San Marino prepares to treat Italy's rejected IVF patients

The tiny republic of San Marino, near Italy's Adriatic coast, is to benefit from Italy's draconian new rules on in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The tiny republic of San Marino, near Italy's Adriatic coast, is to benefit from Italy's draconian new rules on in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Legislation passed in March saw Italy change from being one of the most permissive countries in Europe for IVF to one of the most restrictive.

Now a private clinic is to open in San Marino offering treatments illegal across the border.

Under Italy's new law, only heterosexual couples in stable relationships can apply for the treatment. Clinics can only produce three embryos per couple.

This greatly reduces the chances of an infertile woman conceiving and if she does conceive, it increases the risk of her having twins or triplets, or of the baby being deformed.

One of the specialists signed up by the clinic, Francesco Fiorentino, director of Rome's Genome Centre, told Corriere della Sera newspaper: "The selection of embryos prior to implanting is the only safe way to prevent a terrible illness, and is a certain way of avoiding the necessity of a sad abortion."

But the long waiting list in San Marino is partly because treatment at the centre costs about the same as in Italy before the law changed - around €2,500 (£1,700) to €3,000 - and a fraction of what "fertility tourists" must pay further afield.