Eligibility criteria for NHS-funded IVF in Wales is being consulted on until 17 February 2023, alongside policy for pre-implantation genetic testing-monogenic disorders (PGT-M).
Single women will no longer be able to access IVF under the policy that has been proposed by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee, which is the body responsible for determining access criteria for NHS fertility treatment in the country. The maximum age that women can access NHS-funded IVF has also be lowered, from 42 to 40. The maximum age that men can access treatment remains the same at 55. While eligible couples were previously able to access two full cycles of IVF, the policy being consulted on proposes capping this to five embryo transfers. Another new criterion is that if you pay to freeze your egg or sperm now, you are ineligible to receive NHS-funded fertility treatment in the future.
Lucy Mills, a woman currently undergoing fertility treatment, told ITV: 'My initial reaction was shock, to be honest. I just felt like it was such a backwards step. I always felt like Wales are quite progressive when it came to offering treatment to single women. To take such a huge backwards step and essentially discriminate against people who are single was really shocking.'
The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) plans to fund PGT-M, which tests people who are at risk of transmitting serious genetic conditions to their offspring. There are criteria that need to be met in order to qualify for this testing, including a ten percent or greater risk of passing on a serious genetic condition. To be eligible women should be under 40 years old, have a BMI between 19 and 35, and the couple should be non-smokers.
The Welsh Government defends their decisions as being informed by clinical effectiveness but is open to responses from the public.
Welsh Officials state, 'All clinicians should support families of any composition with fertility issues and may refer them into specialist services where appropriate.'
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