On 10 April 2024, the Ministry of Health set out the guidelines for the in vitro programme – the eligibility criteria, the scope of procedures covered by funding, and the treatment options available under the scheme. According to information provided by the Minister of Health, the government’s in vitro programme has two objectives: to ensure equal access to in vitro treatment for all couples struggling with infertility, and to address ‘oncological infertility’ – that is, to provide care for patients – both women and men – who, due to planned cancer treatment, wish to preserve their gametes so that, once treatment is complete, they have the opportunity to fulfil their plans to become parents.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Health, the government’s in vitro programme is set to run from 1 June 2024 to 31 December 2028.

Couples applying for funding for in vitro fertilisation must meet the age criteria. The government’s in vitro programme is available to:

• women up to the age of 42 and men up to the age of 55 in the case of IVF using their own cells or with sperm donation,
• women up to the age of 45 and men up to the age of 55 in the case of IVF using donated oocytes or embryo donation.

In the case of fertility preservation procedures, the procedure covers:

• women up to the age of 40,
• men up to the age of 45

Check whether you are eligible for the government programme

The criteria set out by the Ministry of Health establish the upper age limit up to which women and men are eligible for government-funded IVF treatment. The phrase ‘up to 42 years of age’ means that a woman is eligible to start treatment before her 42nd birthday. Therefore, assuming that a woman applies to the government programme on 1 June 2024 and wishes to use her own eggs or donor sperm, she must be under 42 at the time of applying to the programme.

A woman’s ovarian reserve level (AMH) is not taken into account during the eligibility assessment. The only eligibility criterion is the patients’ age.

Under the Act on the Treatment of Infertility, in Poland, in vitro fertilisation treatment is available to couples (a woman and a man) who are married or in a civil partnership, i.e. living together as a couple. A prerequisite for commencing the procedure is that both spouses or partners sign the declarations and consents required by the Act, including, amongst other things, a declaration confirming that they are married or in a civil partnership. No additional supporting documents, such as a marriage certificate from the Registry Office, are required.

Check whether you are eligible for the government programme

In accordance with the Act on the Treatment of Infertility of 25 June 2015, “infertility treatment by means of in vitro fertilisation may be undertaken after other treatment methods have been exhausted over a period of not less than 12 months”. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, as the Act states that “in vitro fertilisation may be undertaken without having exhausted other treatment methods and within a period of less than 12 months from the start of infertility treatment, if, according to current medical knowledge, it is not possible to achieve pregnancy through the use of those methods.” The above provisions of the Act have been incorporated into the eligibility criteria for the government’s 2024–2028 in vitro fertilisation programme.

Documentation confirming that you were under the care of a specialist or specialists, that you followed their advice, but that, despite your efforts, you were unable to conceive. For example: discharge summaries, printouts of appointments confirming treatment, or a doctor’s statement.

Couples who have taken part in local authority IVF programmes or in a previous edition of the government programme are eligible for IVF funding under the 2024–2028 government programme. The programme is also available to couples who, as a result of previous IVF treatment, have cryopreserved embryos obtained from earlier procedures.

Under the government’s 2024–2028 programme, couples are eligible for funding for a total of six individual assisted reproduction procedures:

• up to 4 cycles of insemination using their own gametes or donor sperm,
• up to 2 cycles of fertilisation using donor oocytes (with the option to fertilise up to 6 gametes in a single cycle),
• up to 6 cycles involving embryo donation.

Yes, couples who, as a result of previous treatment, already have frozen embryos safely stored at a fertility bank may join the government’s IVF programme and undergo an embryo transfer using their existing embryos – such a transfer does not count towards the limit on the number of cycles that can be carried out under the programme. Importantly, however, the government programme does not cover eligibility for the cryotransfer procedure, and this must be carried out at an additional cost.

Unfortunately, pre-implantation genetic testing is not funded under the government’s ‘Yes to IVF’ programme.

No, the government programme does not cover the cost of insemination. It does, however, cover in vitro fertilisation treatment using the patient’s own cells, using donor cells/from a gamete and embryo bank, embryo retrieval procedures, and fertility preservation procedures for cancer patients (known as ‘oncofertility’).

The ‘Yes to IVF’ programme covers oncofertility, i.e. the option for patients with cancer to freeze and bank their gametes. By preserving their fertility, patients will be able to realise their plans for parenthood once their cancer treatment has finished.

Local authorities operate autonomously and manage their own budgets according to their own needs. If a particular local authority considers it appropriate to continue or introduce its own funding scheme for in vitro fertilisation, there is nothing to prevent it from doing so.

Of course. Please feel free to contact us by phone or fill in the form at: https://info.invicta.pl/pl/dofinansowanie-rzadowe-in-vitro.

Under the programme, couples are to receive comprehensive care covering the diagnostic, treatment and post-conception care stages – without having to pay any additional fees for treatment. The programme does not, however, cover pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT); if there are medical indications for such testing in a particular couple’s case, patients may undergo the testing on a commercial basis, at an additional cost.

An in vitro cycle is a comprehensive process which, depending on the method chosen, may involve various stages ranging from the retrieval of gametes to their fertilisation and the transfer of all the resulting embryos.

When using the woman’s own eggs or donor sperm, it involves:

• hormonal stimulation of the woman,
• egg retrieval,
• fertilisation of the eggs,
• embryo culture,
• transferring a sufficient number of embryos into the woman’s body to utilise all embryos capable of normal development.

When using donor oocytes, the process involves:

• phenotypic selection of the donor and carrying out the necessary tests on her,
• retrieval of the donor’s oocytes and their storage,
• thawing the donor’s eggs and fertilising them,
• carrying out the necessary embryo transfers to transfer all embryos capable of normal development into the woman’s body.

When using embryo donation, the in vitro cycle involves:

• phenotypic selection of embryo donors,
• thawing the embryos,
• their transfer into the woman’s body, with the aim of transferring all embryos capable of normal development that originate from the selected donors.

Confirmation that the eligibility criteria for the Programme have been met takes place before each subsequent cycle under the Programme, but no earlier than one month before the start of controlled ovarian stimulation (in the case of using the woman’s own eggs), one month before oocyte fertilisation (in the case of oocyte donation) and one month before embryo transfer to the woman’s body (in the case of embryo donation).

If, between treatment cycles, participants no longer meet the eligibility criteria for a subsequent procedure using their own eggs, it is possible (provided the eligibility criteria are met) to qualify for a procedure involving oocyte or embryo donation.
In such a situation, it is also possible to undergo in vitro treatment using one’s own cells outside the government programme, on a commercial basis, i.e. privately. Please familiarise yourself with the range of programmes on offer.

The following circumstances result in exclusion from the Programme:

1. failure to meet the eligibility criteria for the Programme,
2. written withdrawal from the Programme,
3. medical contraindications, in particular:
   a) in the case of using one’s own oocytes or donor sperm:
   – an inadequate response to the ovulation stimulation carried out as part of the Programme, evidenced by the failure to retrieve at least two mature oocytes in two separate stimulation cycles,
   – medical factors preventing the performance of an in vitro fertilisation procedure offering a chance of achieving pregnancy or the birth of a child for a Programme participant
   b) in the case of oocyte or embryo donation, medical factors preventing the performance of an in vitro fertilisation procedure offering a chance of pregnancy or the birth of a child for the Programme participant.

Yes, as part of the programme, you can use frozen eggs (oocytes) that we obtained during a previous in vitro treatment and are storing in a bank. In addition, if surplus oocytes are produced during a cycle under the ministerial programme, they can be frozen either as part of the programme or outside it. Freezing cells under the programme means they must be used in the next cycle; freezing on a commercial basis (for a fee) does not impose this requirement.

In accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Health, from 1 July 2024, patients eligible for the ‘Yes to IVF’ programme are entitled to reimbursement for stimulation medication.

In accordance with the Act of 27 August 2004 on healthcare services financed from public funds, the right to access publicly funded healthcare services in Poland is held by persons who are compulsorily or voluntarily insured, as well as

• family members of the insured person who have been registered for insurance (i.e. children and grandchildren up to the age of 18, or up to the age of 26 if the child is continuing their education;  spouses; ascendants (parents, grandparents) living in the same household as the insured person);

• persons entitled to benefits under the coordination rules – insured in a Member State of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) other than Poland, and residing in Poland;

• persons holding Polish citizenship or refugee status in Poland, subsidiary protection or a temporary residence permit, granted in connection with the circumstances referred to in Article 159(1)(1)(C) or (d) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners (Journal of Laws 2017, item 2206);

• persons meeting the income criterion entitling them to receive social assistance benefits – on the basis of a decision by the commune head (mayor, city mayor) of the commune with jurisdiction over that person’s place of residence;
• women who reside in Poland, are pregnant, giving birth or in the postnatal period, and hold Polish citizenship, refugee status, subsidiary protection or a temporary residence permit granted in connection with the circumstances referred to in Article 159(1)(1)(c) or (d) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners.

The right to benefits financed from public funds in Poland also applies to persons other than those listed above who are under 18 years of age and hold Polish citizenship or have been granted refugee status in Poland, complementary protection or a temporary residence permit granted in connection with the circumstances referred to in Article 159(1)(1)(c) or (d) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners and who reside within the territory of the Republic of Poland.

We verify the right to receive benefits on a case-by-case basis via the electronic Beneficiary Eligibility Verification System (eWUŚ). If the system does not confirm insurance cover, the patient is required to sign a declaration confirming their entitlement to healthcare. The patient has the right to register for insurance within 30 days of the date on which the service was provided – meeting this deadline results in the right to receive the aforementioned service under the insurance scheme being recognised.

Those implementing the ministerial programme are required to secure the necessary funding in such a way that, before treatment begins for a given couple, it is possible to complete a full cycle (i.e. the transfer of all embryos created during that stimulation cycle), and subsequently – where necessary – to enable the couple to proceed to the next cycle no later than 6 months after the completion of the previous cycle. As programme providers, we secure the necessary funds to fulfil this obligation and comply with the rules laid down by the Ministry of Health.

No. Each clinic implements the programme at its own pace, and the funds allocated for the programme’s implementation at each clinic may run out at different times. However, the temporary exhaustion of funds at a given centre does not mean that the centre ceases to be a provider of the ministerial programme. Usually, in such a situation, the programme provider applies to the Ministry of Health for increased funding.

No, the terms and conditions of the Ministry of Health programme currently rule out this possibility. If you opt for private treatment, you will be withdrawing from the programme, which means you will not be able to rejoin it.

In accordance with the rules of the ‘Yes to IVF’ programme (paragraph 4, point 19), a couple may change their treatment provider no more than twice whilst participating in the programme. The provider may be changed before the start of a treatment cycle or after the completion of the current treatment cycle, i.e. after all frozen embryos resulting from that cycle have been used. A change is not possible whilst the cycle is in progress.