BioNews - New EU rules could cause IVF costs to escalate

BioNews - New EU rules could cause IVF costs to escalate : All patients undergoing assisted reproductive treatments may be screened for diseases between each cycle, potentially leading to massive cost implications, under a new interpretation of European Union rules on tissue and cell donation proposed by the European Commission.

Currently couples are screened for diseases like HIV and hepatitis before their first treatment cycle and, once completed, are considered virus-free for the remainder of the course of their treatment. However, in a meeting on 19-20 October, the Commission stated that, under the European Union Tissues and Cells Directive (EUTCD; EC/2004/23), all patients must be tested for HIV, hepatitis, Human T-lymphotropic virus, and syphilis prior to each treatment and that this is not open for national interpretation."

This is what happens when rules and regulations are mindlessly applied to medical treatment. Patients continue to suffer !