One year of the IVF program. We have full data from the Ministry of Health. 14 thousand pregnancies

• For over a year now, since June 1, 2024, couples affected by infertility have been able to benefit from the free in vitro fertilization program of the Ministry of Health.
• The program also provides full financing for fertility protection procedures for people undergoing oncological treatment.
• Rynek Zdrowia received data from the Ministry of Health regarding the effects of the program after a full year of its operation
• After 12 months, 33.7 thousand couples were qualified for the program, almost 14 thousand pregnancies were achieved, and 1,676 children were born
• The program and its effects are one of the successes that the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna, boasts about. She also announces that if necessary, she will increase funding in this area

The in vitro reimbursement program is one of the successes that cannot be denied to the Ministry of Health and Izabela Leszczyna.

It started on June 1, 2024 and will last until the end of 2028. It is the implementation of one of the electoral demands of the Civic Coalition after the previous PiS government almost immediately after taking power eliminated such financing and took away the chance of pregnancy from thousands of couples in Poland.

The current program provides free access to the in vitro procedure for couples undergoing infertility treatment and - importantly - securing future fertility for oncology patients.

The program covers funding for a maximum of 6 cycles, including up to 4 cycles with your own egg cells or sperm donation, and up to 2 cycles with oocyte donation.

It is intended for couples who are married or in a common-law relationship (a declaration is sufficient) and who have been diagnosed with infertility or have been treated unsuccessfully in the 12 months prior to applying for the program. Couples who already have embryos created as part of previously performed procedures can also benefit from the refund.

On June 1 of this year, however, there was no full data after 12 months of the program's operation. At that time, the Ministry of Health provided data reported by implementers for 11 months.

Full information is now available on the number of pregnancies and children born during the first year of the program’s operation, i.e. data as of May 31, 2025.

They show that under the health policy programme entitled "Infertility treatment including medically assisted procreation procedures, including in vitro fertilisation conducted in a medically assisted procreation centre, for the years 2024-2028" , 1,676 children have already been born.

There were also 13,909 clinical pregnancies confirmed by 58 monitors.

Data on the number of pregnancies achieved and the number of children born have been "accelerating" in recent weeks, because the couples who were the first to join the program in June last year had to wait a while for the effects of the program. This involved time for diagnostics, qualification for the program, performing the in vitro procedure and 9 months for pregnancy.

The first child "from the program" was born prematurely at the end of January this year.

In March this year, Izabela Leszczyna informed the Sejm that there were 10,062 pregnancies and 27,695 couples qualified for the government in vitro support program, and 65 children were born .

On June 1 of this year, data from the 11 months of the program's implementation were known. The Minister of Health also informed the parliament that in 11 months, 32 thousand couples were qualified for the program, 12,755 pregnancies were achieved, 951 children were born.

Rynek Zdrowia asked the Ministry of Health for data for the full 12 months of the program's operation. The centers implementing the program had until mid-June to submit it. To sum up:

• According to the data collected as of May 31 this year, i.e. after a full year of the program’s operation, 33,737 couples were qualified for it, and the in vitro fertilization procedure was initiated for 32,013 couples.
• A total of 13,909 clinical pregnancies were achieved, confirmed by 58 operators, and 1,676 children were born .
• According to the Ministry of Health, 8,273 embryo cryotransfers were performed (from embryos created before the program entered into force).
• In turn, 1,023 people registered for fertility preservation under the programme and 905 people froze their gametes as part of fertility preservation.

Changes after a year of in vitro program. "Work in progress"

We also asked the Ministry of Health about possible changes to the program after a year of its operation. As reported by the Ministry of Health's communications office, "work is currently underway to evaluate the program."

However, nothing is known about the directions yet.

- At this moment, it is not possible to provide binding information regarding the changes that will take place when updating the program," the Ministry of Health replied.

According to data from the World Health Organization, the problem of permanent or periodic infertility affects approximately 60-80 million couples worldwide. In highly developed countries, infertility affects 10-16% of couples of reproductive age. In Poland, 1-1.5 million couples struggle with infertility.

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