HELENE TORR is unequivocal about the notion of treating IVF as a business transaction: “It’s like saying, ‘Well, you might have a heart problem but you’ve got to be business-like about it and keep your emotions out of it’. You just can’t,” she said yesterday.

After failing to conceive naturally, she and her husband spent £15,000 and more than two years on IVF. The treatments were successful and today they have three children — Adam, 8, and twins, Mark and Lucy, 6.

Ms Torr said that she was so desperate to become a mother that she would have spent any amount of money to make her dream a reality. She and her husband took out a loan to help to fund the treatment.

“There was no question of there being a set amount that I would have paid. The emotions were more important than how much it was going to cost,” she said. “The money doesn't matter; you'll find it from anywhere. It’s the need, the longing, the emotions of wanting to have a child of your own.”

Kate Brian can also attest to the emotional upheaval that accompanies IVF. After trying to conceive naturally for two years, Ms Brian and her partner turned to IVF. Two years and three cycles later, she became pregnant with her son Alfie, now 9. Her daughter Flora, 7, followed after a further two years and four cycles.

In all, the attempts cost Ms Brian and her partner less than £5,000, a relatively small sum, which she attributes to her decision to attend a self-funding clinic. She has since documented her experiences in a book, In Pursuit of Parenthood: Experiences of IVF.

Yesterday, she too had some reservations as to whether couples undergoing IVF would be able to view it as a business transaction. She said: “I think most people would find it very hard to detach themselves. IVF is such an emotional subject.”

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