News

25th February 2004

Free fertility treatment for under 40s

Free fertility treatment will be offered nationwide on the NHS by April next year. Couples in which the woman is aged 23 to 39 and who have been trying for two years will be entitled to at least one free cycle of IVF treatment. The announcement was made by the Health Secretary John Reid however, his commitment fell short of The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for England and Wales recommendations that all infertile women under the age of 40 should be given three attempts at IVF on the NHS.

Dr Reid said he expected the NHS to work towards full implementation of the NICE guidleines in the " longer term". He added "One in seven couples experience problems with conception and I recognise the pain and distress that infertility causes. Our immediate priority must be to ensure a national level of provision of IVF is available wherever people live."

It was initially estimated that the cost to the NHS would be about £400 million but a new report by the All Parliamentary Report on Infertility (APPGI) says it would be nearer to £36.8 million.

In 2002, the then Health Secretary Alan Milburn ordered the NICE guidelines on infertility to help combat the 'postcode lottery' across the country. Currently, a quarter of English Primary Care Trusts do not pay for any IVF treatment, leaving couples in those areas to fund the treatment themselves, costing up to £4000 a time.

Dr Reid said "I want all Primary Care Trusts, including those who at present provide no IVF treatment, to offer at least one full cycle of treatment to all those eligible."

It will be up to local trusts if they want to go further and offer more cycles by putting extra funding into fertility treatment. This means the variations in fertility care across the country will continue.

Lord Robert Winston, the fertility expert, commenting today on the government's announcement on this new provision for infertile couples said " funding one cycle of infertility treatment is insufficient and a waste of money." Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley accused the government of not revealing that the chances of success after one treatment are very low but much higher after the second and third treatment.

Where to next?

• What are your opinions on IVF? Should couples get one or three goes for free? Air your views on our Your Shout forum.
• Find out more about infertility treatments
• Having trouble conceiving? Share the ups and downs in the infertility forum