Editing Assisted reproductive technology (section)

=== United Kingdom ===
In the United Kingdom, all patients have the right to preliminary testing, provided free of charge by the [[National Health Service]] (NHS). However, treatment is not widely available on the NHS and there can be long waiting lists. Many patients therefore pay for immediate treatment within the NHS or seek help from private clinics.

In 2013, the [[National Institute for Health and Care Excellence]] (NICE) published new guidelines about who should have access to IVF treatment on the NHS in England and Wales.<ref>{{cite web|title=IVF|url=http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/IVF/Pages/Introduction.aspx|publisher=NHS Choices|access-date=19 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420030919/http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/IVF/Pages/Introduction.aspx|archive-date=20 April 2014}}</ref>

The guidelines say women aged between 40 and 42 should be offered one cycle of IVF on the NHS if they have never had IVF treatment before, have no evidence of low ovarian reserve (this is when eggs in the ovary are low in number, or low in quality), and have been informed of the additional implications of IVF and pregnancy at this age. However, if tests show IVF is the only treatment likely to help them get pregnant, women should be referred for IVF straight away.

This policy is often modified by local [[Clinical commissioning group|Clinical Commissioning Groups]], in a fairly blatant breach of the [[NHS Constitution for England]] which provides that patients have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE for use in the NHS. For example, the Cheshire, Merseyside and West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group insists on additional conditions:<ref>{{cite web|title=Services & how we can help|url=http://www.thehewittfertilitycentre.org.uk/funding-options/|publisher=Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust|access-date=19 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624054259/http://thehewittfertilitycentre.org.uk/funding-options/|archive-date=2014-06-24}}</ref>
* The person undergoing treatment must have commenced treatment before her 40th birthday;
* The person undergoing treatment must have a BMI of between 19 and 29;
* Neither partner must have any living children, from either the current or previous relationships. This includes adopted as well as biological children; and,
* Sub-fertility must not be the direct result of a sterilisation procedure in either partner (this does not include conditions where sterilisation occurs as a result of another medical problem). Couples who have undertaken a reversal of their sterilisation procedure are not eligible for treatment.