New HFEA data – one in 32 UK children now born via IVF

One in every 32 children born in the UK is conceived through IVF, according to the latest figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The regulator's latest annual trends and figures report, which compiles data from all UK licensed fertility clinics, found that babies born via IVF rose from about 8700 in 2000 to 20,700 in 2023. This corresponds to 'roughly one IVF child in every classroom'. In 2023, around 820 babies were born following donor insemination, and births from donor treatments accounted for around one in 153 UK births. The report also highlighted a sharp rise in treatments among single patients (83 percent) and female-sex couples (45 percent) between 2019 and 2023.

'IVF is helping more people have babies, including patients of different ages and family types,' said HFEA chair Julia Chain. 'We are also seeing more single patients and female same-sex couples having IVF. These findings highlight the changing landscape of the UK fertility sector and how it could develop in the years to come.'

The number of egg freezing cycles has also surged. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of patients freezing their eggs increased by 67 percent among those aged 30–34, and by 53 percent among 35–37-year-olds. Across all age groups, egg-freezing procedures more than doubled compared to 2019, although the number of patients using frozen eggs in treatment remains low.

While some of the latest HFEA data is preliminary, the report found that 11 percent of all UK births to people aged 40-44 were conceived via IVF in 2023 alone, an increase from four percent in 2000 and accounting for 0.5 percent of all UK births.

'Parents are starting to have children in their early 30s when their ability to conceive starts to wane', Professor Melinda Mills of the University of Oxford said. 'It is only then that some discover they have fertility challenges and seek out IVF, yet success rates at advanced ages are likewise low, creating a perfect storm.'

Meanwhile, the proportion of NHS-funded IVF cycles has fallen to its lowest level. Across the UK, it declined from 35 percent in 2019 to 27 percent in 2023, with long waiting times and wide regional disparities.

'The fertility regulator's latest data shows that England's postcode lottery for fertility treatment continues. Whereas more than half of IVF cycles in Scotland are NHS-funded, this is true of less than a quarter of IVF cycles in England,' said Sarah Norcross, director of PET (the Progress Educational Trust). 'Our charity, which monitors the policies of Integrated Care Boards on a monthly basis, fears that the situation is worsening.'

Two ICBs in the North West of England recently opened consultations on proposals to reduce the number of NHS-funded IVF cycles to one (see BioNews 1294).

The HFEA has called for urgent steps in the Government's upcoming ten-year health plan to reduce delays between primary care and specialist fertility treatment, address inequalities in access and outcomes, and ensure that it has the tools to protect patients in a competitive market.