The National Health Service in England and Wales should extend free fertility and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments to people with infectious diseases such as HIV or hepatitis B and to people facing cancer treatment who hope to preserve their fertility, according to new guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and reported by The Associated Press (AP). As an influential British health advisory agency, NICE also recommends that the U.K. health service extend free fertility treatments to women in same-sex couples and women up to age 42 (the previous age limit was 39). However, even if these guidelines are adopted, hospitals will be able to decide whether to pay for IVF treatments, and that may present its own challenges in a climate of increased health service budget cuts.

To read the AP article, click here.