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Following is a question by the Professor Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (November 27):
Question:
As stated in the consultation document on population policy released recently, to cope with the low birth rate situation in Hong Kong, the Government intends to explore various measures to encourage childbirth, including subsidising treatment using assisted reproductive technologies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it knows the number of couples seeking assistance from infertility treatment service units in public hospitals, their age distribution, the number of such couples who received reproductive technology treatment, as well as the success rate, waiting time and average unit cost of the treatment services concerned, in each of the past five years;
(b) it has assessed the demand for reproductive technology treatment services in the coming 10 years; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such an assessment;
(c) it has assessed the expenditure required to enhance public hospitals' reproductive technology treatment services to meet the demand mentioned in (b); if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such an assessment; and
(d) it knows the current numbers of reproductive technology experts and relevant professionals in public hospitals; whether the authorities have assessed if there is adequate manpower at present to extend the said services to meet the demand mentioned in (b); if the assessment result is in the negative, whether it will train up additional manpower; if it will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Under Hong Kong's public healthcare system, infertility treatment falls under the specialty of gynaecology. Couples with fertility issues should first approach the Hospital Authority (HA)'s General Out-patient Clinics, private medical practitioners or the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. Where necessary, patients will be referred to HA's Gynaecology Specialist Out-patient Clinics (SOPC) to follow-up.
My reply to Professor Hon Lee's question is as follows:
(a) The HA provides reproductive technology (RT) services at nine public hospitals (Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Tseung Kwan O Hospital, Tuen Mun Hospital, United Christian Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital ) with gynaecology specialty for infertile couples under the age of 40 (for females aged below 40 only). Between October 2012 and September 2013, the waiting time for the first gynaecology SOPC consultation ranged from 23 to 129 weeks. The two local universities also offer private RT services at Queen Mary Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital. Attending doctors provide treatments and referrals in accordance with individual patients' situations. As the HA's current statistics on SOPC patients do not provide further breakdown by reasons for seeking treatment, details on the waiting time of couples seeking infertility treatment are not available.
In 2012, HA conducted 1 632 government-subsidised and 1 827 private treatment cycles, involving 1 345 and 1 413 patients respectively (couples may receive more than one treatment cycle/type of treatment). The waiting time for government-subsidised treatments range from one to 18 months, depending on the types of treatment required. The HA cannot provide statistical figures for 2007 to 2011 owing to the complexity of the data collection process.
Regarding success rates, according to information released by the Council on Human Reproductive Technology, the total number of live births through RT procedures in Hong Kong was 1 231 in 2010. The overall success rates in terms of live birth were 20.4% for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and 8.0% for artificial insemination by husband (AIH). A breakdown of the data by age is at Annex. The cost per SOPC attendance of the HA is about $1,110. The HA is not able to provide the average unit cost for RT treatment. The fees for IVF service range from $4,000 to $12,000 per treatment cycle, mainly to cover drugs and laboratory costs.
(b) and (c) It is difficult for the Administration to estimate demand for RT treatment as it depends on various factors including marriage rate, marriage age and childbearing tendency that are affected by economic and social changes. It is however envisaged that there will be an increase in demand in the coming ten years vis-a-vis the trend of late marriage and rising number of people receiving RT treatments. The Administration will closely monitor community demand for RT services. Apart from strengthening the provision of RT services in the public sector, we will disseminate more information about local RT services through the HA, the Department of Health, the Council on Human Reproductive Technology and other relevant organisations, as well as encourage couples to start family planning early and to seek medical help promptly as necessary.
(d) Specialists in obstetrics and gynaecology can perform intrauterine RT treatments for female patients, while IVF procedures are performed by subspecialists in reproductive medicine. At present, there are nine subspecialists in reproductive medicine and 15 embryologists providing RT services at HA's hospitals.
The Administration will keep in view community demands for RT services and enhance public RT services through training more specialists and procuring additional equipment and facilities. The Administration will also review the current level of fees to make the services accessible to more couples in need.
Ends/Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:19
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