Postcode lottery blocks free IVF to infertile couples

Thousands in the capital face a postcode lottery over free IVF because health trusts are using "haphazard" eligibility criteria.

Some London health trusts are refusing childless women treatment because their boyfriend has children from a previous relationship. However, other trusts will treat mothers with as many as four offspring from previous relationships.

Infertility campaigners and experts today condemned this randomness over free fertility treatment as "cruel".

National guidelines published four years ago said trusts should provide three free cycles of IVF for patients up to the age of 39.

But a government survey show London trusts are still not funding all three cycles. Only four out of 31 in the capital plan to offer full IVF treatment but this will not be available until next year. Eighteen provide just one cycle of IVF - the minimum level. Less than half pay for women to have their embryos frozen - a technique which increases greatly a patient's chance of becoming pregnant.

This failure to fund IVF could jeopardise a new campaign by doctors to cut multiple births. The British Fertility Society and the Association of Clinical Embryologists will tomorrow urge IVF clinics to put back only one embryo in women at high risk of conceiving twins.

This is in response to a huge rise in multiple IVF births which can endanger women and their babies. But experts who back single-embryo

transfer also warn it will only work if trusts fund three treatment cycles and pay to freeze embryos.

Professor Peter Braude, who headed an official consultation into multiple births, accused the Government of "hypocrisy". The fertility expert from King's College said: "The Government is against patients paying for top-up care for cancer treatment. But they let women having NHS fertility treatment pay to have their embryos frozen."

Dr Allan Pacey, secretary of the BFS, said: "It's a national disgrace that fertility treatment is not being funded properly. Other countries do it."

Infertility Network UK will highlight the "haphazard" eligibility criteria used by many trusts at a conference marking national infertility day next month. Clare Brown, the charity's chief executive, will call on health trusts to increase the level of free treatment for infertile couples as recommended by Nice.

She said: "Refusing to treat women until the age of 35 or 37 is just totally unacceptable, not cost-effective, and worst of all not good clinical practice."

The Government IVF findings are based on a survey of primary care trusts carried out last year. They show variations in age criteria used by trusts. For example, women as young as 20 in Hillingdon can obtain treatment. But those living in Barnet are only sent to the front of the queue if they are older and in Greenwich female patients must be between 28 and 35 at referral.