IVF treatment could soon be offered to a wider range of childless couples in East Lancashire.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is considering raising the current age limit of 39 to 42 for women who have no other chance of conceiving.
The body has drawn up draft guidelines for England and Wales to update 2004 legislation, which will also recommend other new groups should be eligible for treatment.
They include same-sex couples and people facing cancer treatment who wish to preserve their fertility.
Also included are couples who have been trying for a baby for two rather than three years, those who carry infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B or HIV, and those who are unable to have intercourse.
The draft guidelines will go to public consultation, but if implenented, will not be compulsory for primary care trusts (PCTs).
Each course or 'cycle' of IVF costs the NHS about £3,000.
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