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Couples struggling to conceive are to get greater access to IVF, with the Scottish Government announcing it will increase the number of attempts they can have from two to three.

Ministers will also make the treatment available to families where one partner has a child from a previous relationship living in their home.

Public health minister Aileen Campbell said the changes would help ensure "Scotland's provision is as fair and generous as possible".

Professor Adam Balen, chair of the British Fertility Society, said the change meant there would be a "gulf between IVF funding in Scotland and England".

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It comes after the Scottish Government confirmed it would accept key recommendations from the National Infertility Group.

At the moment, families with a child living in their home are barred from receiving IVF on the NHS, but the group recommended this should be scrapped, so that couples can access the treatment if one person does not have a biological child.

It also recommended increasing the maximum number of IVF cycles that couples can have on the NHS from two to three for new patients.

Work will now begin on bringing in the changes, with ministers working with health boards to develop a timetable for the introduction of the new eligibility criteria.

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But with 40% of the cost of IVF treatment coming from the Scottish Government, in the form of top-up payments to local NHS boards, the National Infertility Group recommended the "funding of IVF - a mainstream treatment - must be sustainable".

Chair Ian Crichton said: "In these times of austerity, it is clearly critical that a strategic decision is made on the future funding level of the service to ensure sustainability prior to any other improvements being introduced."

The Scottish Government has accepted all the recommendations in the report, apart from one calling for women aged between 40 and 42 to be made ineligible for treatment.

Ministers said the current guidelines, where women in this age group can have one cycle of IVF if they meet the necessary criteria, would continue to apply.

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Ms Campbell, who was visiting NHS Lothian's Edinburgh Fertility Reproductive Endocrine Centre, said: "We want to make sure that access to treatment on the NHS is as fair as it possibly can be - giving more people the opportunity to conceive naturally.

"Over the last four years we have invested around £18 million to reduce IVF waiting times and improve the outcomes for patients undergoing this treatment.

"Scotland already leads the way on IVF access and rights in UK, and these changes will ensure Scotland's provision is a fair and generous as possible."

Prof Balen said the announcement was "great news for people in Scotland planning a family who have fertility problems".

But he added: "There is now a gulf between IVF funding in Scotland and England, and the British Fertility Society is disappointed that there is still a postcode lottery for IVF treatment across England."

Gwenda Burns, of Infertility Network Scotland, said: "In accepting the recommendations of the National Infertility Group and recognising the devastating impact of fertility problems, the Scottish Government has continued to improve fertility services and create a fair and equitable service for fertility patients in Scotland."