Funding of IVF fertility treatments

Sir, – I attended a British Fertility Society meeting in Birmingham recently. There was a debate regarding the ethics of what has been called a “postcode lottery” in Britain. Couples in Scotland and Wales, regardless of income, are entitled to two NHS-funded cycles of IVF treatment if they meet appropriate medical criteria. Those in Northern Ireland are funded for one cycle and those in England receive one, two or three cycles, depending on their postcode.

Contrast that with the Republic of Ireland, where even the poorest in our society are not funded for even one cycle of treatment. In the last European survey, Ireland and Lithuania were the only two EU countries not to offer state-funded assisted reproduction. Does anyone in this country realise how out of step we are with accepted first world medical standards? – Yours, etc,

Dr MARY WINGFIELD,

Clinical Director

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and Consultant

Gynaecologist,

Merrion Fertility Clinic,

Dublin 2.