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New Zealand women are being forced to wait for a new fertility treatment which has been held up for three years awaiting approval.
An Auckland fertility specialist says up to 25 women are on a waiting list for the treatment and he is frustrated by the delays.
In vitro maturation (IVM), which matures eggs in the lab rather than in the woman's body, dispenses with costly fertility drugs. It is therefore safer for women who have polycystic ovaries, for whom fertility drugs can be life-threatening.
The technique has been used in Canada, South Korea, Scandinavia and Britain. But in New Zealand, IVM is still being assessed by the independent Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (Acart). It has been on its books since the committee was set up in 2005.
Simon Kelly, a consultant with Fertility Associates, told the Herald on Sunday he had submitted IVM to the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction in 2004 - before Acart was established - and it had been approved.
But it had to be assessed again when Acart replaced the old Ethics Committee after the passing of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Hart) Act in November 2004.
"It has been sitting with them for two years. Hence the frustration. I have been raring to go and actually have patients waiting to try the treatment. I have at least 20-25 patients interested."
Maturing the eggs in the lab, rather than in the woman's body, does away with the three-week courses of powerful drugs used in IVF and therefore provides an alternative for women at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which can be fatal.
Waitoki mother of twins Helen Davies has first-hand experience of ovarian hyperstimulation. Shortly after the embryo replacement which led to the birth of Charlie and Lola, now 16 months, Davies' abdomen became painful and distended. She spent four days in hospital before being sent home, where she had to wear special stockings and take low-dose aspirin to guard against thrombosis. "Physically I felt pretty awful."
IVM can also be used at short notice for women about to undergo chemotherapy.
It is also at least $3000 cheaper than IVF, which costs $8000-$10,000.
Acart chairwoman Professor Sylvia Rumball said IVM was being considered. "We have not held it up. We are trying to keep several things running at the same time."
