Justice Minister Chris Said said this morning that the IVF Bill may be fine-tuned to allow a higher number of eggs to be fertilised in the case of older women.

The Bill currently says that only up to two eggs may be fertilised at one time. However, Dr Said told a press conference that after discussions with health professionals, the Bill may be tweaked to allow the fertilisation of up to three eggs in order to increase the chances of pregnancy for older women.

Dr Said insisted, however, that principles in the Bill will not be touched, such as the protection of the embryo and the ban on egg and sperm donation. He said the ban on donations was being imposed in the interests of the children, who had the right to know who their biological parents were.

Dr Eleonora Porcu, an Italian expert brought to Malta by the government to hold a public lecture on IVF, said the limit of two fertilised eggs was restrictive. However, she said, her Bologna clinic had adopted the same practice for patients  aged under 35. The pregnancy success rate using eggs which had not been frozen was 33%, declining to 26% when frozen eggs were used.

Health Minister Joseph Cassar said it was important to offer infertile couples a ray of hope and this was what the government was doing with this bill.