The HFEA counted 3 licensed treatment clinics in Northern Ireland in 2024/25. The Regional Fertility Centre in Belfast is the only public IVF provider, according to a January 2020 report. Half of all IVF cycles in Northern Ireland were NHS-funded in 2024.
| Item | Northern Ireland | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| HFEA-licensed treatment clinics | 3 | HFEA, 2024/25 |
| Public IVF provider | Regional Fertility Centre (the only one) | Q Radio, January 2020 |
| Share of IVF cycles NHS-funded | 50% (40% in 2019) | HFEA, 2024 |
Sources: HFEA, The fertility sector 2024/2025 (November 2025) and Fertility treatment 2024: trends and figures (June 2026); Q Radio (30 January 2020).
In January 2020 the Health Minister said the Regional Fertility Centre lacked the capacity to deliver extra funded cycles. Check with your Trust or GP how long the current wait is.
No Northern Ireland-only success rates are included in the HFEA figures used here. Across the UK in 2024, around 53,000 patients had IVF and about 21,400 babies were born from it, 3.2% of all UK births. The birth rate per embryo transferred with the patient's own eggs was 30% on average: 38% at ages 18 to 34 and 8% at 43 to 44.
Ask the clinic for its own results for women your age, and confirm with your Trust what is funded and what you would pay, because rules change.
With few clinics to choose from, the choice of professional matters even more. Map to the Positive notes that large clinics tend to have more infrastructure, such as an in-house lab and IVF on site, and standardised workflows, while private practices tend to offer longer, more personal appointments. Neither model is better: what matters is the professional.
The book says it is time to look for another professional if:
Choosing the right doctor is Chapter 31 of Map to the Positive, in Station IV. It sets out the technical and human criteria, the questions for a first appointment and when to get a second opinion. The same station explains the treatment ladder and walks through IVF phase by phase.
Take 30 days. If it does not give you more clarity than everything you have read for free so far, ask for a refund and you get every cent back. We cannot promise you a pregnancy. We can promise you will not be guessing.
References: The fertility sector 2024/2025 - HFEA (2025-11-13) · NI fertility centre doesn't have 'capacity' to deliver extra IVF cycles, Health Minister says - Q Radio (2020-01-30) · Fertility treatment 2024: trends and figures - HFEA (2026-06-16)