Is Raising the Age for Ivf Treatment to 40 Cost Effective on the Nhs?

The intention of this assignment is to highlight the fact that women are becoming mothers later in life and that doing so is adversely affecting their chances of conception. Since the introduction of IVF on the NHS the amount of people having treatment has increased over the years and so have the success rates, which have increased with developments in techniques and technology. As women are having children at an older age, it will be discussed whether it is necessary and cost effective for the NHS to provide fertility treatment to women up to the age of 42.

The age factors that affect the outcome of IVF will be investigated and comparisons made between the age groups, using data collected by the HFEA. One of the questions to be investigated is whether a woman’s age should be used as a factor for denying treatment, as some evidence suggests that using Ovarian Reserve testing is a much better indicator of the chances of success than age alone. This will then form the basis of the argument of whether or not raising the age limit on the NHS is cost effective in conjunction with the NICE draft Guideline Cost Effectiveness Studies.

This topic has been chosen as it is contentious, evocative and highly emotive. It is currently in discussions with the government and relevant authorities and organisations, and the draft guidelines set out by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence are in the process of being evaluated. This guideline will be summarised and a comparison made with the documents produced by the Primary Care Trust for Plymouth. This essay will primarily focus on the age criteria for treatment and theories and professional opinions around this. The ethics of IVF and the physical process, although relevant, will not be discussed but a glossary of terms will be included.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average age of women giving birth has steadily increased in all four UK countries over the last 25

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