Doctor in IVF furore is the best

Doctor in IVF furore is the best, says watchdog
• Taranissi success at 61%, double national average • Technique results in 12,596 births in UK overall

Britain's most controversial fertility doctor has once again been ranked as its most successful by the government's IVF watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
Mohammed Taranissi's Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London recorded the highest success rates among more than 100 clinics offering IVF in Britain, according to figures released by the regulator. Nearly two-thirds of Taranissi's patients who were under 35 had a live birth in 2006.
His success rate of 61% is almost double the national average of 31% for patients of the same age. Another clinic run by Taranissi, the Reproductive Genetics Institute, which has since closed, ranked second with a live birth rate of 50% for every cycle of treatment.
Overall, the figures show that there were 12,596 live IVF births in 2006, up 11.9% on the previous year, meaning that 16 babies out of every 1,000 born are IVF infants. They also show a substantial rise in couples seeking IVF across the country.
Nearly 35,000 women were treated in UK clinics in 2006, an increase of 6.8% on the year before. Success rates also rose across age groups, and markedly in women over 44, where live births rose from 0.8% to 4% for women using their own eggs. The use of donor sperm fell sharply, however, with 28% fewer treatments than in 2005. The fall, which the HFEA described as a "great concern", coincides with a change in the law that year which removed sperm donors' right to anonymity.
Lisa Jardine, chair of the HFEA, said: "In the year that we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the birth of the world's first IVF baby, these latest figures show just how far we've come. IVF is now commonplace, with the number of treatment cycles and births rising yet again." Last year, the average age of women having fertility treatment in Britain rose for the 10th consecutive year to 35.2 years old.
The HFEA has been in dispute with Taranissi for years. Last year his offices were raided by the HFEA on the evening of a BBC documentary about his clinics.
Taranissi is suing the broadcaster for libel. The BBC was yesterday ordered to pay an estimated £500,000 in legal costs to Taranissi. The BBC initially defended the documentary, IVF Undercover, which relied on undercover filming at Taranissi's clinic, saying it represented responsible journalism conveying matters in the public interest. However, it withdrew this defence last month. The BBC is continuing to defend its programme, citing the "hazards" of protecting confidential sources. It will seek to prove before the high court in January that the allegations are true.
Taranissi appeared before the General Medical Council this week to answer unrelated allegations from two patients who were treated at his clinic.
"We maintain a good service by being available seven days a week, because you have to be available to do things at the best time. We've also introduced a few new things which are not widely practised across the board, and some of them are still very controversial," said Taranissi.
London clinics completed the top five of the league table. The Lister Fertility Clinic and University College Hospital reported 44% live births in the under-35s, and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital 42%.
The HFEA figures also reveal which clinics created the most twins. Taranissi's clinic ranked second for multiple births, with 32% being twins.

Source: guardian.co.uk