The IVF treatment being given at Mater Dei Hospital has had positive results, with a number of couples already expecting their first babies, Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia said yesterday.

He was answering a parliamentary question by Opposition MP Ċensu Galea.

Dr Farrugia said that as soon as the government announced the free IVF service in October last year, more than 120 couples had been referred.

A prioritisation committee had been set up to place couples in an order of precedence on established age criteria, leading to the selection of 50 couples for treatment.

This had been in keeping with the government’s projection of 50 IVF cycles by December.

Twenty-seven of the selected couples had elected to embark on the process starting in December, while others had decided to postpone.

Minister Farrugia pointed out that apart from the cost of medicines, the IVF treatment and cryopreservation (freezing of eggs) were being provided free of charge.

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