Karnataka plans subsidised IVF through tie-up with private hospitals

Bengaluru: In a bid to support couples seeking In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), the state health department plans to offer the procedure at subsidised rates by collaborating with private hospitals.

The government currently does not provide IVF services on its own due to lack of the required infrastructure.

So far, five private hospitals have been empanelled to offer the service, and more are in the process of empanelment, health department officials said.

According to the government order, couples seeking to avail the scheme must be married residents of Karnataka and hold a Primary Household (PHH) card. They should not have a living biological child and must be clinically diagnosed as infertile — defined as failure to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse, or six months in the case of women above 35 years of age.

Infertility must be supported by diagnostic documentation as per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, including evidence of failure of conventional treatments such as ovulation induction (OI) and intrauterine insemination (IUI).

As per the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Act, eligible couples must be above 21 years and below 55 years of age.

However, the scheme will not cover male infertility procedures such as testicular sperm aspiration or extraction (TESA/TESE), use of donor gametes, surrogacy, or IUI procedures.

The government has capped the cost at Rs 1.2 lakh for one IVF cycle without embryo freezing, Rs 1.3 lakh with embryo freezing, and Rs 35,000 for one cycle of embryo transfer.

The scheme will initially be implemented for one year through government tertiary care centres, including district hospitals, medical colleges, autonomous institutes, and empanelled private facilities registered under the ART Act, under the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST).

Officials said that if adequate infrastructure is developed, the service may later be restricted to government hospitals.

"The couple will need a recommendation from a government hospital certifying infertility to avail the procedure at empanelled private hospitals. Prices have been fixed after assessing prevailing market rates,” said Dr Rajini Nageshrao, Deputy Director, Obstetrics and Immunisation, Health and Family Welfare.

Unit at Vani Vilas by year-end

Separately, the Department of Medical Education and Skills Development plans to set up an IVF centre at Vani Vilas Hospital, the maternity wing of Victoria Hospital, by the end of the year.

“An entire floor in the new Victoria building has been earmarked, and we are aiming to start services by the year-end,” said Dr C Savitha, Medical Superintendent of Vani Vilas.