| British
Fertility Society |
|
| It has been a fairly quiet
summer in the press office, we’ve only been involved in a sprinkling
of big fertility and reproductive medicine stories compared to other
periods. This means that Tom and I (Jane) have had a chance to breath,
take stock of progress, and crack on with some new projects for the
Society. Details of these can be found in the next section, News from
the BFS Press Office.
It is essential that the press office gets feedback
from the ‘frontline’ of clinical practice and research,
and as you will see below, we have been canvassing a selection of
our recent media recruits to see how they think we’re doing.
We’d now like to extend discussion of media and PR activities
to a wider group of BFS members. To this end, an invitation to volunteer
for a focus group session at the Winter Meeting is also detailed
below.
Remember that
if you want to talk any issues over, or if you think you have a
local or national story but want to get a press officer to make
the initial approach to the media, do please get in touch. Tom and
Jane at BioScientifica are here to help you. Just call the press
office on 01454 642244 or email jo.thurston@bioscientifica.com.
|
| NEWS
FROM THE BFS PRESS OFFICE |
Help
us move forward
In September, as part of ongoing PR/media work, BioScientifica sent
a brief evaluation form to the recently media-trained BFS spokespeople.
Recipients were asked if they thought there had been any change in
the amount and type of press coverage that the BFS, and fertility
issues in general, had been receiving. We also asked for feedback
on how they thought we could improve things. Responses so far have
been positive, and there have been some good suggestions for development.
We’d now like to extend this evaluation and discussion process
to involve more members from different disciplines. We’re
interested in talking to both those that have contact with the media,
and those that have no experience with the press, but have an interest
in how the BFS communicates with a wider audience.
If you have a bugbear about how the media represents your field,
a brilliant idea for engaging the public in this arena, or just
a burning curiosity about what Tom and I get up to on your behalf,
we want to meet you!
We are aiming
to hold a focus group session during lunch on one day of the Winter
Meeting (1-2 December, RCOG). If you are interested in coming along
to discuss media and PR issues with us and are going to the meeting,
or work nearby, please drop me a line to express your interest.
Email: jo.thurston@bioscientifica.com.
|
|
Factsheets
The BFS has recently commissioned six information factsheets to be
written for the website by invited members. These will be aimed at
a lay audience and will provide the first direct public interface
on the website – important if the BFS is to be considered an
open and authoritative organisation by the general population.
With the first factsheets we hope to cover some of the big topical
issues in fertility and reproductive medicine, and provide some
literature that may be helpful to those facing fertility treatment
as well as their friends and families.
Subject matter will range
from human reproductive cloning to NHS funding for fertility services.
We hope to have the first factsheets online by the end of the year.
|
| IN
THE PRESS |
| July
2004 |
Aspirin
for IVF success (The Sun 1 July
2004)
Fertility and Sterility has published a study showing that women
receiving 75mg aspirin daily from the day of embryo transfer until
pregnancy showed a 27.2% birth rate (per ET) compared to 23.2% in
untreated women. The study included 1380 consecutive IVF cycles.
|
|
Diet
link to endometriosis (BBC news
online 14 July 2004)
Italian research published in Human Reproduction has indicated a link
between high dietary intake of red meat and increased risk of endometriosis.
A limited study interviewing 500 women with endometriosis and 500
comparable women with no history of the condition showed that a high
intake of red meat conferred an 80% to 100% increased risk of endometriosis. |
|
‘Designer
baby’ ruling (Everywhere!
21 July 2004)
Today the HFEA decided to extend the rules allowing embryos to be
tested in order for families to have a child who could be a tissue
match for a seriously ill brother or sister. |
|
|
'Designer
baby' saves his brother's life (Daily
Telegraph 28 July 2004)
A five-year-old boy suffering from a life-threatening blood disease
has become the first person in Britain to have benefited from a transplant
which utilised stem cells from the umbilical cord of his brother,
who was chosen for suitability from nine embryos, screened in America.
The transplant took place at Sheffield Children's hospital. |
| August
2004 |
Thyroid
hormone warning for pregnancy (BBC
news online 11 August 2004)
Chicago University researchers have warned that excess thyroid hormones
can increase miscarriage rate and affect foetal development. Studying
people with a rare genetic disorder that means they are resistant
to high levels of thyroid hormones, the researchers found that high
levels of hormone tripled miscarriage risk and hampered weight gain
in babies that did survive. The report is published in JAMA. |
|
First
UK therapeutic human cloning licence granted (Guardian
11 August 2004)
Alison Murdoch and Miodrag Stojkovic of Newcastle University have
been granted the first ever UK licence to clone human embryos for
medical research. The team will be using stem cells from cloned embryos
to investigate potential therapies for diseases such as diabetes. |
|
No health
risk with PGD (BBC news online
18 August 2004)
A study of over 700 babies born after IVF pregnancies where PGD was
used has found that they were no more likely to suffer birth defects
than babies born after natural pregnancies. The research is published
in Fertility and Sterility. |
|
Zavos
back in town (Mail on Sunday 29
August 2004)
Panos Zavos claims he has succeeded in taking DNA from two dead people
- an 11-year-old girl called Cady and a 33-year-old man, both of whom
died in road accidents - and implanting it into living eggs that subsequently
divided in the laboratory to form embryos. Zavos claims to have implanted
DNA from the corpses into living cow eggs. These are bigger than a
human egg and therefore easier to manipulate. The cells started to
divide to create embryos but were not allowed to go beyond 64 cells. |
| September
2004 |
Leptin
restores fertility (Betterhumans.com
1 September 2004)
Researchers in Massachusetts have found that leptin hormone therapy
can reverse hypothalamic amenorrhea in very lean women. Women tested
were either extremely thin, competitive female athletes, or suffering
from eating disorders. The women were given two doses of leptin per
day for three months and it was observed that levels of reproductive
hormones were raised and normal ovarian functioning was restored.
In addition, bone density improved. The research is published in NEJM. |
|
Opposition
grows to Italian fertility law (Reuters
21 September 2004)
Fertility laws passed in Italy in February, changing the country from
being known as the ‘Wild West’ of fertility treatment
to one of the most restrictive in Europe has split all of the political
parties. The bill, preventing cryopreservation of embryos and forcing
doctors to transfer all (max three) IVF embryos back into women undergoing
treatment, has drawn widespread opposition. The Radical Party said
it was close to collecting the half million signatures required to
force a national referendum on the subject. |
|
First
ovarian tissue transplant baby (Reuters
23 September 2004)
Tamara, a healthy 8.2lbs, was born this evening in a hospital in Brussels.
She was conceived naturally after her mother received an ovarian autotransplant
with tissue cryopreserved six years previously, before she underwent
treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Ovarian function was restored four
months after the transplant. |
| WATCH
OUT FOR… |
Frozen
Assets. Egg and Sperm donation after the removal of anonymity
A one-day conference organised by Progress Educational Trust
Wednesday 17 November 2004 10am - 5.30pm
Institute of Child Health, Guilford Street, London WC1
For details of speakers, location and to register contact Khadija
Ibrahim
Email: kibrahim@progress.org.uk
Tel: 020 7278 7870
Web: http://www.progress.org.uk/Events/Index.html |
|
MRC/HFEA
safety report
Watch out for the imminent release of the MRC’s report on
the safety of assisted reproduction technologies. For more info
go to: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/about/about-organisation/about-bodies_and_members/public-assisted_reproduction.htm
|
|
Wellbeing
Research Training Fellowships 2005
The aim of the Research Training Fellowship scheme is to further the
training of medical graduates in research techniques and methodology
in a subject of direct or indirect relevance to obstetrics and gynaecology.
Deadline for applications: 14 January 2005
For more information go to: http://www.wellbeing.org.uk/researchtraining.html
|
|
News from the BFS Press Office