The IVF baby boom

Scotland leads way with 3 cycles on NHS per couple Restrictions lifted on step-parents with children

SCOTLAND is set for an IVF baby boom following a rule change to allow couples three cycles of fertility treatment even when one partner already has a child.

Yesterday’s announcement will make Scotland the IVF capital of the UK, going further than England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

At an estimated cost of £2.5million, the policy is expected to see a rise in demand for IVF of up to 15 per cent.

It will end the rule that couples, where one has a child but the other does not, are banned from having IVF when a child under 16 already lives with them.

Couples previously forced to go private after two cycles of IVF will save up to £5,200 for their third attempt.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said every failed IVF attempt was ‘a real-life trauma and heartache’, adding: ‘We want to make sure that access to treatment on the NHS is as fair as it can possibly be.’

But she rejected expert advice and decided to continue to allow women to receive fertility treatment up to the age of 42. The

‘Access must be as fair as it can possibly be’

National Infertility Group, which advised the Scottish Government on changing the rules, had recommended removing eligibility for couples where the woman is aged 40 to 42, but this will not happen.

This comes as soaring numbers of women north of the Border undergo IVF, amid fears they are increasingly leaving it so late to start a family that it is not possible to conceive naturally.

The Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine, which treats 900 patients a year, says almost a third are over the age of 40.

Dr Marco Gaudoin, medical director of the centre, said: ‘This is societal – women are delaying starting a family and, as they get older, their egg quality diminishes and so it is harder to get pregnant.

‘There are three reasons, one being that women try to focus on their career development, and also financial stability. They feel they need to get to a stage financially where they are able to try to have a baby. And the other reason is that women are trying to get onto the property ladder, which they do now at a later age.

‘The average age of the women we see is now 38 – and this is for their first baby.’

Scotland was called a ‘shining exemplar’ by the Infertility Network for relaxing the rules for IVF. It means all health boards in Scotland will commit to funding three cycles for women under 40, compared to two cycles in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

In England, childless couples face a postcode lottery, with campaign group Fertility Fairness finding that fewer than one in five clinical commissioning groups offers three full cycles of NHS-funded IVF.

The Scottish Government has spent £18million over four years to cut IVF treatment waiting times.

Lynn Clugston, 40, of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, underwent seven cycles of IVF with husband Marc before becoming pregnant with her daughter Ellis, now 15 months.

The hairdressing salon manager said: ‘I went to the NHS and was told there was a waiting list of a year and a half. I was 34 at the time, so I went private and paid for two rounds at a cost of £6,500 each. We paid for it with savings, but it was a lot of money.

‘When my NHS shot then came up, I missed out because I had gone private. I had to self-fund four cycles on the NHS. Then the rules changed and we were allowed a shot on the NHS. That’s when I became pregnant.’

Some 3,850 women a year have IVF in Scotland.

Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said the announcement on the extension of IVF was ‘great news’, adding: ‘Infertility affects one in seven couples and treatment should be available on the NHS. Infertility can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, causing distress, depression and the breakdown of relationships.’

Miss Campbell said: ‘I’m delighted to be able to announce that we will begin work to change the eligibility criteria for IVF and expand access.

‘Scotland already leads the way on access and rights in the UK and these changes will ensure Scotland’s provision is as fair and generous as possible.’

There is no timescale for the new rules announced yesterday.