | 26% |
| Lister | 33% | Chelsea and Westminister | 26% |
| Bristol | 33% | Create Wimbledon | 26% |
| Care Sheffield | 33% | Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility | 26% |
| Edinburgh | 33% | Reproductive health group cheshire | 26% |
| IVI London | 33% | Newcastle Fertility Centre @ Life | 26% |
| Create Birmingham | 32% | Glasgow CRM | 25% |
| Boston Place | 32% | London Womens Darlington | 25% |
| Bourne Hall | 32% | London Womens Wales | 25% |
| Care Bath | 32% | South West CRM | 25% |
| Hewitt Liverpool | 32% | Guys | 24% |
| Nuture | 32% | Wales Fertility institute cardiff | 24% |
| Hull | 31% | St Marys | 24% |
| Thames Valley Fertility | 31% | Exeter | 22% |
| Sussex Downs | 31% | Harts and Essex | 22% |
| Care Birmingham | 30% | Manchester Fertility | 22% |
| Barts | 30% | Belfast | 21% |
| Care Tamworth | 30% | Bourne Hall Colchester | 21% |
| Care Tunbridge Wells | 30% | London Fertility | 21% |
| City Fertility | 30% | Cambridge | 20% |
| London Womens | 30% | Salisbury Fertility Clinic | 20% |
| oxford fertility | 30% | Reproductive Genetics Institute London | 19% |
| Birmingham Womens | 29% | North Middlesex University Hospital | 19% |
| CRGH | 29% | BMI Chelsfield Park | 17% |
| Care London | 29% | Concept | 17% |
| Bourne Hall Norwich | 29% | Homerton | 17% |
| Jessop Sheffield | 29% | Epsom | 15% |
| Wales Fertility institute neath | 29% | Harley Street | 15% |
| Leicester | 28% | St Judes | 12% |
| BMI Priory | 28% | Reproductive medicine clinic bristol | 9% |
| SOURCE: HFEA and University Hospital Coventry | Lanarkshire | 6% |