AWARD OF NOBEL PRIZE FOR MEDICINE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF IVF

That this House congratulates Professor Robert G. Edwards, ahead of the award ceremony on 10 December 2010, on receiving the Nobel Prize for Medicine for 2010 for the development of human in-vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy, and for his achievements in making it possible to treat infertility, which affects more than 10 per cent. of all couples; recognises that there are still many couples in the UK that are unable to access this treatment on the NHS despite the publication of a NICE clinical guideline that recommends that up to three full cycles of IVF be provided to those with a clinical need; and calls on those primary care trusts thathave suspended all funding for IVF services to reconsider so that couples with infertility have equal access to treatment.