Shropshire health bosses to raise IVF age limit

The limit in the county had previously been 37-and-a-half years and it is predicted the move will cost the local health service an extra £100,000 per year.

But bosses of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin's clinical commissioning groups have stopped short of adopting national guidelines – which recommend an age limit of 43 on IVF treatment – on grounds of affordability. The CCGs, responsible for buying in health services for the county, will also be offering only one full cycle of treatment to those selected, despite national guidelines suggesting there should be three.

Figures suggest only one in three women will fall pregnant after one cycle of IVF, with the chances dropping even further to one in five for women aged 38 or 39 and one in eight for those aged 40. It can cost more than £5,000 for just one cycle of treatment for those forced to go private.

Any couples who have had one or more cycles of treatment – even if they have paid for them privately – will not be eligible to apply for help from the NHS under the new guidelines. Women with a body mass index of more than 30 will also not be eligible for treatment, nor will it be available for couples who already have children from past or present relationships – even if the child is adopted.

The NHS funding will not be available for single women and couples will have to prove they have been in a stable relationship for at least two years before being accepted. Same-sex couples will be eligible. The policy was approved at a meeting of Telford & Wrekin CCG yesterday.

A report before the committee said:

"The policy seeks to provide a safe, equitable and accessible fertility service to all couples where a couple has been unable to conceive, within the agreed eligibility criteria set out in the policy."