Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each year since 2008, what has been the incidence of (1) foetal abnormalities, and (2) autism or other neurological disorder, in birth or pregnancies resulting from the use of frozen oocytes after thawing and fertilisation.
Information on the incidence of foetal abnormalities is shown in the following table:
| Includes only cycles where exclusively embryos created from frozen eggs were transferred |
Year of treatment | Foetal abnormalities |
2008 | 0 |
2009 | 1 (observed) |
2010 | 0 |
2011 | 1 (uncertain) |
2012 | 0 |
2013 | 0 |
2014 | 0 |
2015 | 0 |
Note: Data has been provided for the latest verified data period: to 30 June 2015 for births.
Source: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that since October 2007 it has only collected data where a congenital abnormality was reported as either observed or uncertain following a birth event. The HFEA has also advised that it does not collect information on the incidence of autism or other neurological disorders in births or pregnancies resulting from the use of frozen oocytes after thawing and fertilisation.