It is a pleasure to report two new developments in the life of Human Fertility.
The first is the addition of three professional bodies to the list of those on whose behalf the Journal is published. The bodies joining are the Association of Biomedical Andrologists (ABA), the Association of Irish Clinical Embryologists (ICE) and the Irish Fertility Society (IFS). We extend a very warm welcome to them all. Details of their activities are given at the end of this issue. It is a source of pride that Human Fertility is now the official journal of eight societies in the UK and Ireland in the field of human assisted conception highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to issues in reproductive medicine.
While it might seem a statement of the obvious, the importance of professional bodies in science and medicine cannot be over-emphasized. As well as providing a forum for discussion among members/practitioners, they are a source of policy statements on good practice, are often responsible for training and accreditation, and provide authoritative statements to the public and the media. It is vital that professional bodies disseminate their activities widely and submit as much of their output as possible to peer review. It is in this area that Human Fertility has, since its inception, been closely involved, by providing an outlet for publications arising from the work of the constituent societies.
The second development is the decision to make Human Fertility an electronic journal and largely dispense with hard copies, which will continue to be available but at extra cost to those who wish to receive them. Such a move will reduce production and delivery costs considerably, have environmental and sustainability benefits and make it much easier to provide access to the members of eight different societies. We obviously hope that as a result the number of subscriptions will rise globally.