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 available to fulful the de­sire to have a child. The in­di­vi­dual cli­nics in North Rhine-West­phalia have dif­fe­rent of­fers — find out in ad­vance whe­ther the tre­at­ment me­thod you need is pos­sible.

If a woman does not be­come pregnant de­spite re­gular un­pro­tected se­xual in­ter­course, this does not mean that as­sisted re­pro­duc­tion will be per­formed im­me­dia­tely. The first visit to a fer­ti­lity center at­tempts to de­ter­mine a dia­gnosis for the in­fer­ti­lity, this is done using hor­mone tests. For women, the most im­portant hor­mone to test is the Anti-Mulle­rian-Hor­mone (AMH). Whilst, for men, a sper­mio­gram is li­kely to be per­formed, this is where the sperm cells are che­cked for via­bi­lity and moti­lity. Here it can be de­ter­mined whe­ther the sperm qua­lity is suf­fi­cient for a na­tural pregnancy or whe­ther, if ne­ces­sary, ad­di­tional help is needed.

De­pen­ding on the re­sults from the dia­gnosis stage, a the­rapy will follow. A li­kely, re­la­tively simple the­rapy may be 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 for as­sisted fer­ti­li­sa­tion. Pro­bably the most wi­dely-known is in vitro fer­ti­liza­tion (IVF). Here, the egg and sperm are brought tog­e­ther in the la­bo­ra­tory and, if fer­ti­li­sa­tion 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 common when sperm qua­lity is not suf­fi­cient for the other me­thods and it can in­crease the chance of pregnancy even in cou­ples for whom it would not other­wise be pos­sible.

Many fer­ti­lity cli­nics also have a sperm bank. This ad­di­tion can be an im­portant op­tion for cou­ples where the man’s sperm qua­lity is not suf­fi­cient for pregnancy, or for les­bian cou­ples re­qui­ring a sperm donor to fulfil their de­sire to have a child. We at Fer­tilly would 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 fulfil your de­sire to have a child, you should choose a fer­ti­lity clinic that meets your spe­cific re­qui­re­ments and im­portantly where you feel com­for­table. When choo­sing a clinic, there are a number of aspects to con­sider 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 en­sure your ques­tions and con­cerns are ans­wered. Hea­ring from the ex­pe­ri­ences of pre­vious pa­ti­ents can also give an in­di­ca­tion of the qua­lity or short­co­mings of a prac­tice, this can also pro­vide you with a level of con­fi­dence du­ring the clinic sel­ec­tion pro­cess.

An­o­ther aspect to con­sider 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, en­sure there is a co­ope­ra­tion bet­ween the clinic and 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, as well as single women are treated.
Are you strugg­ling to find a fer­ti­lity centre that is right for you or do you have ques­tions about available the­ra­pies and tre­at­ment me­thods? Our fri­endly team are happy to help you in a free con­sul­ta­tion.