Couples Flock to Eastern Europe for Cheaper IVF

Aggregated News

Thousands of childless older British women desperate to be mothers are flocking to eastern Europe for IVF, the Daily Express can reveal.

They are being forced abroad for IVF because the NHS only provides fertility treatment for women up to the age of 39 and with stringent restrictions.

The eligibility for free treatment to help childless couples conceive is made worse by a postcode lottery.

Primary Care Trusts routinely refuse treatment to couples, based on their own criteria for who is eligible.

It means women are increasingly heading to clinics in the Czech Republic, Romania, the Ukraine and Russia for fertility treatment at a quarter of the cost of private treatment in the UK.

But there are fears for the health of these women as many foreign clinics ignore safety guidelines and implant multiple embryos to create pregnancies.

Using more than two in an IVF cycle can lead to dangerous complications and multiple births.

The number of women over the age of 40 becoming pregnant has soared in recent years, accelerating at a record rate.

Experts say that older mothers...

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