Infertile couples throughout England and Wales will be offered one free IVF treatment to help them conceive, Health Secretary John Reid said on Wednesday.
Although the move fell short of the three IVF cycles recommended for infertile women under 40 in a new guideline published on Wednesday, fertility experts said the move was a step forward in ending regional inconsistencies in treatments offered through the state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
“I hope by next April to make sure everyone, everywhere, has the chance of one cycle of treatment,” Reid told the BBC.
He welcomed the guideline developed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), a cost-effectiveness watchdog, and the National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health (NCCWCH), but said it could not be implemented overnight.
“Our immediate priority must be to ensure a national level of provision of IVF is available wherever people live,” he added.
If the guideline, which defines the most effective course of action for the one in seven couples in England and Wales who have a fertility problem, is fully implemented it is expected to increase demand for services by 80 percent and cost the NHS $159 million per year.
Two embryos recommended
In addition to the three in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, the guideline also recommended that only two embryos should be used during each cycle to reduce the risk of multiple births.
“This guideline is a landmark in the field in this country,” Professor David Barlow, of the University of Oxford and the leader of the guideline group, told a news conference.
“It provides a seamless plan to help couples with fertility problems,” he added.
Limiting the number of embryos used to two per treatment will eliminate the risk of triplets but will not diminish the chance of success, according to fertility experts.
About 25 percent of women become pregnant with one cycle of IVF and the number rises to an estimated 50 percent after three treatments.
The guideline also recommends that women should be offered screening for chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease that is a leading cause of infertility, and tests to see whether their fallopian tubes are blocked.
Up to six cycles of intra-uterine insemination, without the use of drugs to stimulate the woman’s ovaries to produce more eggs, is also recommended to increase the chance of a pregnancy.
“The guidelines are good news for patients,” said Clare Brown, chief executive of the Infertility Network, which helps infertile couples.
“The emotional impact of infertility must not be underestimated nor overlooked,” she added.
