Access to NHS IVF in Bristol to change

From 1 April 2023, women aged 40-42 will not be able to access NHS IVF but single women and transgender people will be able to for the first time.

Although a public consultation revealed that people wanted the number of IVF cycles to rise from the current 1 partial cycle to the national recommendation of 3 full IVF cycles, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) chose not to do this.

For female same-sex couples who need to demonstrate their infertility prior to accessing NHS-funded help, the number of independently funded cycles of intrauterine insemination (IUI) they need to undergo first has been reduced from 10 to six.

The ICB has widened who is eligible for fertility preservation (freezing eggs or sperm). This will now include people whose NHS treatment will have an adverse or irreversible impact on their ability to conceive will be able to freeze eggs or sperm, such as patients having surgery on a second ovary or testes and transgender people on the transition pathway. Previously NHS-funded fertility preservation was only available for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

More info at

06.1-Clinical-Commissioning-Policies-ICB-Board-Dec-22.pdf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-63835991