First clinical report of 179 surrogacy cases in the UK: implications for policy and practice.

Research Question: What implications for policy and practice can be derived from outcomes and trends observed across 8 years of a surrogacy programme in two UK-regulated IVF centres (London, Cardiff)?

Design: Retrospective cohort study analysing surrogacy treatments undertaken between 2014 and September 2021.

Results: Surrogacy continues to rise in popularity in the UK despite the inability of those supporting safe and professional practice to advertise to recruit surrogates. In two IVF centres regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), both the number of surrogacy treatments and the proportion of those undertaken on behalf of same-sex male intended parents increased year on year in the period studied.

Oxytocin--its role in male reproduction and new potential therapeutic uses.

Oxytocin (OT) is traditionally thought of as a "female" neurohypophysis hormone due to its role in parturition and milk ejection. However, OT is recognized as having endocrine and paracrine roles in male reproduction. At ejaculation, a burst of OT is released from the neurohypophysis into the systemic circulation and stimulates contractions of the reproductive tract aiding sperm release.