Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 24 October 2017 (HL1882), whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority now holds information on methods of freezing; if not, why not; and if so, how many human embryos were (1) transferred to uteri to establish pregnancies, (2) destroyed, and (3) allocated for destruction but have not yet been destroyed, following (a) vitrification, and (b) slow freezing methods, in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it does not hold information on which methods of freezing are used.

The HFEA is required under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 to keep a register recording identifiable information on patients, the treatments they undergo and their outcomes. This information does not include the method used to freeze sperm, eggs or embryos.