Fer­ti­lity cen­ters in North Rhine-West­phalia

Since 2019, cou­ples in North Rhine-West­phalia have also been re­cei­ving fi­nan­cial sup­port from the state for in­fer­ti­lity tre­at­ment: The state go­vernment in NRW pro­vided fun­ding mea­sures amoun­ting to 3.7 mil­lion euros per year. This means that half of the 50% co-pay­ment that mar­ried cou­ples with an unful­filled de­sire for a child have to pay them­selves for as­sisted re­pro­duc­tion is co­vered. The other part is usually co­vered by the he­alth insurance fund. So in the end, mar­ried cou­ples only have to pay a quarter of the total costs them­selves. But even those who are not mar­ried can count on sub­si­dies amoun­ting to 25% of the co-pay­ment if the couple lives in a co­ha­bi­ting re­la­ti­onship.

If you would like to take ad­van­tage of the fi­nan­cial sub­sidy, you must meet a few ad­di­tional cri­teria. For ex­ample, you must be older than 25, but under 40 if you are a woman and under 50 if you are a man. The me­dical ne­ces­sity must be given — i.e. in­fer­ti­lity must be dia­gnosed — and the tre­at­ment must have a chance of suc­cess. Also, the fun­ding is only avail­able for three at­tempts, after which the chance of suc­cess is con­si­dered too low. You can read exactly how the re­qui­re­ments for fun­ding are de­fined on the web­site of the NRW Fa­mily Mi­nistry or in the cor­re­spon­ding legal text § 27a SGB 5. Un­for­tu­n­a­tely, no fi­nan­cial sup­port is pro­vided for same-sex / les­bian cou­ples.

Ac­cording to the Mi­nistry of Fa­mily Af­fairs, the fun­ding has also al­ready had an ef­fect, as it is in high de­mand. Fa­mily Mi­nister Joa­chim Stamp com­mented as fol­lows: “A de­sire to have children should not fail be­cause of money. The high de­mand for the sub­si­dies shows how im­portant the state’s fi­nan­cial sup­port for in­fer­ti­lity tre­at­ments is for the cou­ples con­cerned.”

Fi­nan­cial sub­si­dies from the state are avail­able in North Rhine-West­phalia for two types of fer­ti­lity tre­at­ment: In Vitro Fer­ti­liz­a­tion (IVF) and In­tra­cy­to­plasmic Sperm In­jec­tion (ICSI). Below you will find more in­for­ma­tion about these me­thods. Re­spon­sible for the pro­ces­sing and ap­proval of fun­ding ap­p­li­ca­tions in NRW is the district go­vernment of Münster. Ap­p­li­ca­tions can be sub­mitted on­line after re­gis­tra­tion.

There are many tre­at­ment op­tions for the de­sire to have children, the aim of which is to ful­fill the de­sire di­rectly or in­di­rectly. The in­di­vi­dual cli­nics in North Rhine-West­phalia have dif­fe­rent of­fers — in any case, find out in ad­vance whe­ther the me­thod you want is in­cluded.

If a woman does not be­come pregnant de­s­pite re­gular un­pro­tected se­xual in­ter­course, this does not mean that as­sisted re­pro­duc­tion will be per­formed immedia­tely. Ra­ther, the first visit to a fer­ti­lity center is in­iti­ally about dia­gnostics, i.e. the ques­tion of what the pro­blem is. In men, there is the sper­mio­gram, in which the sperm cells are che­cked for via­bi­lity and moti­lity, among other things. Here it can be de­ter­mined whe­ther the sperm qua­lity is suf­fi­cient for a na­tural pregnancy or whe­ther, if ne­cessary, ad­di­tional help is needed.

After the dia­gnostics, the the­rapy fol­lows, de­pen­ding on your re­sults. The first, re­la­tively simple me­thod is in­se­mi­na­tion (IUI). Here, the sperm is qua­li­ta­tively pre­pared and di­rected into the ute­rine ca­vity (in­trau­te­rine) or the fallo­pian tubes (in­tra­tubal) at the time of ovu­la­tion.

If the sperm qua­lity or the con­di­tions of the woman are not suf­fi­cient for this, there are other pos­si­bi­li­ties of as­sisted fer­ti­liz­a­tion. Pro­bably the best known is in vitro fer­ti­liz­a­tion (IVF). Here, the egg and sperm are brought tog­e­ther in the la­bo­ra­tory and, if fer­ti­liz­a­tion is suc­cessful, in­serted into the woman’s uterus.

In­tra­cy­to­plasmic sperm in­jec­tion (ICSI) works in a si­milar way. However, un­like IVF, here the sperm is in­jected di­rectly into the egg. This is done in men whose sperm qua­lity is not suf­fi­cient for the other me­thods and in­cre­ases the chance of pregnancy even in cou­ples for whom it would not other­wise be pos­sible.

Many fer­ti­lity cli­nics also have a sperm bank at­ta­ched. This ad­di­tion can be in­te­res­ting for cou­ples if, for ex­ample, the man’s sperm is not suf­fi­cient for pregnancy. On the other hand, les­bian cou­ples can ful­fill their de­sire to have children. We will be happy to in­form you about va­rious fer­ti­lity cen­ters in NRW — you can book a con­sul­ta­tion with one of our pa­tient ad­vi­sors here free of charge and wi­thout ob­li­ga­tion.

There are many tre­at­ment op­tions for the de­sire to have children, the aim of which is to ful­fill the de­sire di­rectly or in­di­rectly. The in­di­vi­dual cli­nics in North Rhine-West­phalia have dif­fe­rent of­fers — in any case, find out in ad­vance whe­ther the me­thod you want is in­cluded.

If a woman does not be­come pregnant de­s­pite re­gular un­pro­tected se­xual in­ter­course, this does not mean that as­sisted re­pro­duc­tion will be per­formed immedia­tely. Ra­ther, the first visit to a fer­ti­lity center is in­iti­ally about dia­gnostics, i.e. the ques­tion of what the pro­blem is. In men, there is the sper­mio­gram, in which the sperm cells are che­cked for via­bi­lity and moti­lity, among other things. Here it can be de­ter­mined whe­ther the sperm qua­lity is suf­fi­cient for a na­tural pregnancy or whe­ther, if ne­cessary, ad­di­tional help is needed.

After the dia­gnostics, the the­rapy fol­lows, de­pen­ding on your re­sults. The first, re­la­tively simple me­thod is in­se­mi­na­tion (IUI). Here, the sperm is qua­li­ta­tively pre­pared and di­rected into the ute­rine ca­vity (in­trau­te­rine) or the fallo­pian tubes (in­tra­tubal) at the time of ovu­la­tion.

If the sperm qua­lity or the con­di­tions of the woman are not suf­fi­cient for this, there are other pos­si­bi­li­ties of as­sisted fer­ti­liz­a­tion. Pro­bably the best known is in vitro fer­ti­liz­a­tion (IVF). Here, the egg and sperm are brought tog­e­ther in the la­bo­ra­tory and, if fer­ti­liz­a­tion is suc­cessful, in­serted into the woman’s uterus.

In­tra­cy­to­plasmic sperm in­jec­tion (ICSI) works in a si­milar way. However, un­like IVF, here the sperm is in­jected di­rectly into the egg. This is done in men whose sperm qua­lity is not suf­fi­cient for the other me­thods and in­cre­ases the chance of pregnancy even in cou­ples for whom it would not other­wise be pos­sible.

Many fer­ti­lity cli­nics also have a sperm bank at­ta­ched. This ad­di­tion can be in­te­res­ting for cou­ples if, for ex­ample, the man’s sperm is not suf­fi­cient for pregnancy. On the other hand, les­bian cou­ples can ful­fill their de­sire to have children. We will be happy to in­form you about va­rious fer­ti­lity cen­ters in NRW — you can book a con­sul­ta­tion with one of our pa­tient ad­vi­sors here free of charge and wi­thout ob­li­ga­tion.

In order to ful­fill your de­sire to have a child, you should choose a fer­ti­lity clinic that meets your re­qui­re­ments and where you feel com­for­table. When choo­sing a clinic, there are a number of aspects to con­sider in order to en­sure that the the­rapy goes as smoothly as pos­sible. The suc­cess of a the­rapy de­pends on va­rious fac­tors. Both the ex­pe­ri­ence and qua­li­fi­ca­tions of the me­dical team and the tech­no­lo­gical status of the la­bo­ra­tory equip­ment (for ex­ample, whe­ther the clinic has a clean room la­bo­ra­tory) can have an im­pact on the suc­cess rate.

In ad­di­tion to the suc­cess rate, there are other is­sues that can be de­cisive in the selec­tion pro­cess. Good coun­sel­ling on the choice of the­rapy, as well as per­sonal care and the avai­la­bi­lity of the doctor can help you to get rid of worries and un­ans­wered ques­tions. In order to go through with the pro­cess of ful­fil­ling your child wish with con­fi­dence, the ex­pe­ri­ences of pre­vious pa­ti­ents can also give an in­di­ca­tion of the qua­lity or short­co­mings of a prac­tice.

Ano­ther aspect are the costs. To avoid sur­prises, fer­ti­lity cen­tres that main­tain a high de­gree of price trans­pa­rency are re­com­mended. In the case of tre­at­ments with donor sperm, you should also make sure that there is a coope­ra­tion with an ex­pe­ri­enced sperm bank, as they often offer a larger selec­tion of donor pro­files and have many years of ex­pe­ri­ence in the field of sperm do­na­tion.

When selec­ting our partner cli­nics, we al­ways make sure that both he­te­ro­se­xual and ho­mo­se­xual cou­ples or sin­gles are treated.
Are you ha­ving a hard time choo­sing a fer­ti­lity centre or do you have ques­tions about dif­fe­rent the­ra­pies and tre­at­ment me­thods? Our friendly team will be happy to help you in a free con­sul­ta­tion ap­point­ment.