Letter: The Safety of IVF

Beginning of article

Sir: We welcome the news that the Medical Research Council and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have established a working group, chaired by Professor Catherine Peckham, to review the current knowledge of IVF and its possible health effects. The working group will advise on whether further research is necessary, and is expected to report in 2003 ("New enquiry to check the health of IVF babies", 22 October). As most of the techniques in use have not been tested sufficiently in animals, clinical IVF treatment must still be regarded as a worldwide experiment being conducted on humans.

However, your article is misleading in that it draws attention to embryo …