Fertility workers not guided by code

MOST professionals working in the field of fertility in Ireland come under no formal guidelines or regulations, the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction warned yesterday.

While all Irish fertility clinics have adopted their own best practice policies, usually based on British regulations, only the doctors involved are subject to any domestic regulation.

Doctors fall under the remit of the Irish Medical Council, which has its own ethical and professional standards, but nurses, scientists and laboratory technicians are not covered.