How old is too old?

IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilisation. It is a procedure in which egg and sperm cells are collected (either from the couple wishing to conceive or provided by donors), and fertilised outside the womb i.e. In Vitro. The fertilised egg is then cultured and transferred to the patient’s uterus at the 6-8 cell stage. IVF is commonly used as a last resort when treating infertility. In the UK, currently 1 in 8 couples are infertile, yet most couples make use of other assisted reproductive technologies, with only 1 in 80 babies being conceived by IVF. In fact, even when all other methods have failed IVF is not a guaranteed success with a “take-home-baby rate” of only 23%.

Older women that have undertaken IVF are often considered selfish, not bearing in mind the implications this would have on the child.

Although not perfect, IVF offers the basic human right of reproduction to those who cannot achieve it alone. So, in Britain, is it right to impose an age limit to decide whether someone can have children or not? Especially when considering that natural conception can occur over the age of 50, with the oldest natural mother bearing a perfectly healthy son at the age of 59. With numerous tests available for those over 40 before proceeding with IVF that can ensure the health of the child, this age limit appears not to be based on medical grounds.

In fact, certain health problems are more likely to occur due to this limitation as individuals resort to the use of IVF clinics abroad. These clinics tend to have no checks on age or health. Mr Oltarzhevsky, the manager of a fertility clinic in Ukraine, stated, “Successful IVF is our goal. Then the patients return to their home countries for pregnancy and birth, and we usually never hear from them again. The only thing the IVF department deals with is IVF.” Usually there is no follow-up care and nothing is known about the health of these babies. On returning to Britain, there is often a “cover-up” as to the nature of the pregnancy, so the extra monitoring required for those having undergone IVF is not received.

It appears the British limitation is causing more risks.

Considering this, it appears the British limitation is causing more risks than if IVF was offered indiscriminately. In the case of older women, IVF does not allow them to have their “own” children but uses donor eggs from younger women. This removes any increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities and disorders such as Down's syndrome that are normally associated with older eggs. This gives further evidence that there are no significant medical reasons behind the age limit.

The age limit appears to be based upon social reasons. Many argue that aiding reproduction of older parents would lead to social problems such as orphaned children, child welfare issues, and the prospect of the child undertaking much bigger responsibilities e.g. caring for the parent, at a much earlier age. Older women that have undertaken IVF are often considered selfish, not bearing in mind the implications this would have on the child.

Have medical advances in this area led to the possibility of going beyond what is best for society or is Britain being draconian in imposing such a limit on IVF?

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