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NHS IVF Criteria

If you need help starting or growing your family, the first thing you’re likely to do is go to your GP. But what many people don’t realise is that some GPs can refer their patients to Care Fertility, meaning you might be able to have your IVF or fertility treatment funded by the NHS.

Am I eligible for NHS funding for IVF?

Whether or not you can have NHS funding to finance your IVF or fertility treatment is ultimately decided by your Integrated care boards (ICBs). Integrated care boards (ICBs) replaced clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the NHS in England from 1 July 2022. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has set out a series of guidelines about who should receive NHS-funded treatment, and how much.

What are the criteria for receiving IVF treatment on the NHS?

According to NICE, women under 40 should be offered three rounds of NHS-funded IVF treatment if they’ve been trying unsuccessfully to start a family for two or more years, or if they’ve had 12 or more unsuccessful rounds of artificial insemination.

If you’re a woman aged between 40 and 42, NICE suggests you should have one round of NHS-funded IVF treatment if you meet all of the following criteria:

  • You’ve been trying to start your family for two or more years, or have had 12 or more unsuccessful rounds of artificial insemination

  • You’ve never had IVF

  • You don’t have any problems with low ovarian reserves

  • You’re aware of the implications for over 40s and affect of your age on treatment

Your local ICB might also have some of their own criteria; for example, they might only offer one or two cycles of IVF rather than three, and they might only offer NHS-funded IVF or fertility treatment to those who don’t already have children, or to non-smokers.

Same-sex couples seeking IVF treatment can be offered funding for several rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI), In vitro fertilisation (IVF), or both.

If you’d like to know whether you qualify for fertility treatment with the NHS, the best thing to do is contact your ICB directly. Your GP can also advise on local funding criteria and whether the IVF cost on the NHS will be covered.

Armed Forces Funding 

For those within the armed forces, NHS England has a specific commissioning policy for families seeking assisted conception. If you meet the criteria within this policy you can be referred for treatment at any Care Fertility clinic within the UK.

ICB Contracts

Integrated care boards (ICBs) replaced clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the NHS in England from 1 July 2022.

Care Fertility has NHS contracts with a number of ICBs, including the below. If unsure on your ICB region, find out more here and if your region is not included please talk to your local Care Fertility clinic.

Leeds:

  1. NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB
  2. NHS South Yorkshire ICB
  3. NHS West Yorkshire ICB
  4. NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB
  5. NHS greater Manchester ICB
  6. NHS Lancashire and south Cumbria ICB
  7. NHS better lives Lincolnshire ICB
  8. NHS Joined up Care Derbyshire  ICB
  9. NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB 

London:

  1. East and North Hertfordshire ICB

  2. Cambridge and Peterborough

  3. Mid and South Essex

Manchester:

  1. NHS Greater Manchester ICB
  2. Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB

Northampton:

  1. BLMK - Bedford , Luton and Milton Keynes
  2. Kettering and Corby
  3. NHS Oxfordshire ICB - Berkshire West
  4. Buckinghamshire
  5. Frimley and Oxfordshire
  6. East and North Hertfordshire ICB (including West Essex)

  7. Cambridge and Peterborough

  8. Arden and GEM ( Greater East Midlands ) Including Leicester and NHS England which includes all military personal .

Nottingham:

  1. NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB

  2. NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB

  3. NHS Lincolnshire ICB

  4. NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

  5. NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB

  6. NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB

  7. NHS Commissioning Board

  8. NHS England

  9. NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB

Sheffield

  1. NHS South Yorkshire
  2. NHS West Yorkshire

  3. NHS Derby and Derbyshire

Tunbridge Wells:

  1. Kent & Medway ICB
  2. Sussex ICB

Woking:

  1. Surrey Heartlands
  2. Southampton/Isle of Wight Oxfordshire
  3. MOD (Ministry of Defense)
  4. Frimley ICB
  5. Sussex ICB
  6. BOB (Berkshire, Oxford, Bucks)