Seven ways to make the egg-freezing industry better for women

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An employee arranges a test tube in a container used to freeze human eggs in a lab in Athens, Greece. Photo by Kostas Tsironis /Bloomberg

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Ontario and B.C.’s publicly funded fertility programs do set requirements for participating clinics but do not broadly regulate the sector. Quebec is the only province with a comprehensive regulatory framework for fertility clinics, requiring them to consider medical risks, age and likely success before treatment.

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3. Create rules on accurate advertising

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The IJB uncovered myriad examples of aggressive or over-reaching marketing to women, using language that implied egg freezing offers guaranteed results or greater control over future fertility.

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In the U.K., fertility clinics are prohibited from making misleading claims about success rates and must be transparent about costs, risks and optional add-ons. U.K. regulators also monitor advertising and issue enforcement notices.

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Vanessa Gruben, a University of Ottawa law professor specializing in health law and policy, said provinces should create regulatory frameworks for clinics, including how they advertise. “Providing people with as much evidence-based information as possible, I think, is really necessary for a person to provide informed consent to this particular service,” she said.

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The provinces that house most of Canada’s fertility clinics, B.C, Quebec and Ontario, say regulatory colleges are responsible for overseeing clinics. But College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario spokesperson Mickey Cirak said its oversight applies only to registered doctors and “does not extend to employment decisions or the business or marketing practices of clinics.”

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Leader argues Health Canada and provincial and territorial governments need to agree on a template for oversight of assisted reproduction.

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Vanessa Gruben of the University of Ottawa says informed consent from women is needed. Postmedia

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4. Have guidelines for unused eggs

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More than 95 per cent of frozen eggs in Canada have gone unused to-date. There are no regulations or laws on storage limits and disposal, leaving clinics and patients uncertain about what happens if someone dies, divorces or simply forgets.

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“We don’t have any ability to get rid of frozen eggs or to use them for research or to gift (them to) somebody else to help them start a pregnancy,” said Leader.

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Countries such as the U.K., Australia and Ireland have established storage limits, with processes for extensions.

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Kathleen Hammond, a fertility expert and assistant professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University, said Canadian clinics need clear protocols on ownership, storage limits and disposal so patients understand their options. Currently, clinic consent forms are often “murky,” said Hammond.

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The Ontario, B.C., and Quebec governments did not respond to specific questions on unused-egg regulations.

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5. Make counselling mandatory

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“I think (egg freezing) is as revolutionary as the birth control pill was to me,” said Janet Takefman, a former director of psychological services at the McGill University Reproductive Centre. “I think there’s a lot of positives about it, if it’s not oversold and if women aren’t made to feel guilty if they don’t do it.”

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During her decades at the centre, Takefman said she counselled everyone who froze their eggs. She says such support should be standard before patients invest money and hope in the procedure. Counselling is not mandatory at most Canadian clinics. Takefman said patients considering egg-freezing should understand all their options including adoption, life without children or using donor eggs.

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Zeynep Gurtin, a lecturer in women’s health at University College London, agrees clinics should offer counselling before egg freezing to clearly explain the procedure, possible side effects, costs and pregnancy chances.