Test tube babies to reach 6,200

A total of 5,665 infertile couples succeeded in getting pregnant following the government`s support program, leading to an expected 6,200 newborn babies this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.

The number accounted for 1.4 percent of the total new-born babies in 2005.

The government will increase its support to cover 12,000 infertile couples with a maximum of 3 million won ($3,200) for their test-tube baby (in vitro fertilization -IVF) procedures.

To compensate for sterility, and concerns about the declining birthrate, the ministry has been actively involved in financially supporting IVF procedures since 2000. Among the 14,000 couples that received funding from the government last year, up to 40 percent became pregnant.

Currently, about 13.5 percent of married women in Korea suffer from infertility and obstetrical experts expect the rate to surge due to stress, pollution and the delay of marriages.

"As the government`s financial assistance has made a visible contribution to infertile families, we plan to increase support from this year," an official of the Health Ministry said.

Couples can start applying for the government support beginning this week.

Only lawfully married couples with a diagnosis of sterility are eligible to apply. The monthly income of the family must not surpass 130 percent of the urban worker households` average income, and the wife must be younger than 44.

Each selected couple will receive 1.5 million won, which is about half of the cost for an IVF procedure. Each couple will receive funding for a maximum of two procedures.

Those in the low-income bracket will be offered 2.55 million won per operation.

(jinpark83@heraldm.com)



By Park Jin