IVF Now Accounts for 1 in 31 UK Births: Inside the 2024 HFEA Data

In 2024, around 1 in 31 babies born in the UK were conceived through IVF. That is roughly one child in every classroom. Two decades ago, it was around 1 in 65. That single statistic, from the latest report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), shows how mainstream fertility treatment has become.

The HFEA’s report, Fertility treatment 2024: trends and figures, gives us the clearest picture of fertility treatment in the UK. It shows who is having treatment, how IVF is changing, and what outcomes look like.

But the headline does not tell the whole story.

IVF has become more common. Success rates have improved. More single people and same-sex couples are using fertility treatment to build families. Egg and embryo freezing now sit firmly within mainstream fertility planning.

At the same time, access has become more unequal. NHS funding has fallen and regional access varies sharply. More patients now pay privately for some or all of their treatment.

So, what does the latest HFEA data actually show, and what does it mean if you are thinking about your own fertility?

Quick facts

• The number of IVF patients has almost tripled in 30 years. In 2024, 64,000 patients underwent over 100,000 treatment and freezing cycles at HFEA-licensed clinics. 
• The average IVF birth rate per embryo transferred is now 30%, up from 20% a decade ago – but it ranges from 38% for under-35s to 8% for those aged 43-44.
• NHS-funded IVF cycles fell from 35% in 2019 to 28% in 2024, and just 25% in England.
• The average age of patients starting IVF was 34.8 in 2024, and this varied by family type. Female same-sex couples starting earliest (33.4), followed by opposite-sex couples (34.8) and single patients (35.4).

IVF is now behind 1 in 31 UK births

The scale of the shift is hard to overstate. In 2024, around 21,400 babies were born through IVF in the UK, more than double the number born via IVF in 2004. IVF now accounts for around 3.2% of all UK births, compared with under 1.4% two decades ago.

Part of what’s driving this is how common fertility challenges really are. The World Health Organization estimates that around 1 in 6 people worldwide experience infertility at some point in their lives. Add the well-established trend of people starting families late, and the fact that IVF success is tightly bound to age and rising demand represents more like a structural shift in how and when people build families.

The number of IVF patients has almost tripled over 30 years. IVF is no longer a last resort for a small number of people. It now plays a central role in how families across the UK are built.

So far, so encouraging. The catch is what the averages conceal, and the rest of the report is really a story about two things that still decide an individual’s odds: age and access.

Success rates are climbing, but age is still the biggest factor

There’s genuine progress here. The average IVF birth rate per embryo transferred rose from 20% in 2014 to 30% in 2024. Clinics are getting better at what they do. But the single most powerful variable remains age. In 2024, the birth rate per embryo transferred was:

• 38% for patients aged 18-34
• 8% for patients aged 43-44

That’s not a small gap, it’s the difference between a strong chance and a long shot. It reflects something biology makes unavoidable: both the number and quality of eggs decline with age, and that decline accelerates from the mid-30s onwards.

The report also lays bare disparities the averages hide. For patients aged 18–37 in 2022–24, the average birth rate per embryo transferred was around 30% for both Asian and Black patients, compared with 36% for White patients and 35% for those from a Mixed background. The HFEA is careful to note its data can’t explain why; the reasons likely span age at treatment, underlying health conditions, and social and economic factors.

None of this means panicking in your 30s. It means fertility decisions get easier when you have information earlier. Understanding your ovarian reserve, cycle pattern and hormone profile early gives you time to plan. Finding out during an IVF workup at 40 usually means fewer options and far more pressure.

Hertility’s Advanced Hormone & Fertility Test measures AMH, a key marker of ovarian reserve, alongside other reproductive and thyroid hormones. Based on your results, our clinical team builds you a personalised care plan with clear next steps. It’s a simple way to understand your fertility on your own timeline. 

IVF treatment is changing, not just growing

The rise in IVF isn’t only about more people having treatment,it’s about how they’re using it.

Frozen embryo transfers now make up 48% of all IVF cycles, nearly double the 24% recorded in 2014. Almost half of all cycles now use frozen rather than fresh embryos. This is driven by better freezing techniques and more people storing embryos for future family-building. 

Treatment has also become markedly safer. The average IVF multiple birth rate, twins and triplets, which carry higher risks for both patients and babies, including preterm birth, pre-eclampsia and stillbirth, fell from 14.4% in 2014 to just 3.2% in 2024, among the lowest rates in the world. This largely reflects the shift to single embryo transfer, used in 84% of UK embryo transfers in 2024. Crucially, birth rates kept improving even as multiple births fell is proof that safer IVF doesn’t have to mean less successful IVF.

Taken together, these shifts show fertility treatment moving beyond immediate pregnancy. More and more, people are using it to preserve options, plan ahead and build families over time.

Egg freezing is also on the rise in the UK

Nowhere is that shift clearer than in fertility preservation. The number of people freezing eggs grew from around 700 in 2014 to 5,580 in 2024, though for the first time since 2020, the number of egg freezing cycles held steady rather than rising year-on-year.

People freeze for all sorts of reasons: they’re not ready for children, haven’t met the right partner, are in a same-sex relationship, face medical treatment that could affect fertility, or simply want more choice. Whatever the reason, a few things are worth understanding before you start:

• Age matters here too. Freezing in your late 20s or early 30s is generally linked to better odds, because eggs tend to be greater in number and quality than those frozen later.
• It’s not a guarantee. Egg freezing improves your options; it doesn’t promise a baby. Knowing your ovarian reserve first helps set realistic expectations about how many cycles you might need.
• Storage rules have changed. UK law now allows eggs and embryos to be stored for up to 55 years, removing the old 10-year cap that once forced difficult deadlines.
• Testing comes first. Before spending thousands of pounds, you need to understand your starting point, your ovarian reserve, age, medical history, cycle pattern, symptoms, lifestyle and reproductive goals, considered together.

At Hertility, we can provide a comprehensive fertility assessment that combines hormone blood testing with an ultrasound scan to build a more complete picture of your reproductive health. Blood tests can measure AMH and other key reproductive and thyroid hormones, while an antral follicle count (AFC) scan provides additional information by estimating the number of follicles in your ovaries. Neither blood tests nor scans can predict your future fertility with certainty, guarantee a pregnancy, or determine exactly how many eggs you will retrieve during an egg freezing cycle. However, when interpreted together by fertility specialists and considered alongside your age, medical history, symptoms, lifestyle factors and reproductive goals, they can help determine whether egg freezing might be a good option for you.

Based on this assessment, our clinical team creates a personalised care plan with clear next steps, whether that means monitoring, further testing, lifestyle support, a specialist consultation, deciding whether fertility preservation is right for you, or referral into our HFEA-regulated partner clinics with egg-freezing specialists.

Knowing your situation earlier can help you understand your options. It can also help you plan around age, spot hormone patterns that may affect ovulation or ovarian reserve, and decide whether fertility preservation deserves a place in your future plans.

In the best-case scenario, early insight helps you act before you ever need IVF.

Hertility’s Advanced Hormone & Fertility Test measures AMH alongside other key reproductive and thyroid hormones. Based on your results, symptoms and health history, our clinical team builds a personalised care plan with clear next steps. That might mean monitoring, further testing, lifestyle support, a specialist consultation or referral to a fertility clinic.

NHS funding is shrinking, and it’s a postcode lottery

If age is the gate set by biology, funding is the one set by geography, and it’s closing. NHS-funded IVF cycles fell from 35% of the UK total in 2019 to 28% in 2024. But that national figure masks enormous variation. In 2024, NHS funding covered:

• 54% of cycles in Scotland
• 50% in Northern Ireland
• 35% in Wales
• 25% in England

Over the past five years, NHS-funded cycles have fallen across almost every English region. The practical reality: most patients now pay for some or all of their treatment, and whether you get NHS support depends heavily on where you live, which clinic you can access, and what you can afford.

That makes early, honest guidance more important than ever. When you’re making one of the most emotionally significant and expensive decisions of your life, you need someone to help you understand what your results mean for you, in the context of your age, symptoms, cycle history, medical history, lifestyle and family planning goals.

This is where Hertility does more than point you toward a clinic and wish you luck.

Our clinical team helps you understand your fertility picture before you reach crisis point. If testing suggests egg freezing, IVF or another pathway is worth considering, we can connect you with our network of rigorously vetted, HFEA-regulated partner clinics, with your results and clinical information sent directly to your chosen clinic. But just as importantly, we help people understand when a fertility clinic isn’t the next step. Sometimes the right plan is monitoring; sometimes it’s investigating irregular cycles, thyroid function, PMOS or endometriosis symptoms first; sometimes it’s lifestyle support or simply understanding your timeline earlier. In an uneven system, having someone genuinely in your corner isn’t a luxury, it can be the difference between reacting late and deciding from a place of clarity.

More single people and same-sex couples are building families

The shape of the modern family is clearly visible in this data. While heterosexual couples still make up the bulk of IVF patients (88%), the fastest growth is elsewhere:

• Single patients having IVF more than tripled, from 1,100 in 2014 to 3,700 in 2024.
• Female same-sex couples having IVF rose from around 1,000 to 2,800 over the same period.

There’s also a notable shift away from donor insemination toward IVF with donor sperm as a first treatment. Single patients and female same-sex couples increasingly choose IVF first, drawn by higher birth rates per cycle, shorter time to pregnancy, and the option to store embryos for future children, including via reciprocal IVF (also called “shared motherhood”), where eggs are collected from one partner and the resulting embryo is carried by the other.

Whatever your family looks like, there are more routes to parenthood than ever, and the earlier you understand your own fertility, the more confidently you can plan the path that’s right for you.

How Hertility can help

Hertility’s Advanced At-Home Hormone & Fertility Test is designed to give you that clarity early. Based on your results, our clinical team, including fertility specialists builds a personalised care plan with clear next steps, whether that’s monitoring, further testing, lifestyle support, a specialist consultation or onward referral.

If you do need clinic support, we can refer you into our network of rigorously vetted, HFEA-regulated partner clinics, with your results and clinical information sent directly to your chosen clinic. And we stay with you, as a sounding board, confidant and clinical support system, before, during and after referral.

Because fertility care shouldn’t start when you’re already in crisis. It should start with clarity.

Frequently asked questions

How many babies are born through IVF in the UK each year?

In 2024, around 21,400 babies were born through IVF in the UK, roughly 3.2% of all births, or about 1 in 31. That’s more than double the number born via IVF in 2004.

What is the average IVF success rate in the UK?

According to the HFEA’s 2024 data, the average IVF birth rate per embryo transferred is 30%. However, this varies significantly with age: it’s around 38% for patients aged 18-34 and falls to 8% for those aged 43-44.

Why do IVF success rates fall with age?

Both egg quantity and egg quality decline with age, particularly from the mid-30s onwards, which reduces the chance that any given embryo transfer results in a birth. This is why the HFEA data shows birth rates dropping sharply in the early 40s.

What age should I freeze my eggs?

There’s no single right age, but eggs frozen in your late 20s to early 30s are generally better in quality and number, which improves the chance of a future birth. A good starting point is testing your reproductive hormones, including AMH, which indicates your ovarian reserve. Hertility offers an at-home hormone and fertility test with a personalised care plan with clear next steps and access to vetted, HFEA-regulated partner clinics if you choose to go further.

Does the NHS fund IVF in the UK?

The NHS funds some IVF, but access has been shrinking and depends heavily on where you live. NHS-funded cycles fell from 35% in 2019 to 28% in 2024. In 2024, funding covered 54% of cycles in Scotland, 50% in Northern Ireland, 35% in Wales and just 25% in England.

Why do IVF success rates fall with age?

Both egg quantity and egg quality decline with age, particularly from the mid-30s onwards. This reduces the chance that any given embryo transfer results in a birth, which is why the HFEA data shows birth rates dropping sharply in the early 40s.

How many people have IVF in the UK?

In 2024, around 53,000 patients had IVF, and 64,000 patients underwent more than 100,000 treatment and freezing cycles overall. The number of IVF patients has almost tripled over the last 30 years.

How can I find out about my own fertility?

A good starting point is testing your reproductive hormones, including AMH, which gives insight into your ovarian reserve. Hertility offers an at-home hormone and fertility test with results reviewed by clinicians, alongside an online health assessment to help you understand your individual picture.

References:

1. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Fertility treatment 2024: trends and figures. Published June 2026. https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/publications/research-and-data/fertility-treatment-2024-trends-and-figures
2. World Health Organization. 1 in 6 people globally affected by infertility. April 2023. https://www.who.int/news/item/04-04-2023-1-in-6-people-globally-affected-by-infertility