NHS funding after private treatment for IVF?

[BeccaT123]

Hello
ive had one round of IVF privately and got pregnant but sadly lost the baby.
I am waiting for NHS funding now but as I am so anxious about not being proactive and don’t know how long it will take to get funding approved and for treatment to start I decided to freeze my eggs in the meantime. Freezing your eggs is half the price and I definitely can’t afford another round of IVF privately now.
I have been told you can only get NHS funding if you have had one round of IVF privately - why is this? And will freezing my eggs count as having 2 rounds or will I still be okay to get funding as I haven’t gone through another IVF process as a couple?
I really hope I haven’t blown my chances especially as I feel IVF is my only hope to having a baby.
let me know if you know the answer to this.
Thanks in advance.
Rebecca

Depending on where you live the local ccg determines how many rounds you can have. The NICE guidelines are 3 rounds but each ccg decides how much they will fund. It really is a postcode lottery.

You could look at your local ccg to find out the guidelines in your area.

How for down the NHS application route are you? Is there a reason you are choosing to freeze your eggs now? Is that privately funded?

Also you don't need it have a private ivf round to qualify for NHS help

I am sorry to hear about your loss after your IVF. I am pretty sure that in my area you can only get NHS funding if neither partner has any living children. So I would guess that you could have multiple private treatments and if none of them were successful, you could still have NHS treatment. I wish you lots of luck xx

www.nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/availability/

Some areas like mine which will fund 2 rounds subject to the couple meeting criteria would count a private round as one of the 2 rounds available.

Fertility Fairness updated their audit of ccgs in July - findings at that point as to what each ccg offered is on this link

fertilitynetworkuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CCG-Fertility-Entitlement-Updated-21.07.2022.xlsx

Thanks all.. to clarify I know in my postcode I’m only allowed 1 private treatment of IVF but does egg freezing count? I’ve had one private IVF treatment and also had my eggs frozen. I am worried that that could affect me getting funding even though it’s not technical an IVF cycle.

Also does anyone know the reasoning behind them not moving forward depending on how many cycles you’ve had privately?

Thanks @lamaze1 - do you know though if me getting my eggs frozen would count as a private round, or is it just IVf thag does?

@babynoname22 I decided to freeze my eggs as my amh is low and I was told that it could be up to 6 months to get funding and for treatment to start on NhS so I wanted to be proactive in the meantime. But now the hospital have written to my GP to let them know I froze my eggs I’m worried that could go against my chances of getting funding approved as I will already have had one private round of IVF + an egg freezing round. I am allowed just 1 private round to get NHs funding and I am now panicked egg freezing May count as a second round but I don’t know?

@BeccaT123 I'm not sure to be honest. The process can be quite awkward. For example I had wanted to do a collection only round so that I could genetically test the embryos at my expense. I was told I would lose the funding if I did that instead of just transferring an embryo immediately. In the end I developed OHS just after collection and had to abort the round as a transfer would have been dangerous. At that point they said I could genetically test at my expense which I did.

If I were you I'd contact your CCG and see if you can gain any clarity because the last thing you want to do is wait ages for an appointment and then find they won't approve any funding - in my CCG the drs at the hospital completed forms and submitted to the CCG for approval for funding - because in my experience before putting you on the pathway for IVF you'll spend time having tests which can be time consuming and delayed depending on appointment availability. Also, the hospital might also want to try less costly/invasive alternative such as clomid first.