Age limit on IVF

Women aged 43 or older will no longer be accepted for IVF treatment at Westmead Hospital after an audit showed their chances of having a baby with the procedure was less than 1 per cent.

The policy - which is believed to be the first formal upper age limit in a Sydney clinic - was more humane than allowing women to continue with treatment that would almost inevitably fail, said Howard Smith, the director of Westmead Fertility Centre.

Dr Smith said of the 250 women aged 43 and over the clinic had treated over five years, only two had had a baby. "We said, 'Look, we need to be open and honest … that the probability of a live birth was extremely small.' There were more who got pregnant but those ended in miscarriage."

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