One of the biggest concerns facing patients undergoing IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is the cost of treatment, an international conference on fertility has been told.

According to research presented at the International Federation of Fertility Societies/American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in Boston, finances are a major source of anxiety for people who require assistance to have a baby and only a small minority of people in the world have access to free or low-cost fertility treatment.

The conference was told about a survey carried out among 5,000 patients undergoing IVF in Brazil. They were asked what was their biggest concern and given a number of options, including cost, having multiple babies and having a malformed baby. At least eight in 10 said that money was their main worry.

According to Dr Richard Kennedy, secretary general of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, infertility ‘is a disease and should be treated in the same way as any other disease by health services and insurance plans'.

"Those who want children and can't have them undergo great heartache. Yes, it can often be expensive in the short-term, but many studies show that the payback to society from successful infertility treatment more than justifies the initial outlay," he insisted.

With IVF, a woman's eggs are fertilised with sperm outside the body in a test tube and then placed back inside her womb. Currently in Ireland, IVF is only available on a private basis.

One round of IVF can cost in the region of €5,000, although the patient can avail of tax relief on this expenditure. Drugs used as part of fertility treatment are also covered under the Drugs Payment Scheme, which limits how much an individual or family must pay for approved drugs per calendar month.