The event celebrating Poland's state-funded in vitro program 2nd anniversary was held at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister on Monday. Across just 24 months of the initiative's current run - approximately 40,000 Polish couples have benefited from the support, and around 15,000 children have been born.
"I know the importance of a parent's joy, especially after a long wait for the child of your dreams. Every effort is worth this happiness" - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, addressing families who took part in the program.
On the occasion Poland's Minister of Health, Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, also announced that the government is increasing funding for the state-run in vitro initiative - from EUR 118 million to EUR 142 million annually.
Such a budget increase shall allow the state to support even more couples dreaming of having a child, and ensure the stability of the program in the coming years - the PM Chancellery's release said.
The previous edition of Poland's state-funded in vitro program ran from 2013 till 2016, and 22,365 children were born with its help. However, when the conservative Law and Justice party won the elections and created a government in late 2015, it scrapped the initiative soon after, despite a broad outcry.
Only when the liberal Civic Coalition and its junior partners retook the power after 8 years in late 2023 elections - the Polish in vitro program was swiftly relaunched, and it continues ever since.
Robert G. Edwards, the creator of in vitro fertilization, began his research on this issue back in the 1950s. His achievements helped billions of people around the globe, as infertility affects approximately 10% of couples worldwide. In 2010 Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work.
The first child in Poland conceived through in vitro fertilization was born on November 12, 1987, in the eastern city of Białystok.
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Source: PAP, IAR, KPRM