Julia Chain
Chair, HFEA
Learn about how the UK fertility sector has changed over the past 30 years and how the regulator is working to raise awareness of disparities in access and patient experiences.
Fertility treatment has changed rapidly since the HFEA, the UK regulator of fertility treatment, was first set up in 1991 — from the rise in the number of IVF babies born to the technological advances made within the sector itself.
One child in every classroom
As UK fertility rates reach a record low, our data shows that treatment is helping more people in the UK have babies. In 2023, almost 21,000 babies were born from IVF.1 That’s around one child in every classroom.
Recent years have also seen an increase in patients from different family types having treatment, with female same-sex couples and single patients accounting for one in six of all IVF and donor insemination (DI) treatments taking place in 2022.2
However, disparities remain. Asian and black fertility patients have lower birth rates3 and are less likely to report being satisfied with their treatment.4 Female same-sex couples and single patients are three times less likely to receive NHS funding for treatment than opposite-sex couples.5 Only just over a quarter of IVF cycles in the UK are NHS-funded,6 and NHS patients are experiencing longer waiting times than those who are funding their own treatment.4
Regulating a changing environment
The HFEA operates within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which was the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Around 100,000 treatment cycles a year take place in the UK, and fertility treatment is very safe.7
So much has changed since 1991. Some aspects of care now happen online, and the information available from a range of sources can be overwhelming. For donor-conceived people, although a change in the law in 2005 meant egg, sperm and embryo donors donating on or after 1 April 2005 would become identifiable once someone born of their donation turned 18, direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits mean anonymity can no longer be guaranteed until that point.
Updating outdated fertility legislation
Parts of the Act are now out of date. So, in 2023, we published a series of proposals to modernise fertility law, so we can continue regulating the sector as effectively as possible.
In the meantime, we continue to work across the sector to improve fertility services for those seeking a longed-for family and speak up for patients — who have always been, and will always be, at the heart of what we do.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2025. Fertility treatment 2023: trends and figures.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2024. Preliminary UK family type statistics for IVF and DI treatment, storage and donation.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2023. Ethnic diversity in fertility treatment 2021.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2025. National Patient Survey 2024.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2024. Family formations in fertility treatment 2022.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2025. Fertility treatment 2023: trends and figures.
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. 2024. State of the fertility sector 2023/24.
