VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – People aged 18 to 34 can now freeze their eggs or sperm through Malta’s public health service, a procedure previously limited to patients facing fertility-threatening medical treatment.
Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela announced the change, saying early egg freezing could improve future IVF success rates. “Those people who want to have children later in life will have a better chance of succeeding thanks to this measure,” he said.
Abela stressed that the policy involves freezing gametes—not embryos—avoiding ethical issues over disposal when women become ineligible for IVF. Applications will be handled by the ART clinic within Mater Dei Hospital’s IVF department.
He added that frozen gametes maintain high quality for several years.
Equality junior minister Rebecca Buttigieg said the measure responds to a trend of people postponing parenthood. “This is a sort of insurance so that when the time comes and IVF is needed there is a better chance of getting pregnant,” she said.
While not a cure-all, Buttigieg said the initiative could help improve Malta’s fertility rate and called it a social measure. She noted that egg and sperm freezing, once accessible mainly to those who could afford private treatment, will now be available to all.
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