The HFEA's monthly newsletter for clinic staff |
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Advance notice – fee increase effective 1 April 2026 |
Due to cost increases driven by the continuing high level of inflation, the HFEA will increase clinic activity fees in 2026/27 to ensure we have sufficient funds to deliver our statutory duties that year. The Authority agreed in November to increase the fees for IVF to between £115 and £120 and DI to £45, subject to final budget confirmations and discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and HM Treasury.
We endeavour to keep the cost of regulation as low as possible and were able to maintain current fees in 2025/26 since our last fee increase in April 2024. However, continuing cost pressures driven by inflation and growing IT costs, as well as ongoing variability in clinic activity, mean that we cannot avoid increasing fees in 2026/27. The HFEA is funded by a mix of fees levied on the sector we regulate and Grant In Aid (GIA) from DHSC, with most of our funding (around 95%) coming from sectoral fees. We are waiting for the Department to confirm our GIA budget for 2026/27, and the final IVF fee increase will depend on our settlement.
We have written to all clinics to give them advance notice of the increase, and we will write again with formal notice once we have received approval from DHSC and HM Treasury. The increase will take effect from 1 April 2026.
The HFEA is committed to undertaking a full review of our fee structure in the coming year, as discussed with the Authority in July 2024. We will provide further information as the work progresses and hope to engage with clinics later in 2026. |
Update to HFEA Choose a Fertility Clinic (CaFC) data is live |
CaFC has been updated with data to the end of 2023 (births) and 2024 (pregnancies), with - ‘births per egg collection procedure’, ‘births per embryo transferred’ and the multiple birth rate - shown on each clinic’s main profile page.
Thank you to everyone who has worked hard to submit and verify their data which will help patients and the wider public. Although we have updated all the data in CaFC, the structure of the detailed statistics section remains unchanged which has led to some anomalies in the way that some fields present. We are working to resolve these issues. We ran a focused consultation over the summer asking for views from professionals and patients on the main profile page statistics for each licensed clinic. We recently published our report on the findings of this consultation.
The Authority agreed in January 2026 that going forward, CaFC data will be updated regularly, with verification for the next CaFC update starting on 1 March 2026. More information on this will be provided soon. We will also be looking at the wider presentation of our data on the HFEA website. For any queries relating to CaFC data or verification, please contact prismsupport@hfea.gov.uk. |
Women and Equalities inquiry into egg donation and freezing |
The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) inquiry into egg and embryo donation and freezing is ongoing.
You can see written evidence submitted to enquiry which will be published on an ongoing basis and any oral evidence sessions online. The committee will examine whether women donating and freezing their eggs do so with sufficient information about the process, health impacts and consequences. The inquiry will also consider whether the current regulatory framework has adequate safeguards to protect individuals from exploitative practices and whether enough is known about the effects of undergoing these procedures. |
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Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling on egg donor recruitment advertising |
In January 2026, the ASA published a ruling against a fertility clinic in relation to paid social media advertising seeking to recruit egg donors. The ASA upheld a complaint that the ads were irresponsible because they placed undue emphasis on financial compensation and presented the decision to donate eggs in a light-hearted, celebratory way, which risked trivialising the physical and emotional significance of egg donation.
While the ASA acknowledged that the compensation amount referenced (£985) reflected the regulated figure set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, it concluded that the prominence, presentation and tone of the ads - including bold, centralised compensation figures and celebratory imagery - reduced the decision to donate eggs to a financial one. The ads were therefore found to breach the social responsibility requirements of the UK Advertising Codes and were required to be withdrawn.
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of proactive monitoring work by the ASA and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) into how fertility services, including ads soliciting egg donors, are advertised. The ASA will continue to monitor advertising in this area and work closely with advertisers to ensure that recruitment messaging remains responsible, accurate, and aligned with the principle that egg donation is an altruistic act, while maintaining transparency for those considering donation.
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Revised interim inspection themes for 2026 |
The HFEA has recently completed a review of its interim inspection themes to ensure they remain aligned with current sector risks, patient feedback and the 2025–2028 HFEA Strategy. The aim of the update is to ensure inspections continue to focus on quality of care, patient safety and patient experience. Interim inspections will continue to be unannounced or carried out at short notice so that inspectors see clinics operating under normal conditions. The current inspection methodology of desk-based assessment (DBA), using a risk-based approach, followed by an onsite inspection and the use of virtual technology if necessary will continue. The new themes are: The list of revised themes can be found on the Clinic Portal here. |
New BICA Professional Resource on Delivering Implications Counselling |
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The British Infertility Counselling Association (BICA) has published a new national Professional Resource: Delivering Implications Counselling in UK Clinics, launched at Fertility 2026 in Edinburgh.
The resource supports PRs, Quality Managers, counsellors, nurses and multidisciplinary clinic teams in delivering consistent, high-quality implications counselling, particularly where third-party family formation or donation is involved. It includes practical guidance, templates and tools to support implementation and quality assurance in UK licensed clinics. The resource is freely available online, and BICA is also offering free webinars for a limited period to support clinics and counsellors in embedding best practice. Access the resource and webinar information here. |
IUI annual data submission |
All licensed centres undertaking Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) with partner sperm must submit an annual return to the Authority no later than 28 February in each calendar year (General Direction 0005). Annual returns for the year ending 31 December 2025 should therefore be submitted by 28 February 2026.
If centres have not undertaken IUI treatment in this calendar year they must confirm this. PRs may do this by either completing and submitting the annual return through the portal, or by emailing your centre’s inspector with a statement to confirm no stimulated or unstimulated cycles of IUI have been performed and that the annual return will therefore not be submitted.
For centres who have undertaken IUI treatment, the PR must submit the data through the Clinic Portal using your PR login (they cannot be sent through any other portal login). Previously some centres thought they had submitted their returns, only to find them in the ‘PR drafts’ awaiting final approval and submission, so please ensure the data is submitted by the PR through the PR login.
The tab for IUI data submission can be found under Licence & Applications > New Licenses, returns and applications – scroll down to see IUI submission forms. |
- Alert 2026/01 - Field Safety Notice: LIFEAZ Clark defibrillator, notice that certain defibrillators may be defective
Alert 2026/01 was issued on 23 January 2026 - Alert 2026/02 - Field Safety Notice: Medline: sterile surgical drapes and sterile surgical gowns, recall
Alert 2026/02 was issued on 23 January 2026
If the PR at your clinic did not receive these alerts via email, please contact Business Support at HFEACompliance@HFEA.gov.uk to update your contact details. Please also make sure that the email address alerts are sent from, alert@hfea.gov.uk, has been whitelisted by your IT department.
If there are members of clinic staff, other than your PR, who would also like to receive alerts, then please provide Business Support with their details, using the email address above. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) publish all Field Safety Notices (FSNs) on their website.
For any questions about the content of the alerts, please contact incident.reporting@hfea.gov.uk. |
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Movement of gametes and embryos
Centres should ensure that staff understand the distinction between importing and exporting gametes and embryos to or from third-country suppliers, and transporting gametes and embryos between licensed UK centres, as the requirements for each differ.
As part of the pre-inspection desk-based assessment, inspectors request a copy of the centre’s audit of import and export practices, which should include an assessment of compliance with all relevant requirements of General Direction (GD) GD0006.
Centres should ensure that these audits have a clearly defined scope. If a centre’s internal audit also includes movements between licensed UK centres, these should be clearly identified as transports and audited separately against the relevant standards.
Centres are expected to report all gamete/embryo movement to Prism as per GD0005.
For further details, please see General Direction 0005 (GB), General Direction 0006 (GB), General Direction 0006 (NI), and GN 15 and 16 HFEA Code of Practice.
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Editorial statement Clinic Focus is the official electronic newsletter of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, is produced by the editorial team of the HFEA and provides a monthly roundup of news and information for clinics and their staff working in the field of fertility treatment.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission. You can view our privacy policy on our website. Click here to unsubscribe 2 Redman Place London E20 1JQ © Copyright Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, 2019 |
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