British doctors offer 59-year-old fertility treatment

Jan 17, 2010, 12:38 GMT

London - A private London clinic has agreed to help a 59- year-old retired teacher conceive, making her the oldest woman ever to be offered fertility treatment in Britain, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Doctors of the London Women's Clinic, a leader in in vitro fertilization (IVF), unanimously agreed to treat Susan Tollefsen, who will turn 60 in October, the newspaper reported.

'I'm still so full of life and healthy at 60 I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be treated,' Tollefsen was quoted as saying.

British government guidelines recommend that the state-run National Health Service not provide IVF treatment to women over 40 and that private clinics not treat women over 50.

Tollefsen already has a two-year-old, conceived in a Russian fertility clinic because British clinics turned her down.

The London clinic's decision is likely to reopen the debate over the age limits for IVF treatment, and could possibly lead to the government guidelines being hardened into law.

A 66-year-old Briton made international headlines last May when she became a mother for the first time. She had received IVF treatment in Ukraine.