IVF - More single women but still discrimination
The number of single women in the UK undergoing fertility treatment to start a family has more than trebled in a decade, a report has revealed.In total, 4,800 women without a partner had in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or donor insemination (DI) treatment in 2022. This represents a 243% increase from the 1,400 single women who had fertility treatment in 2012, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
With 400 single women undergoing fertility treatment every month, it means they now receive almost one in 10 of all fertility treatments (9%) administered in the UK, up from 4% in 2012.
The number of women in a same-sex couple having fertility treatment has more than doubled, up from 1,300 a year in 2012 to 3,300 in 2022, according to the UK’s fertility regulator.
Reciprocal IVF
The report also detailed how in 2022, one in six IVF cycles among lesbians was so-called “reciprocal IVF”, where one woman carries an embryo created from their partner’s egg.
The HFEA said that IVF funding was least common for single patients and female same-sex couples compared with heterosexual couples in 2022.
About 16% of lesbian couples and 18% of single patients had NHS funding for their first IVF treatment, compared with 52% of heterosexual couples aged 18 to 39, the report found. The levels of funding varied across the UK, it said.
Julia Chain, chair of the HFEA, said: “In the UK, different family groups can access a wide range of reproductive options when starting their fertility journey.
“While the number of female same-sex couples and single patients having fertility treatment continues to rise, we continue to see lower rates of NHS-funded treatment.
Read more at The Guardian