- Denmark will require men to begin public fertility treatment by age 55; all treatment stops when they turn 56.
- Authorities cited research linking higher father age to increased pregnancy complications and health risks for children.
- Denmark is among the first countries to introduce a male age limit for publicly funded fertility treatment.
- Rule takes effect in January; men over 55 can still pursue fertility treatment in the private sector.
- Previously only women had age limits; women must begin treatment by age 40 and finish before they are 46.
Men in Denmark over the age of 55 will no longer qualify for fertility treatments in the public healthcare system due to health risks for the children conceived through the procedures, authorities said Tuesday.
“The new practice means that… men will have to be referred for fertility treatment before the age of 55,” Danske Regioner, the entity that manages the public healthcare system, said in a statement.
“All treatment courses will be stopped when the man turns 56,” it added.
The Scandinavian country is one of the first in the world to introduce an age limit for men for the treatments.
Danske Regioner said there was “research indicating a link between the father’s age and an increased risk of pregnancy complications and health challenges for the child”.
The age limit will come into force in January. Men over the age of 55 will still be able to seek treatment in the private healthcare sector.
Until now the only age limit for fertility treatments in Denmark applied to women, who must begin their course of treatment no later than age 40 and complete it before they are over the age of 46.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in six people worldwide is affected by infertility. In Denmark, one in nine children is born through a fertility treatment.
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