A postal survey of embryo transfer practice in the UK

In this postal survey a questionnaire was sent to all unit directors in the UK to determine their attitudes to the factors influencing embryo transfer practice, They were requested to rate each step on a scale of 1-10, where 1 was irrelevant and 10 very important. A total of 80 practitioners from 40 units replied. Over 50% of the corresponding practitioners were consultant s, 33% were middle-grade clinicians, and 12% were infertility nurse special ists. The factor that got the highest rating was the need for a standardize d protocol for all unit staff regarding embryo transfer technique. The seco nd critical factor voted by the respondents was the presence of blood on th e embryo transfer catheter, Not touching the uterine fundus was deemed to b e the third most important factor while the type of embryo transfer cathete r used was a very close fourth, Prolonged bed rest following embryo transfe r was voted the least important factor to influence the outcome. The wide v ariations in practice and choice of catheters encountered in this survey ar e indications of the divided opinion and lack of concrete evidence on which to base any firm decisions. The need for large clinical studies to assess clearly whether higher pregnancy rates will result from modifications in em bryo transfer practice is highlighted.