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HSE Funded Fertility Treatments

Merrion Fertility Clinic is approved by the HSE to provide publicly funded fertility treatments

If you believe that you may be eligible to qualify for fertility treatment which is funded by the HSE, the first step is to contact your GP. They will refer you to the appropriate fertility hub.

There are six fertility hubs based in public maternity hospital networks across the country. Public fertility services are organised around these hubs and they are staffed by specially qualified doctors, nurses, admin staff and scientists. There is no cost to patients for tests or treatment in the fertility hubs.

The six regional hubs are in the following locations - Dublin, in the National Maternity Hospital, the Coombe and Rotunda hospitals, and also in Galway, Cork and Limerick. Depending on your address, you will be allocated to a particular hub.

How Do I Know If I Would Be Eligible for HSE Funded Fertility Treatment?

To access free IUI, IVF or ICSI treatment you and your partner must meet all the access criteria.

The access criteria are around: residency, age, children, number of parents, relationship length, sterilisation, previous IVF treatment, body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle.

  • Residency – you must be resident in the Republic of Ireland.
  • Age – you must be 40 or under if you’re a woman, and 59 or under if you’re a man.
  • Children – you must have no living children together. Only one of you can have a living child.
  • Number of parents – only two people can plan to be parents to the child.
  • Relationship length – you must be in a relationship with your partner for at least one year.
  • Sterilisation – you must never have had a sterilisation procedure to prevent pregnancy.
  • Previous IVF treatment – you can get treatment if you have not had IVF, you had one round of IVF before and have no unused embryos still in storage or you have started tests for IVF but have not started taking IVF medicine.
  • BMI – you must have a BMI of between 18.5 and 30, if you are a woman.
  • Lifestyle –
    • Alcohol: the intended birth mother should drink no more than four units of alcohol per week and the intended father should drink no more than ten units per week.
    • Smoking: You must not have smoked in the last three months.
    • Recreational drugs: You must not have used recreational drugs in the past three months.

For more information, please visit HSE.ie

What Happens at the Fertility Hubs?

Your GP will share the results of your tests and investigations with the fertility hub as part of your referral.

When the fertility hub receives your referral, they will send you a male and a female questionnaire to complete and return.

The information you give in these questionnaires will help the team to have a complete picture of your health, medical history and your fertility journey to date. This will help the fertility team to plan your care based on your needs.

Once the fertility hub receives your screening questionnaires, they will arrange for further specialised fertility tests and an appointment with the Consultant.

The team at the fertility hub may recommend fertility treatment for some people. This may be based on the findings and results of investigations or where treatment in the fertility hub has not resulted in a pregnancy. Fertility treatment includes IUI, ICSI and IVF.

The fertility hub will give you information about all HSE-approved private providers and refer you to whichever provider you choose. You will need to sign a consent form to say that you understand the proposed treatment and that you agree to your details being sent to the provider.

If you choose Merrion Fertility Clinic, your referral will come to us and you will receive an appointment for a consultation within 6 weeks and will begin the fertility treatment within 12 weeks of the referral being made.

Your journey with Merrion Fertility Clinic

As soon as we receive your referral from the fertility hub, our Patient Coordinator will be in touch with you to organise a consultation with one of our expert medical team and to book any required tests.

What Happens During Your Treatment with Merrion Fertility Clinic?

IVF and ICSI

Your fertility hub will decide on whether you are referred for IVF or ICSI.

You will be entitled to one funded treatment cycle. If you do not become pregnant as a result of the treatment cycle but you have frozen embryos remaining, you will be entitled to funded Frozen Embryo Transfers until either you achieve pregnancy or you use all your embryos.

 

Storage Costs

Storage of embryos is funded while you are still in active treatment and, if you become pregnant and still have frozen embryos, the storage cost will be funded for two years post the birth of your child.

IUI

If you are referred to us for IUI, you will be entitled to up to three IUI treatment cycles. If you are not successful in conceiving, you will be referred back to the fertility hub.

Standard of Care

Our HSE funded patients received the same standard of care as our private patients.

Our Doctors, Nurses and Embryologists work as a team, and the outcomes of all patient cases are discussed at a weekly multi-disciplinary meeting.  You will be assigned a Patient Coordinator who will arrange appointments and answer your queries promptly.