Homepage Expert Panel in Ontario supports IVF funding
Category: DiagnosesAugust 26, 2009 5:44 pm
You can read the full report through a link on this page here.
The recomendations include partial or complete funding for many aspects of fertility care, including investigations, intrauterine inseminations, IVF cycles, ICSI, and even embryo freezing.
Great news!
We can hope now that the recommendations will come to fruition. Hope and write letters to our MPs….
To set expectations, we can look to Quebec, who already have put fertility medications onto formulary, and provide a 50% tax benefit for IVF cycles. Moreover, they have passed legislation that would fund up to 3 treatment cycles.
The devil can be in the details of course, and in Quebec, it might be years until full IVF funding comes in practice. Many questions need to be answered (does it include ICSI? Emrbryo freezing? Are patients obligated to go to elective single embryo transfer to receive funding? etc).
Nonetheless, if both Ontario and Quebec provide IVF funding, we expect the other provinces and territories will soon follow suit.
I will also be sending letters to the members of the task force as lead by David Johnston, thanking them for their efforts that lead to the report.
Today I believe that, one day, in Canada, funding and regulation will help all Canadians who want to care for children have the opportunity and privilege to do so.
If you are interested, you can click the link below to listen to the interview with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio-1 as we discuss the subject further.
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Sylvia
It has been over 2 long and painful years of struggling to conceive with my husband with no success. We are both hardworking citizens, a loving couple and could provide a wonderful home for children.
We have gone through 2 IUIs both which have failed and strugled to come up with money for IVF. I am currently awaiting my results from the procedure and pray everyday that it worked. I will be absolutely heartbroken if this IVF cycle didn’t work as it would be very difficult and near imposible to come up with money for another IVF treatment cycle.
We are taught at a very young age that women grow up and have children. It never even entered my mind and came as a completed shock when I realized as an adult that it would be so difficult for me to conceive. Having children is part of who we are as human beings and to have that ability taken away is absolutely devastating and goes against nature. It is very difficult on the emotional and mental well being and I firmly beleive that IVF and supportive services be government funded.
Sylvia
This is a link to a wonderful website to write your story and support infertility funding.
http://www.iaac.ca/my-story/
janice
I also heard you were interviewed on CBC radio 1 yesterday. Is there a link available to that show online?
Janice, we just added the link now, thank you for asking.
Katherine
Dear Sylvie:
I could not agree with you more. The inability to not start a family is beyond devastating. My husband and I have been trying to have a family for 5+ years now and all we have is no children and a pile of debt from the IVF treatments. We have considered adoption, however, public maybe free but comes at a cost in terms of the challenges that many of the children face. In saying this, public adoption was not a choice for us, so then this leaves us with private adoption which costs just as much as IVF. In my opinion, both the treatments and drugs that are 1000s of dollars should be covered by the ontario government. Its not like this unexpected loss of not being able to have children is something we (as a couple) did and by our own doing, are unable to have a family.
Hang in there, there is always hope and dreams do come true. Don’t give up…
Katherine
Tom
How can I donate sperm?
TGH replies,
Tom, the Canadian clinic who accepts donations is Repromed, in Toronto. You’ll find more information here.