Infertility Treatment Policies

Brussels, 3 December 2024
Infertility affects 48 million couples worldwide and 25 million citizens of the European Union. These data were made public during the presentation of the European Atlas of Policies of Fertility Treatment Policies in Europe. For the creation of the atlas, evaluation criteria were applied according to three main indicators: legislation, public funding and according to the patient’s point of view. 22 evaluation criteria were also applied, including the existence of specific legislation for assisted reproduction, the availability of registers for assisted reproduction activities, donor registration, access to IVF/ICSI procedures, an algorithm for testing genetic diseases, but also an assessment of whether psychological counselling is provided and whether reproductive health education exists.

This atlas was produced by Fertility Europe and the European Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights, and was created by a group of evaluating experts. The data are presented by the members of Fertility in Europe, and for Bulgaria these are the organizations “I Want a Baby” and “Conception”. Bulgaria is placed in the middle of the ranking, with the most serious problems related to the lack of regulated psychological counseling and the lack of systematic education related to fertility.

During the discussion, Ventsislav Kirkov from BFPA asked why success criteria are not included in the assessment by country and whether such criteria can be applied. This was answered by Prof. Carlos Calhas-Jorge (former President of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology – ESHRE) that such criteria are difficult to apply at national level, since not all countries report the procedures performed, and there is a difference between patients.
Another interesting question was whether there is a connection between the demographic situation in Europe and the policies for the treatment of infertility. Anita Fincham (Fertility Europe) replied that the personal decision of when and how many children a couple should have should not be tied to demographics. Neil Datta (EPF) commented that while this is the case, there is still a connection between the two topics. He also made an observation that there is a correlation between the demographic decline in Eastern Europe and the late and not sufficiently complete development of assisted reproduction in these countries.