Podcasts about embryology authority

When Tracey Bravo realised she wanted to be a mother but hadn't met the right person to share that journey with, she made a bold decision - to go it alone. Without knowing anyone who had taken this path before, she embarked on a deeply personal adventure: choosing to conceive via a sperm donor.In our conversation, Tracey shares how she navigated the process, from selecting a donor to undergoing IVF. We discuss the societal perceptions of single parenthood, the challenges she faced, and the unexpected joys that made it all worthwhile.Tracey's story is one of courage, determination, and defying convention to create the life she dreamed of. She offers insights into the support networks she built, the lessons she's learned, and advice for anyone considering the same route.This is an inspiring conversation about rewriting the rules, embracing adventure in all its forms, and proving that there's no single way to build a family.Contact Traceyhttps://www.facebook.com/traceyjbravoMentioned in the Podcast:The Fertility Show: https://www.fertilityshow.co.uk/The Donor Conception Network: https://dcnetwork.org/Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority: https://www.hfea.gov.uk/ Support the podcast: Get a whopping 65% off your first Gousto box at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=TOM42277653⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get in contact:⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@tombryanyeah⁠⁠Chapters:00:00 Intro 01:20 Olympic life & travels05:12 Reaching 30s and still not wanting to settle07:12 Realising current relationship had no future10:00 Being asked about freezing eggs13:41 Unpacking the world of fertility14:36 Co-parenting21:13 Having conversations with current partner26:05 Alternative Parenting Show28:03 Plan B: Adoption30:38 Stories like this are rare33:32 Discovering support networks37:24 Choosing a donor42:46 Donor numbers49:48 Go time & injections56:14 IVF on next cycle59:39 Two week wait01:02:09 Explaining this 'alternative news'01:07:18 People's reaction to news01:12:00 Sharing all with Isaac01:18:20 How Isaac deals knowing he doesn't have a father01:20:25 What Isaac has bought to Tracey's life01:26:08 Advice to others

Ed Coats is a fertility consultant, hysteroscopic and laparoscopic surgeon and medical director at the Evewell West London clinic. He joins us to share his experiences and thoughts on assisted conception and IVF. He explains, who can benefit from treatment, why and when you might consider IVF as an option. We discuss what is assisted conception and the range of issues which lead people to seek support When and why to do testing to explore your fertility  Why we need better education, earlier on Why you'd choose IUI or IVF When to address gynaecological issues and when to proceed with fertility treatment  Why there is a difference in the types of fertility treatment offered  The importance of researching and investigating different clinics Ways you can support yourself as you go through treatment How to treat male factor fertility issues and whether they should be addressed before IVF How to choose a clinic If you'd like to find out more about IVF, or the different treatments offered with assisted conception you can lots of information from the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority). For information on the Evewell follow this link.

For the first time, a new process that uses the genetic material of three people has resulted in the birth of several babies in Britain. The experimental process has been used before in Mexico and the United States. Britain's fertility regulator said Wednesday that the parents used a process which was approved with some restrictions in 2015. The story was first reported by The Guardian newspaper. Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said only that fewer than five babies were born as a result of the process. The treatment is supposed to prevent the babies from inheriting rare genetic diseases.第一次，使用三个人的遗传物质的新过程在英国诞生了几个婴儿。该实验过程以前曾在墨西哥和美国使用过。英国生育监管机构周三表示，这对父母使用了一种在 2015 年获得批准但有一些限制的程序。这个故事最先由《卫报》报道。英国人类受精和胚胎学管理局表示，只有不到 5 名婴儿因此出生。这种治疗应该可以防止婴儿遗传罕见的遗传病。The treatment of combining DNA from a mother, father and an egg donor is supposed to help women who have a genetic problem that can be passed to their babies. The problem is in the mitochondria of some women. Mitochondria are parts of some cells in the body that provide energy. However, scientists say the mitochondria in some women can pass genetic problems on to their babies. The genetic defects can cause muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, heart problems and intellectual disabilities. Experts say the genetic problems affect about one in 200 children born in Britain. So far, 32 patients have been given permission to receive the treatment. The process involves doctors taking genetic material from the mother's egg and then adding it to a donor's egg. The donor's egg has healthy mitochondria, but doctors remove the rest of its important DNA. Doctors fertilize the new egg, so it becomes an embryo and they put it into the mother's womb.结合来自母亲、父亲和卵子捐赠者的 DNA 的治疗应该可以帮助患有可遗传给婴儿的遗传问题的女性。问题出在一些女性的线粒体中。线粒体是体内某些提供能量的细胞的一部分。然而，科学家们表示，一些女性体内的线粒体可以将遗传问题遗传给她们的婴儿。遗传缺陷会导致肌肉萎缩症、癫痫、心脏病和智力障碍。专家说，遗传问题影响了大约每 200 个在英国出生的孩子中的一个。到目前为止，已有 32 名患者获准接受治疗。该过程涉及医生从母亲的卵子中提取遗传物质，然后将其添加到捐赠者的卵子中。捐献者的卵子具有健康的线粒体，但医生会去除其其余的重要 DNA。医生使新卵子受精，使其成为胚胎，然后将其放入母亲的子宫中。Scientists say using this process results in the new embryo having less than one percent of the genetic material from the egg's donor. Scientists at England's Newcastle University supervised the treatment. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said Tuesday that it was still “early days” of the treatment. But the government body said it hoped the doctors and scientists who worked on the treatment would soon publish more information. The agency said all women undergoing the treatment must receive approval and must have no other way of preventing disease.科学家们说，使用这个过程会导致新胚胎中只有不到 1% 的来自卵子捐赠者的遗传物质。英国纽卡斯尔大学的科学家监督了治疗。人类受精和胚胎学管理局周二表示，治疗仍处于“早期阶段”。但政府机构表示，希望从事这种治疗的医生和科学家能尽快公布更多信息。该机构表示，所有接受治疗的女性都必须获得批准，并且必须没有其他预防疾病的方法。There are many critics of the treatment. They say there are other ways to prevent disease and the treatment has not been fully tested. Others say this is the first step in creating “designer” babies for parents who want their children to be taller, smarter or have different looks than they do. Robin Lovell-Badge is a stem cell expert at the Francis Crick Institute, a research center in London. Lovell-Badge said the babies need to be followed well into the future.对这种治疗有很多批评。他们说还有其他方法可以预防疾病，而且治疗方法还没有经过全面测试。其他人说，这是为希望自己的孩子更高、更聪明或长得与自己不同的父母创造“设计师”婴儿的第一步。 Robin Lovell-Badge 是伦敦研究中心 Francis Crick Institute 的干细胞专家。 Lovell-Badge 说这些婴儿需要在未来得到很好的跟踪。“It will be interesting to know,” he said, “how well the technique worked…whether the babies are free of disease and whether there is any risk of them developing problems later in life.” One group of scientists published research this year expressing concerns that even a small amount of the problematic DNA from the mother could reproduce as the baby develops in the uterus. Lovell-Badge said scientists do not understand exactly why this happens and more work needs to be done.“知道这项技术的效果如何，”他说，“这将很有趣……婴儿是否没有疾病，以及他们在以后的生活中是否有出现问题的风险。”一组科学家今年发表了一项研究，他们担心随着婴儿在子宫中的发育，即使是来自母亲的少量有问题的 DNA 也会繁殖。 Lovell-Badge 说，科学家们不明白为什么会发生这种情况，需要做更多的工作。

In this episode, we are joined by Blackstone Chambers' Michael Beloff KC, Ian Mill KC, Catherine Callaghan KC, and Tim Parker as they share their most memorable cases. Listen in as Michael Beloff KC recalls his first case, representing the band Love Affair. In this amusing account, he shares the satisfaction of achieving his first successful outcome for the band. He then follows with his most interesting case, Merdeka University Bhd v. Government of Malaysia, which is also included in ‘MJBQC: A Life Within and Without the Law'.Ian Mill KC shares his experience representing high profile celebrities, George Michael [1994] ChD 142 and Ed Sheeran [2022] EWHC 827(Ch), in recording contracts and copyright disputes. Ian discusses the challenges of media attention in these high-profile cases.Catherine Callaghan KC discusses the complexity of Mr. and Mrs M. Against the Fertilisation and Embryology Authority [2016]EWCA Civ 611, and highlights the memorable impact this case had on her own life.Finally, Tim Parker reflects on one of his earlier cases in the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (unreported, CACV 117/2017, 25 September 2017) as a pupil at Blackstone Chambers, and the impact of this case on same-sex rights in Hong Kong. Join us for this insightful and thought-provoking episode as these distinguished barristers detail their most memorable cases and the lessons they learned from them.

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events This item provides an audio entry for iTunes.

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events This item provides an audio entry for iTunes.

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events This item provides an audio entry for iTunes.

The 2023 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Emily Jackson (London School of Economics) on 16 March 2023. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. She is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee, and until 2012, she was Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. From 2014-2017, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest. For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events

This week we are joined by  Hannah Vaughan Jones  international broadcaster, consultant, and director who has gone through 15 rounds of IVF before conceiving her son Sunny. Hannah shares her experience with infertility, which was caused by male and female factors. She also talks about the toll that fertility treatments take on individuals and couples. Hannah and her husband had conversations about IVF before getting married and knew that they would have to go through it to conceive. Despite having a public job, Hannah found comfort in going to work during the treatments. They went through 15 rounds of IVF, which was over a relatively short period of time. Communication was key for the couple, as they supported each other through the emotional rollercoaster of fertility problems. We also discussedIVF Extra's including immunotherapythe Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's traffic light systemThe challenges of navigating the world of IVF, including all confusing medical jargonOur mutual love of weight trainingSupport for the Women in Global Health bodyTo find out more about Hannah, go towww.hannahvaughanjones.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hvaughanjonesYoutube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC0g0iHFq8WlMRVDinAqBhXgMaria, is a PT who specialises in helping women have babies. www.instagram.com/fitness_fertilityhttps://twitter.com/fitnessfertili1 www.facebook.com/fitnessfertilityThis Podcast is a Worth a Listen productionDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don't get the attention they deserve. Data Bites aims to change that. Our latest event, the 39th in our series, was a health special, where the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speakers were: Elliot Bridges, Senior Data and Insights Analyst at Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, on trends in egg, sperm and embryo donation and their implications Sarah Deeny, Deputy Director, Analytics at the UK Health Security Agency, on how the use of data and forecasting during the pandemic can help us protect the NHS and the public during the winter Valentina Sassow, Deployment Strategist at Palantir Technologies, on Palantir's work on cancer pathways Becky Taylor, Director of Transformation and Quality Improvement at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, on building the future of integrated care at Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government.

Tale of the Frozen Bits: a conversation Tale of the Frozen Bits is an exhibition of new work by artist and Castlefield Gallery Associate El Morgan, opening at Castlefield Gallery on 12 February 2023. The exhibition explores something of the rich and surprising history of fertility drugs. Morgan's work for the show touches on an eclectic array of materials and medical discoveries from Nun's urine to midwife toads and industrial freezers. Across two film works, screen prints and merchandise Morgan crafts a unique take on fertility treatment bringing to the fore the practical mechanisms that surround having ‘bits' of oneself stored and frozen for potential future use. Ahead of the exhibition we host a conversation with the artist, Professor of Clinical Embryology at the University of Manchester Daniel Brison and Professor of Reproductive Biomedicine at the University of Manchester John Aplin. If you would like to find out more about the subject of fertility treatment the website of the UK regulator, the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, is a good place to start https://www.hfea.gov.uk, as well as Fertility Network UK https://fertilitynetworkuk.org

The author and environmental activist Vandana Shiva has released a new book, Terra Viva to coincide with her 70th birthday. She discusses her life campaigning for climate justice and equality, as well as what she thinks of the current climate situation. According to reports in the Telegraph this week, Rishi Sunak has shelved plans to reform childcare services put forward by his predecessor, Liz Truss. The plans were looking at increasing free childcare support and changing the staff-child ratio. What will this mean for parents who need childcare and for those working in the industry? We hear the CEO of the Early Years Alliance Neil Leitch and the Deputy Director of UK Onward, Adam Hawksbee. New year, new job? If you're thinking of leaving a job we discuss the art of quitting well. Sometimes leaving is the right thing to do, but how do you do that without destroying everything you've worked hard for? We hear from Mandy Dennison Director of Engagement from the International Federation of Coaching UK, and Karen Danker from Women Returners, which helps women returning to the work place after an extended break. In our series Finding My Voice we're talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. Shekeila Scarlett was excluded from school when she was 12 years old. Although she was reinstated at the school just 2 months later, the experience made her realised how distant young pupils were from the governors who made decisions about their school. At 26, she's now the Chair of Governors at Stoke Newington High School in Hackney, making her one of the youngest chairs of a school governing board in the UK. This year in the UK children conceived by sperm, egg or embryo donation who turn 18 will be able to request information that identifies their donor. This includes the donor's name, birth name, date of birth and address, as long as the information is on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's register. It's a result of a change in the law in April 2005 meaning tha the first of those children conceived after the law changed will have their eighteenth birthdays this year. To discuss the implications for donors, children conceived by donor as well as their families are Clare Ettinghausen, Director of Strategy & Corporate Affairs at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK's Fertility Regulator. And Nina Barnsley Director of the Donor Conception Network which is a UK based charity supporting donor conception families. You might have spent this first week of January planning where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be in 2023, but have you made any financial new year's resolutions? Statistics show that more than a third of us (35%) will make a financial new year's resolution this year. We hear from the consumer editor of the Financial Times and presenter of the FT's Money Clinic podcast, Claer Barrett as well as the budget savvy mum, Gemma Bird also known as @MoneyMumOfficial on what we can all do when it comes to financial planning. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed Photo credit: Kartikey Shiva

What is it like to be the only woman in a group of men? Is it isolating? Intimidating? Or, can there be a certain, maybe shameful, thrill of being included as ‘one of the lads'? To discuss, Nuala speaks to Immy Humes, a documentary filmmaker who has spent years gathering archive images of all-male groups including exactly one woman, which she published as a collection in her book ‘The Only Woman'. They are also joined by Emma John, a sports journalist and author of ‘Self Contained', her memoir of single life. She's spent her career covering cricket and rugby, often as ‘the only woman' surrounded by male friends and colleagues. This year in the UK children conceived by sperm, egg or embryo donation who turn 18 will be able to request information that identifies their donor. This includes the donor's name, birth name, date of birth and address, as long as the information is on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's register. It's a result of a change in the law in April 2005 meaning that the first of those children conceived after the law changed will have their 18th birthdays this year. Nuala discusses the implications for donors, children conceived by donor as well as their families, with Clare Ettinghausen, Director of Strategy & Corporate Affairs at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK's Fertility Regulator. And Nina Barnsley Director of the Donor Conception Network which is a UK based charity supporting donor conception families. Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 1 in 45 people in England have covid – and the UK Health Security Agency are now advising people to wear face masks if they are ill and need to leave the house, and to keep ill children home from school. So what does this mean? Are we going to get back to wearing face masks everywhere? Nuala McGovern speaks to the Times Science Editor Tom Whipple to get the latest on the situation, and government covid advisor Professor Susan Michie to hear how we should be changing our behaviour. In our series Finding My Voice we're talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. Nuala speaks to Shekeila Scarlet. She was excluded from school when she was just 12 years old. After an appeal process that eventually reversed the decision, she was reinstated at the school. But seeing her case debated by a board of governors made her realise the importance of having young people involved in school governance. At 26, she's now the Chair of Governors at Stoke Newington School in Hackney, making her one of the youngest chairs of a school governing board in the UK. Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer : Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

Hello! In today's episode, we're talking with Dagmar Tapon, a genetic counsellor and Jane Fisher, Director of Antenatal Results and Choices, about genetic counselling.We talk about the technical stuff, like the difference between genes and chromosomes, the limits to testing, options for future pregnancies, the emotional and mental load that both testing and coping can bring...and much more.Dagmar mentions the HFEA as a resource for statics about IVF in the UK:Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority gives  impartial, accurate information about IVF, clinics and other fertility treatments from the UK government fertility regulator:https://www.hfea.gov.uk/Get in touch and let us know what you think. Social media: Instagram and Facebook @TimeToTalkTFMR and Twitter @TalkTFMREmail is TalkTFMR@yahoo.comThis episode is supported by Antenatal Results and Choices. For more information on how they support women and couples click here or call them on 0207 713 7486.

Georgie Coleridge Cole is joined by health & beauty journalist Danielle Fox and fertility specialist Dr Malini Uppal to discuss everything surrounding IVF – a time filled with plenty of highs, but often some desperate lows. Here, they talk about Danielle's IVF journey after she discovered she couldn't get pregnant, and what Dr Malini can advise with her vast experience in the field of reproductive medicine.@gennet_cityfertilityGennet City Fertility | https://www.city-fertility.com/fertilitynetworkuk | https://fertilitynetworkuk.org/Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority | https://www.hfea.gov.uk/Donor Conception Network | https://www.dcnetwork.org/My Surrogacy Journey | https://www.mysurrogacyjourney.com/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Musician and composer, Zoe Rahman has won a MOBO, a British Jazz Award, and this week Zoe was awarded the ‘Impact Award' at the 2021 Ivors Composer Awards. Julia Chain the chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, made a plea for the 1990 Act governing fertility clinics and practice in this country to be updated. She argues that after 30 years, the science and culture around IVF has changed so much, and that the law needs to catch up. This week Ministers revealed a 10-year drugs strategy which includes £300m for combating more than 2,000 county lines gangs. Sahira Irshad and Jen Jones are part of Mums United, a group of local mothers fighting against rising gang violence in Sheffield. 23-year-old Vee Kativhu was told Oxford university wasn't for people like her - she proved her teachers wrong by graduating recently from there with a degree in in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. She's now studying International Education Policy at Harvard. Her popular Youtube channel gives out studying tips and she has a new book out - Empowered: Live Your Life with Passion and Purpose. Last week the government set out how it will improve life for women in the armed forces, in response to the Women in the Armed Forces report which came out in July. It found that service-women who were victims of bullying, harassment, discrimination and serious sexual assault were being ‘denied justice' by a ‘woefully inadequate' military complaints process. We heard from the Secretary of State for Defence, MP Ben Wallace. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

In our series Under Pressure we've been looking at what happens to relationships when couples are put under extreme strain: how do they cope? Today we hear from Kate and Annie who live in Northumberland. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. In March, Julia Chain was announced as the new chair of the HFEA. Now Julia is calling for the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act to be updated. She joins Emma to discuss the changes she wants to see. We talk to Deborah Bull and Jill Baldock about how dancing can lift your mood. A report out today from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says there's been 'almost' no progress towards closing the gender pay gap in the last 25 years. Professor Lucinda Platt, who's on the panel of the IFS Deaton Inequalities review, and who researches inequality at the London School of Economic, explains why not. If your facial fillers aren't to your liking, or worse injected in a dangerous spot, you can get them dissolved with a substance called hyaluronidase. But women are reporting nasty side effects including swelling, tissue loss, burning sensations and headaches. A cosmetic surgeon, Daniel Ezra, is studying this to try to establish exactly what's going on. We hear from him as well as our reporter Melanie Abbott.

It’s nearly thirty years since Sharon Stone was in the film Basic Instinct, with the famous uncrossing-of-legs scene. She really wanted the role but only got it after twelve other actresses turned it down. After Basic Instinct more films followed including Casino alongside Robert De Niro. In 2001, after adopting her first child, she suffered a stroke and almost died. She’s now written her autobiography called The Beauty of Living Twice. She gave Woman's Hour her only UK broadcast interview. On the morning that a new helpline has been launched for potential victims of school sexual abuse we speak to Gillian Keegan MP who's from the Department for Education. We're talking about shop changing rooms with retail expert Catherine Shuttleworth. When lock-down lifts will you be using them, or sticking with ordering online and trying things on at home? People from ethnic minorities who have fertility treatment are less likely to be successful. That's according to the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority. Their data says Black patients having the lowest chances of successful treatment whilst only 4% of egg donors were Asian. We find out more with Sally Cheshire, outgoing Chair of the HFEA and Dr Karen Joash, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Imperial College Healthcare Trust and spokesperson for Race Equality at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

 In this episode on Gynae Focus podcast , we have invited Ms Anna McLaughlin who is a clinical embryologist and a scientist in a HFEA ( Human fertilisation and Embryology Authority ) accredited fertility laboratory in London . She talks about most important cell in a Male body  ...the SPERM,  Semen analysis  and evaluation .

The scientist Marie Skłodowska Curie is recognised throughout the world but how much do you really know about her and her ground breaking Nobel prize winning discoveries? The Oscar nominated star of Gone Girl on playing the Nobel prize winning scientist in the film Radioactive. The debt advice charity, Step Change, warned that British households are expected to rack up debts worth a combined £6bn because of the health emergency as they fell behind with their bills. And it looks like this will disproportionately impact on women. Jude Kelly, Founder of the Women of the World Festival who is involved in the Insuring Women’s Futures programme, Zubaida Haque, Interim Director of the Runnymede Trust and a member of the Independent Sage and a commissioner for the Women’s Budget Group and Amy Cashman, CEO of Kantar’s Insights Division discuss. Protests are expected this weekend across the UK. What do you do if your child wants to go? We hear from Monique Bouffé who is a member of the Black Protest Legal UK Support team, as well as Talja Parkinson who has three sons.. Fertility clinics were told last month that they could reopen as long as social distancing measures were in place. Being without access to fertility treatment has left thousands of couples – as well as single women – worried that they might run out of chances to conceive. We hear from Dr Zeynep Gurtin, Lecturer at the Institute for Women's Health at University College London, Rachel Cuttings from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and Seetal Savla who has just restarted her fertility treatment. The historian Bettany Hughes talks about her new Channel 5 series A Greek Odyssey where she retraces the steps of Odysseus from the coast of Turkey where the mythical Trojan War took place to the island of Ithaca in the West of Greece. Florence Given is a 21-year-old artist, writer and feminist. In 2019 she was named Cosmopolitan’s Influencer of the Year. She has just written her first book, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty. She tells us why girls and women don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Dianne McGregor

Thousands of women may lose out on their chance to have a baby because of COVID-19. Fertility clinics across Britain shut their doors in mid-April, pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for many women midcycle. The decision has left thousands in limbo. No one knows when the clinics will open up again and for those who have spent years trying to conceive — the closure is a cruel blow.As lockdowns began, jokes were made about the baby boom in nine months' time. But it's hard for some to see the funny side if they've been trying for a baby for years. Anita Brien in Hull, in northeast England, has tried to conceive for five years; Sian Brindlow in southern England has tried to conceive for 12 years. For these women, the quips can wear them down. Brien who's 34, blocked some social media accounts because it was too upsetting to read the jokes. Comments by parents on Facebook about the trials of home-schooling have left her feeling empty, too. Related: Mourning in the midst of a pandemic“I'd love to be getting annoyed with my children right now. I'd love to be not understanding the work that the school has sent home, but I can't because I don't have those children,“ she said.    Brien was only three days into her first IVF treatment when she received a text last month telling her to stop taking her medication. Her fertility clinic was closing down because of the coronavirus. Even though she was in the early stage of the cycle, Brien was heartbroken. After so many negative pregnancy tests, the IVF treatment had been the first positive step in her hope of having a baby.  “This was really positive, something really practical was going to happen. So, I was completely devastated,” she said.But Brien, an events fundraiser, is practical, too. Her partner Matt is a paramedic and he's seen the close-up impact of the virus.As women across Britain began to receive the news that their treatments were being canceled, the Fertility Network, a national charity for people dealing with fertility issues, was inundated with calls. The organization's chief executive, Gwenda Burns, said women were distressed not just because their IVF was stopped, but because nobody could offer any guidance on what the next stage would be. But she thinks the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the British regulatory body, made the right call to order the clinics' closure.“I think for the safety of patients, the safety of embryos and of NHS [National Health Service] staff, there was no other actual way this could be done,” Burns said.“We don't know how many months we're going to have to wait now and, you know, we hear all these miracle stories of people conceiving well into their 40s. But that's what they are. They are miracles. They don't happen to everybody."Sian Brindlow,  teacher, West Sussex, EnglandIn Britain, women are entitled to a number of free fertility treatments under the NHS but it varies depending on age and where they live. Sian Brindlow, a teacher in West Sussex, was on her third IVF cycle when she got the call saying her treatment needed to be postponed.Like Brien, Brindlow understands the need to pause treatment, but worries about the time passing.  “We don't know how many months we're going to have to wait now and, you know, we hear all these miracle stories of people conceiving well into their 40s. But that's what they are. They are miracles. They don't happen to everybody,” she said. Related: Many people aren't putting love on hold during COVID-19 Sian Brindlow and her husband Nick have struggled with fertility.  Credit: Courtesy of Sian Brindlow  Brindlow says trying to have a baby has dominated her life and that of her husband Nick for over a decade. She says they naively thought it would just happen. Undergoing IVF treatment, she said, also gradually takes over your life.“You know, your evenings are injections, your hormones are not your own. You can't plan any weekend breaks, you can't plan any holidays." Kirsty Duncan, 32, who lives in Cheshire, understands how all-consuming the experience can be. She says she is at the stage where many of her friends are getting pregnant, and she can't help wondering when her time will come.“It's an incredibly lonely place to be as a couple because, you know, you've got friends that are announcing pregnancies left, right and center. And you think why is it so easy for them? And it's not for us?”Duncan, an early career manager and her husband, Adam, are open about their difficulties trying to conceive. Duncan posts updates on her Instagram account of their journey so far and says the community is hugely supportive. But she says some couples are very reluctant to discuss their fertility issues and wonders if it might come down to being British.“I think there's this kind of British uneasiness about talking about something to do with sex, especially if your sex organs don't work. It's like well, if they're talking about IVF, that means they must have had sex at some point in their life. And that's just that's too distasteful for us to talk about."Kristy Duncan, early career manager, Cheshire, England “I think there's this kind of British uneasiness about talking about something to do with sex, especially if your sex organs don't work. It's like, well, if they're talking about IVF, that means they must have had sex at some point in their life. And that's just that's too distasteful for us to talk about,” she laughed.     It might also have to do with the advice people seem determined to dish out. Duncan says she's heard countless suggestions about how she just needs to calm down and everything will work out fine.“There's so many people that I know will just say, 'You just need to go on holiday. Get a dog, get drunk.' I would say the worst thing is when people say just relax.”Related: Countries herald lifting of coronavirus lockdowns, but UK says not yet Anita Brien and her partner Matt's fertility plans got interrupted by COVID-19.  Credit: Courtesy of Anita Brien  Trying to remain calm while dealing with fertility issues during a pandemic is a challenge. But it's not the biggest issue on Brien's mind right now. She has another slightly unexpected concern. Chocolate.“My biggest worry is how much chocolate I'm going to eat over the next few months,” she said. It might sound frivolous, but there is a good reason for this. The NHS in Britain only funds your IVF treatment if your body mass index is under a certain number, and Brien, like most people right now, is trying not to comfort eat her way through the lockdown.For many women, the pandemic is a reminder of just how little control they have over their lives. Brindlow says she is now leaving it up to fate to decide whether she'll be a mother someday. If it's not meant to be, that's OK, too, she said.“We've had a lot of time just us two. You know, I only want kids with him, I don't want them with anyone else. And I know it sounds twee, but, you know, I'm really lucky I do have the love of my life. ... Not everyone has that.”

Thousands of women may lose out on their chance to have a baby because of COVID-19. Fertility clinics across Britain shut their doors in mid-April, pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for many women midcycle. The decision has left thousands in limbo. No one knows when the clinics will open up again and for those who have spent years trying to conceive — the closure is a cruel blow.As lockdowns began, jokes were made about the baby boom in nine months' time. But it’s hard for some to see the funny side if they've been trying for a baby for years. Anita Brien in Hull, in northeast England, has tried to conceive for five years; Sian Brindlow in southern England has tried to conceive for 12 years. For these women, the quips can wear them down. Brien who’s 34, blocked some social media accounts because it was too upsetting to read the jokes. Comments by parents on Facebook about the trials of home-schooling have left her feeling empty, too. Related: Mourning in the midst of a pandemic“I'd love to be getting annoyed with my children right now. I'd love to be not understanding the work that the school has sent home, but I can't because I don't have those children,“ she said.    Brien was only three days into her first IVF treatment when she received a text last month telling her to stop taking her medication. Her fertility clinic was closing down because of the coronavirus. Even though she was in the early stage of the cycle, Brien was heartbroken. After so many negative pregnancy tests, the IVF treatment had been the first positive step in her hope of having a baby.  “This was really positive, something really practical was going to happen. So, I was completely devastated,” she said.But Brien, an events fundraiser, is practical, too. Her partner Matt is a paramedic and he’s seen the close-up impact of the virus.As women across Britain began to receive the news that their treatments were being canceled, the Fertility Network, a national charity for people dealing with fertility issues, was inundated with calls. The organization's chief executive, Gwenda Burns, said women were distressed not just because their IVF was stopped, but because nobody could offer any guidance on what the next stage would be. But she thinks the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the British regulatory body, made the right call to order the clinics’ closure.“I think for the safety of patients, the safety of embryos and of NHS [National Health Service] staff, there was no other actual way this could be done,” Burns said.“We don't know how many months we’re going to have to wait now and, you know, we hear all these miracle stories of people conceiving well into their 40s. But that's what they are. They are miracles. They don't happen to everybody."Sian Brindlow,  teacher, West Sussex, EnglandIn Britain, women are entitled to a number of free fertility treatments under the NHS but it varies depending on age and where they live. Sian Brindlow, a teacher in West Sussex, was on her third IVF cycle when she got the call saying her treatment needed to be postponed.Like Brien, Brindlow understands the need to pause treatment, but worries about the time passing.  “We don't know how many months we’re going to have to wait now and, you know, we hear all these miracle stories of people conceiving well into their 40s. But that's what they are. They are miracles. They don't happen to everybody,” she said. Related: Many people aren’t putting love on hold during COVID-19 Sian Brindlow and her husband Nick have struggled with fertility.  Credit: Courtesy of Sian Brindlow  Brindlow says trying to have a baby has dominated her life and that of her husband Nick for over a decade. She says they naively thought it would just happen. Undergoing IVF treatment, she said, also gradually takes over your life.“You know, your evenings are injections, your hormones are not your own. You can't plan any weekend breaks, you can’t plan any holidays." Kirsty Duncan, 32, who lives in Cheshire, understands how all-consuming the experience can be. She says she is at the stage where many of her friends are getting pregnant, and she can’t help wondering when her time will come.“It's an incredibly lonely place to be as a couple because, you know, you've got friends that are announcing pregnancies left, right and center. And you think why is it so easy for them? And it's not for us?”Duncan, an early career manager and her husband, Adam, are open about their difficulties trying to conceive. Duncan posts updates on her Instagram account of their journey so far and says the community is hugely supportive. But she says some couples are very reluctant to discuss their fertility issues and wonders if it might come down to being British.“I think there's this kind of British uneasiness about talking about something to do with sex, especially if your sex organs don't work. It’s like well, if they're talking about IVF, that means they must have had sex at some point in their life. And that's just that's too distasteful for us to talk about."Kristy Duncan, early career manager, Cheshire, England “I think there's this kind of British uneasiness about talking about something to do with sex, especially if your sex organs don't work. It’s like, well, if they're talking about IVF, that means they must have had sex at some point in their life. And that's just that's too distasteful for us to talk about,” she laughed.     It might also have to do with the advice people seem determined to dish out. Duncan says she’s heard countless suggestions about how she just needs to calm down and everything will work out fine.“There's so many people that I know will just say, 'You just need to go on holiday. Get a dog, get drunk.' I would say the worst thing is when people say just relax.”Related: Countries herald lifting of coronavirus lockdowns, but UK says not yet Anita Brien and her partner Matt's fertility plans got interrupted by COVID-19.  Credit: Courtesy of Anita Brien  Trying to remain calm while dealing with fertility issues during a pandemic is a challenge. But it’s not the biggest issue on Brien’s mind right now. She has another slightly unexpected concern. Chocolate.“My biggest worry is how much chocolate I'm going to eat over the next few months,” she said. It might sound frivolous, but there is a good reason for this. The NHS in Britain only funds your IVF treatment if your body mass index is under a certain number, and Brien, like most people right now, is trying not to comfort eat her way through the lockdown.For many women, the pandemic is a reminder of just how little control they have over their lives. Brindlow says she is now leaving it up to fate to decide whether she’ll be a mother someday. If it's not meant to be, that’s OK, too, she said.“We've had a lot of time just us two. You know, I only want kids with him, I don't want them with anyone else. And I know it sounds twee, but, you know, I'm really lucky I do have the love of my life. ... Not everyone has that.”

Thousands of women may lose out on their chance to have a baby because of COVID-19. Fertility clinics across Britain shut their doors in mid-April, pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for many women midcycle. The decision has left thousands in limbo. No one knows when the clinics will open up again and for those who have spent years trying to conceive — the closure is a cruel blow.As lockdowns began, jokes were made about the baby boom in nine months' time. But it’s hard for some to see the funny side if they've been trying for a baby for years. Anita Brien in Hull, in northeast England, has tried to conceive for five years; Sian Brindlow in southern England has tried to conceive for 12 years. For these women, the quips can wear them down. Brien who’s 34, blocked some social media accounts because it was too upsetting to read the jokes. Comments by parents on Facebook about the trials of home-schooling have left her feeling empty, too. Related: Mourning in the midst of a pandemic“I'd love to be getting annoyed with my children right now. I'd love to be not understanding the work that the school has sent home, but I can't because I don't have those children,“ she said.    Brien was only three days into her first IVF treatment when she received a text last month telling her to stop taking her medication. Her fertility clinic was closing down because of the coronavirus. Even though she was in the early stage of the cycle, Brien was heartbroken. After so many negative pregnancy tests, the IVF treatment had been the first positive step in her hope of having a baby.  “This was really positive, something really practical was going to happen. So, I was completely devastated,” she said.But Brien, an events fundraiser, is practical, too. Her partner Matt is a paramedic and he’s seen the close-up impact of the virus.As women across Britain began to receive the news that their treatments were being canceled, the Fertility Network, a national charity for people dealing with fertility issues, was inundated with calls. The organization's chief executive, Gwenda Burns, said women were distressed not just because their IVF was stopped, but because nobody could offer any guidance on what the next stage would be. But she thinks the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the British regulatory body, made the right call to order the clinics’ closure.“I think for the safety of patients, the safety of embryos and of NHS [National Health Service] staff, there was no other actual way this could be done,” Burns said.“We don't know how many months we’re going to have to wait now and, you know, we hear all these miracle stories of people conceiving well into their 40s. But that's what they are. They are miracles. They don't happen to everybody."Sian Brindlow,  teacher, West Sussex, EnglandIn Britain, women are entitled to a number of free fertility treatments under the NHS but it varies depending on age and where they live. Sian Brindlow, a teacher in West Sussex, was on her third IVF cycle when she got the call saying her treatment needed to be postponed.Like Brien, Brindlow understands the need to pause treatment, but worries about the time passing.  “We don't know how many months we’re going to have to wait now and, you know, we hear all these miracle stories of people conceiving well into their 40s. But that's what they are. They are miracles. They don't happen to everybody,” she said. Related: Many people aren’t putting love on hold during COVID-19 Sian Brindlow and her husband Nick have struggled with fertility.  Credit: Courtesy of Sian Brindlow  Brindlow says trying to have a baby has dominated her life and that of her husband Nick for over a decade. She says they naively thought it would just happen. Undergoing IVF treatment, she said, also gradually takes over your life.“You know, your evenings are injections, your hormones are not your own. You can't plan any weekend breaks, you can’t plan any holidays." Kirsty Duncan, 32, who lives in Cheshire, understands how all-consuming the experience can be. She says she is at the stage where many of her friends are getting pregnant, and she can’t help wondering when her time will come.“It's an incredibly lonely place to be as a couple because, you know, you've got friends that are announcing pregnancies left, right and center. And you think why is it so easy for them? And it's not for us?”Duncan, an early career manager and her husband, Adam, are open about their difficulties trying to conceive. Duncan posts updates on her Instagram account of their journey so far and says the community is hugely supportive. But she says some couples are very reluctant to discuss their fertility issues and wonders if it might come down to being British.“I think there's this kind of British uneasiness about talking about something to do with sex, especially if your sex organs don't work. It’s like well, if they're talking about IVF, that means they must have had sex at some point in their life. And that's just that's too distasteful for us to talk about."Kristy Duncan, early career manager, Cheshire, England “I think there's this kind of British uneasiness about talking about something to do with sex, especially if your sex organs don't work. It’s like, well, if they're talking about IVF, that means they must have had sex at some point in their life. And that's just that's too distasteful for us to talk about,” she laughed.     It might also have to do with the advice people seem determined to dish out. Duncan says she’s heard countless suggestions about how she just needs to calm down and everything will work out fine.“There's so many people that I know will just say, 'You just need to go on holiday. Get a dog, get drunk.' I would say the worst thing is when people say just relax.”Related: Countries herald lifting of coronavirus lockdowns, but UK says not yet Anita Brien and her partner Matt's fertility plans got interrupted by COVID-19.  Credit: Courtesy of Anita Brien  Trying to remain calm while dealing with fertility issues during a pandemic is a challenge. But it’s not the biggest issue on Brien’s mind right now. She has another slightly unexpected concern. Chocolate.“My biggest worry is how much chocolate I'm going to eat over the next few months,” she said. It might sound frivolous, but there is a good reason for this. The NHS in Britain only funds your IVF treatment if your body mass index is under a certain number, and Brien, like most people right now, is trying not to comfort eat her way through the lockdown.For many women, the pandemic is a reminder of just how little control they have over their lives. Brindlow says she is now leaving it up to fate to decide whether she’ll be a mother someday. If it's not meant to be, that’s OK, too, she said.“We've had a lot of time just us two. You know, I only want kids with him, I don't want them with anyone else. And I know it sounds twee, but, you know, I'm really lucky I do have the love of my life. ... Not everyone has that.”

In approximately half of couples experiencing difficulty conceiving, part of the problem lies with the male. Despite this, male infertility is a largely under-researched and taboo subject. To find out why, and what needs to be done, Benjamin Zephaniah meets consultant urologist Kevin McEleny, who leads the Male Fertility Service at the Newcastle Fertility Centre in the International Centre for Life. Producer Sarah Blunt. Support Organisations Fertility Network UK offers information, advice and support for anyone suffering from infertility related problems. http://fertilitynetworkuk.org The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is the UK's independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research. The website offers details of licensed fertility clinics across the UK. www.hfea.gov.uk NHS Fertility https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/infertility/causes/

Terri Clothier discusses how her husband’s fertility problems affected her and their relationship. When Terri married Richard (who we heard from in the previous programme ) she knew she wanted a family. They both did. Terri imagined life with two children. But this hasn’t happened. They were unaware that Richard had a fertility problem. Whilst friends and family were starting their own families Richard and Terri felt alone and isolated. A feeling they describe as grieving. Producer Sarah Blunt. Support Organisations Fertility Network UK offers information, advice and support for anyone suffering from infertility related problems. http://fertilitynetworkuk.org The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is the UK's independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research. The website offers details of licensed fertility clinics across the UK. www.hfea.gov.uk NHS Fertility https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/infertility/causes/

Benjamin Zephaniah is infertile. This is not something you hear men readily admit. It has been a taboo subject. This has resulted in many men with fertility problems feeling isolated and guilt-ridden whilst also grieving for the child they cannot have by natural methods. Richard Clothier describes his experiences. Benjamin meets Richard’s wife Terri in the next programme. Producer Sarah Blunt Support Organisations Fertility Network UK offers information, advice and support for anyone suffering from infertility related problems. http://fertilitynetworkuk.org The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is the UK's independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research. The website offers details of licensed fertility clinics across the UK. www.hfea.gov.uk NHS Fertility https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/infertility/causes/

Infertility affects one in seven couples. Many people seek medical treatment to help them conceive. Some fertility treatment is available on the NHS, but the majority of couples go privately and pay for it themselves. It can be incredibly expensive, costing tens of thousands of pounds. Money Box Live is looking at the costs involved in fertility treatments. If this has affected you or your loved ones, or you have a question you'd like answered, presenter Louise Cooper and an expert panel want to hear from you. So why not call Money Box Live now 03 700 100 444, geographic charges from landlines and mobiles apply. Or email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox Guests Peter Thompson, Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK's independent regulator of fertility treatment. Aileen Feeney from the the charity, Fertility Network UK Dr Raj Mathur, Senior fertility Consultant, working in both the NHS and a private clinic.

  The number of couples seeking fertility treatment is rising every year.  But donor assisted conception poses huge ethical and human rights issues.  Up until 10 years ago, sperm donors and women who donated eggs had a right to remain anonymous.  Then the law was changed in 2005 giving donor conceived people the right to information about their donors.  Most people agree that this was a milestone to be celebrated, but does it go far enough? This podcast explores the issues.  it is drawn from an event organised by the Progress Educational Trust  and is introduced by the Chair of the event, Charles Lister, Chair of the National Gamete Donation Trust, and former Head of Policy at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. He quoted a speech by the Public Health Minister, Melanie Johnson made in 20014, 'Clinics decide to provide treatment using donors; patients make a decision to receive treatment using donors; donors decide to donate. Donor-conceived children, however, do not decide to be born – is it therefore right that access to information about the donation that led to their birth should be denied to them?' This quote encapsulates the essence of the debates that led to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (Disclosure of Donor Information) Regulations 2004, which allow donor-conceived people born from donations made after 1 April 2005 access to identifying information about their donor on reaching the age of 18. It also set the scene for a series of lively presentations from a panel of five experts, who took to the stage to offer their perspective on the impact of the legislation. First to speak was Juliet Tizzard, Director of Strategy at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), who gave the regulator's perspective on the change in law. Tizzard identified the lack of reliable outcome metrics in relation to donor conception as a key challenge, and hindrance, to accurate impact evaluation of the 2004 regulations. She also opined that the assessment of post-regulation sperm and egg donation trend as proxy measure of impact showed a gradual but steady increase in number of new donors registering in the UK – a reality that is a far cry from the doomsday prophecies of the early critics of the law, who predicted the possibility of severe donor shortages arising as a result of the end to donor anonymity. Next on stage was Dr Jo Rose, a donor-conceived adult who won a landmark court case that contributed to the decision to end donor anonymity in the UK. In her presentation, Rose argued that donor-conceived children should, as a matter of course, have more support and the right to access full and complete information about their genetic parent, particularly because 'wrong and incomplete medical history kills people'. She also argued that a lack of retrospective access to identifying information means a number of donor-conceived people born before April 2005 live the rest of their lives 'tortured' by not knowing who their genetic family is. 'Why then should we have legislation that protects the rights of donors but ignores the rights of donor offspring?' she asked the audience, and quoted Kevin Staudt's song, Novum: Rose's presentation gave a personal note to the debate and made it easy to appreciate the rationale behind her call for retrospective disclosure of donor identity. According to her, more needs to be done to ensure 'equality and respect for genetic kinship and identity for all groups of the society'. Eric Blyth, Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield, also made a case for retrospective disclosure of donor identity. Using data from the HFEA, Professor Blyth argued that the lack of retrospective access to identifying donor information means that upwards of 20,000 donor-conceived people born between 1991–2004 in the UK are denied the right to learn the identify of their donor. Blyth also argued that,

Matthew Bannister on Professor Lisa Jardine, the historian whose intellectual curiosity stretched across the arts and sciences. She was chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and a regular broadcaster on Radio 4. Philip French, for thirty-five years the Chief Film Critic of the Observer. Ronnie Massarella who built up a successful family ice cream business and managed the British showjumping team for 32 years. And Maureen O'Hara, the red haired Irish film star known as the Queen of Technicolor. She appeared opposite John Wayne in five of his films including the Quiet Man.

Professor Eve-Marie Engels (Philosophy, University of Tübingen) Professor Martin Richards (Psychology, University of Cambridge) Chaired by Dr Vasanti Jadva (Psychology, University of Cambridge) Abstracts Prof Eve-Marie Engels: In Vitro Fertilization and its Long-Term Challenges For many people the primary purpose of the introduction of IVF was to alleviate infertility by assisted conception and to help couples to become parents. However, after its successful introduction IVF provided a range of further options, like preimplantation genetic diagnosis, embryonic stem cell research, and “social freezing”, the freezing of young women’s eggs with the option of thawing them for fertilisation in later life under more appropriate circumstances. All these techniques are bound up with a variety of ethical and social problems which have to be addressed. Prof Martin Richards: Ethical challenges in the use of reproductive donation The prime ethical issues in collaborative reproduction involving the use of donor insemination concern the relationships of the child with the intending parents and the donor. The historical development of arguments about the status of sperm donor offspring will be outlined and I will discuss contemporary ethical challenges in the use of donor sperm. About the Speakers Professor Eve-Marie Engels studied philosophy and biology in Bochum, Germany, where she also received her PhD. The topic of her doctoral dissertation was the problem of teleology in the philosophy of science, and she specialised in evolutionary epistemology. She held positions in Germany and the USA before taking on the first German chair for bioethics in Tübingen in 1996. She has published numerous articles and books on topics ranging from philosophy of science to applied ethics to Charles Darwin. She is a member of the International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities which investigates the question of responsibility and applied ethics from an interdisciplinary perspective. From 2001 to 2011, she was spokeswoman of said centre. From 2004 to 2013, she was also spokeswoman of the graduate school "Bioethics" which was funded by the DFG (German Research Foundation). Prof Engels has also held various advisory positions for policy-makers such as memberships of the German Ethics Council (2001-2007) and the scientific advisory board of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (since 2014). Professor Martin Richards gained his PhD in Zoology at Cambridge, on maternal behaviour in the golden hamster. During his postdoctoral work at Harvard and Princeton, Prof Richards’ interests shifted towards maternal behaviour in our own species, and he returned to Cambridge to found what was to become the Centre for Family Research. Since his retirement from the Directorship of the Centre in 2005, he has continued a prolific and diverse research programme focussing on family life, on the meaning of ‘genetic connection’ in the context of alternative reproductive technologies, and most recently on the ethical issues surrounding research participation. In 2013 Prof Richards was invited to chair a Working Party at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on 'Collecting, linking, use and exploitation of biological and health data: ethical issues'. He is Vice Chair of the UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council and has previously served six years as a member of the Ethics and Law Committee of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. Currently, Prof Richards is preparing the third in a three-part series of edited volumes on alternative reproductive technologies, entitled 'Regulating Reproductive Donation'.

Professor Lisa Jardine, academic, biographer and public thinker, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs. Historian, biographer, public thinker, mathematician - her proclivities are wide ranging and well regarded with prize winning books on subjects as diverse as Sir Christopher Wren, Seventeenth century Holland, Erasmus and women in the time of Shakespeare. Her current day job is leading the Department of Renaissance Studies at University College London, she's also a prolific writer and broadcaster. If that all seems a little ivory tower for your tastes think again; as Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for many years she was at the sharp end of the complex conundrums and high emotion that surround the artificial creation of life, leading the world in developing the legal framework that governs IVF treatment. Her rigour and originality, then, are greatly admired and both seem to have been in evidence since the beginning - her schoolgirl contemporaries had pictures of Elvis by their beds. Lisa had other ideas, as a teenager she gazed lovingly at a photo of a brilliant mathematician. She says: "I only do things I love, and I love everything I do ..." Producer: Sarah Taylor.

These days many of us check out TripAdvisor if we are booking a hotel.  We want to see what people like us think of the service, the staff, the food, the pool....... It's a great idea for bed and breakfast, but is the TripAdvisor approach, where consumers are encouraged to give their unvarnished views, the right approach for Fertility Clinics, where life changing decisions are being made? The UK's Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has decided to give more prominence to patient views and an event, A Trip Advisor for Fertility Clinics - Would You Recommend It? was held at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London's Regent's Park last month (April 2015) organised by Progress Educational Trust and sponsored by the British Fertility Society, to look at how best to do so. The HFEA's plans are consistent with an emphasis on patient choice and patient empowerment in recent health policy. Since 2007, for example, the NHS Choices website has published patient feedback on NHS hospitals and services, in the form of both star ratings and free text. Last year the National Information Board, of which the HFEA is a member, issued proposals which take this approach further. But such an approach is contentious. TripAdvisor has attracted controversy, with critics questioning its ability to vouch for the honesty and reliability of customer reviews. And since more than half of all fertility treatment in the UK is carried out in the private sector, people writing and reading feedback may be customers as well as patients. So clinicians, patients, companies and representatives of patients' organisations gathered at the event to explore the issues. All agreed. that the patient view is very important, and must be reflected, along with metrics such as success rates and inspection reports. Patients want to see what other patients are saying. But there was also concern expressed that a small numbers of responses could give a misleading impression, that clinics with active public relations staff could ensure good feedback, and that untried and unproven treatments, such as homeopathy, might get the thumbs up from patients despite having no rigorous evidence base. Speakers were: Juliet Tizzard, Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Dr Yacoub Khalaf, Member of the the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and Director and Person Responsible of Guy's Hospital's Assisted Conception Unit Susan Seenan, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK, and Co-Chair of Fertility Fairness Antonia Foster, Senior Associate at solicitors, Carter-Ruck The event was chaired by Professor Adam Balen, Chair of the British Fertility Society, and Consultant in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at the Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine This is a recording of the event. Photo by Mehmet Pinarci

Lisa Jardine reflects on the sensitive questions surrounding IVF as she comes to the end of her term as Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. "I would have loved to have been able to have spoken more often and more publicly, with more words of caution for those preparing to undertake IVF, or postponing their family because IVF seems a reliable option should natural conception fail." Producer: Sheila Cook.

One of the Coalition Government's first actions was to attempt a bonfire of the quangos. In order that the baby should not be thrown out with the bathwater, one has to consider what areas of life do and do not need regulation. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is highly regarded and is a good example of inexpensive necessary regulation in the interests of patients and children. It has however been under consideration for abolition. There are good and bad quangos. What general principles should govern regulation and who should do the regulating?This is part of Baroness Deech' series Regulation, Regulation, Regulation.

Alan stands in for Charles Giuliani, 2 hours. Great Industrial Revolution of Great British Empire - 16 Hour Workdays - Workers' Strikes, Troops turned on workers. Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" - People bred for a task, living in drugged haze - Purpose-made working class. Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. Mafia-Government - Giuseppe Mazzini (Mason), Italy - Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. World of Extortion: Money demanded by force - Threats (Coercion). "Star Wars" faceless troopers - Mercenaries - Merchants - God of Mercury. DIS-Information and Demonization of "Enemy". Standardized Culture Creation - Hollywood - Movies, Music, Fashion. Far-left-wing CIA-run movements. "Herd Management" during outbreaks, crisis - Hired psychopaths run your country. GLO-BAL: Glow of Baal god - Sacrifice. NGO's - Soviet Structure - Lenin - Dictatorship of (over) Proletariat. Level One Matrix - Panic when waking up - Induced beliefs. Alternate Media Minefield - Professional Authors. Arenas, Teams, Sports - Forms of warfare. Revelations, not prophecy, but a revealing (business plan) - Esoteric meanings - Mark of the Beast - ID plate, card. Talmud interpretation - Kabbalah - Nordic mythology - Yggdrasil - Sion-Zion-Scion-Grafting onto Tree of Life. Tower of Babel - New Tower, System, Language. "Let the dead bury the dead" explained. Predictive Programming - Possibility Thinking - Gradual Acceptance. Socialism=perpetual childhood - Collective control. Arnold Toynbee. IDEAS, SYNCHRONICITY, THOUGHT COMMUNICATION, FORMS explained. Ego-syntonic training - Avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. (Article: Ottawa Citizen, May 8, 2007 "Embryos are to be screened for a cosmetic defect...") (Book: "Escape From Freedom" by Erich Fromm.)