- Assisted Conception Unit
The Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) at
Birmingham Women’s Hospital ,Birmingham ,England , is one of the UK's leading centres forinfertility treatment and care. Having been running for over 26 years it is also the longest established fertility clinic in the Midlands. Based in an NHS hospital the clinic is noted for providing integrated care to both NHS and private patients with internationally recognised staff known for their work in the field of infertility. The clinic also run active programmes of egg-sharing, sperm donation and egg-donation.Directors
The current
HFEA Person Responsible and Director of the ACU is Dr Sue Avery, a clinical embryologist of International profile who undertook her PhD with Professor Robert Edwards, who had been responsible for the conception ofLouise Brown , the world's firstIVF or ‘test-tube baby’ in 1978.Care Advances
The ACU was one of five clinics selected around the UK to receive
Medical Research Council funding to elevate the IVF laboratories to ‘cleanroom ’ levels. This is fundamental for producinghuman embryonic stem cells that are suitable for human use, as all stages of development were in strictly controlled conditions. These opened in summer 2006 and the clinic has maintained good clinical results at the new operating levels (seeHFEA ).Research
The clinic has a recognised international research profile through its academic wing the
Centre for Human Reproductive Science (ChRS) . This has included notable high profile achievements in translational medicine such as the invention of the maleFertell over-the-counter home fertility test cite web | title=Development of a novel home sperm test | work=Björndahl L, Kirkman-Brown J, Hart G, Rattle S, Barratt CL. 2006. Hum Reprod. Jan;21(1):145-9. PMID: 16267078 | url= http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16267078|] For more information seeCentre for Human Reproductive Science (ChRS) .References
External links
* [http://www.bhamivf.com/ ACU website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/localtv/console/birmingham/bb_rm_console.shtml?media_path=http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/local_tv/video/&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1&media_dir=9012da6800321a0&media_file=09012da680032293&story_head=Male%20fertility%20kit%20invented%20in%20Brum Male Fertility Kit Invented in Birmingham BBC news]
* [http://www.fertell.com/ Fertell home fertility testing kit commercial website]
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