On 30th July 2011 Britain’s first IVF Lottery will launch after the gambling commission granted a licence to the fertility advice charity ‘To Hatch.’
The charity will sell raffle tickets online for £20 and the lucky winner will receive up to £25,000 of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. The lottery is open to everyone including single, gay and the elderly. They will also have the opportunity to pass their win on to family or friends.
To Hatch have explained that if the IVF treatment fails they will offer an alternative such as a surrogate mother, sperm donation or reproductive surgery. The charity hope the lottery will ease the burden on the NHS but it has caused an outrage amongst critics who disapprove of the payment of £20 to enable people to have access to another woman’s womb.
The Director of ‘Comment on Reproductive Ethics’ has questioned the legality of the lottery under European Law because of the commercialisation of human tissue. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have also provided a statement and argued that IVF should not be viewed as a ‘prize’ and expressed the lottery was inappropriate.
It has also been reported this week by scientists at the London Bridge Fertility, Gynaecology and Genetics Centre, that they believe high doses of the follicle stimulating hormone used to encourage patient’s ovaries to produce a large numbers of eggs in IVF treatment, may actually reduce the likelihood of a healthy baby. This can obviously have a significant adverse effect not just on the baby, but also on the families caring for them.
At Stephensons, we have an experienced team of solicitors that deal with cases where people have conceived with assistance such as IVF or naturally but have unfortunately suffered a personal injury as a result of clinical negligence. If you or a member of your family have therefore suffered with a similar issue and would like some advice in pursuing a claim, our team of clinical negligence solicitors are happy to help. Please contact us on 01616 966 229.
By Sarah Fairclough
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