The Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee (SCAAC) met on 9 June 2025. Papers from the meeting are available on the SCAAC webpage.
The Committee discussed developments in the following horizon scanning topics and considered an application to add platelet-rich plasma to the HFEA’s treatment add-on’s rated list:
Health outcomes for ART patients (including gestational surrogates and egg donors)
The committee discussed research findings related to risk factors associated with different types of ART, including treatment using donated gametes, egg donation, and undergoing ART as a surrogate. The Committee was joined by external expert Professor Alastair Sutcliffe from University College London. The committee recommended that information on the HFEA website relating to donation, surrogacy and pre-conception health be reviewed and where necessary updated in line with the research discussed.
Impact of the microbiome on fertility and fertility treatment outcomes
Members reviewed research developments, including research on both the male and female reproductive tract microbiome and infertility, alongside relevant research on the gut microbiome, and interventions targeted to improve fertility treatment outcomes. In light of microbiome testing increasingly being offered as an adjunct to fertility treatment, members that these tests should be considered as treatment add-ons.
In order for microbiome and other pre-treatment testing to meet to the definition of an add-on, the HFEA Authority (board) expanded the definition of a treatment add-on during their July Authority meeting. The evidence base underlying microbiome testing will be evaluated for a rating at a subsequent SCAAC meeting.
Platelet-rich plasma as a treatment add-on
The Committee considered an application to add platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for intrauterine and intraovarian infusion/injection to our rated treatment add-on list. Given there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness and risks of these treatments, the SCAAC members considered that both intrauterine and intraovarian PRP treatment met the criteria eligible for an HFEA treatment add-on .
Intrauterine and intraovarian PRP treatments will be brought back to a subsequent meeting of the SCAAC for a rating to be assigned. Further information on introducing a treatment add-on to the HFEA rated list, can be found on this webpage.
Relevant public health developments and research findings
Members considered two recent papers on the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in patients without severe male factor infertility, including the recent randomised clinical trial by Berntsen et al. (2025). As highlighted on the HFEA webpage, good practice guidelines published by the British Fertility Society and recommendations published by the European Society of Human Reproductive Medicine do not recommend using ICSI over standard IVF treatment in these circumstances.
In addition, the SCAAC discussed the recent guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) considering the use of GLP-1. Licenced centres will have received an email from the HFEA Alerts mailbox about this on 5 June 2025. To ensure that patients are aware of this guidance, the committee recommended that patient-facing information on the use of these medicines when trying to conceive is made available via the HFEA . This will reflect the guidance issued by the MHRA, and once live on the HFEA website we will share a link to the information in a future Clinic Focus edition.
Once finalised, minutes from the meeting will be available on the SCAAC webpage.
