Around 650 couples on the waiting list for IVF treatment will be able to receive it at a private clinic, thanks to a €6 million investment from the government, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela said on Tuesday. 

The investment was announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela earlier this month. 

The government already fulfilled its promise to refund the cost of IVF-related medicine for couples who choose to undergo the procedure privately. The separate investment was announced earlier this year, where it was announced around 285 prospective parents who underwent the procedures last year were to benefit from the refund. 

The Health Minister said the government will enter into negotiations with one private clinic in Malta that is licensed to offer all IVF services. 

Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela launching the €6 million IVF investment. Photo: DOI

Abela said the government could not ignore the 650 couples who are on the Mater Dei Hospital's IVF procedures waiting list and said couples will receive a "holistic service" with all costs covered. 

He said special attention will be paid to the age of the prospective mothers, highlighting that older women will be a priority to have the procedure as soon as possible. 

“We cannot guarantee success in such a procedure, but we are ready to commit and cover the costs from the beginning to the end of the procedure for each couple,” Abela said. 

Few details were provided during the press coverage, apart from Abela saying all treatments will be covered, such as consultations, importation, or distribution of gametes, and those who need to use IVF using a donor will also be offered this service. 

Further details were provided in a press release published shortly after the press conference, where it was explained that within six months the services will be provided to the 650 prospective parents.

Out of the 650 couples, 300 include people who will be doing IVF treatment, and around 200 others who are in the process of freezing and storing fertilised eggs and are waiting for 'embryo transfer'.

Another 100 people waiting for IVF using 'donor oocytes' or 'donor sperm', and around 50 prospective parents who will be given intrauterine insemination service (IUI), a treatment that gives sperm a better chance to fertilise an egg, as well as the Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) service where necessary.