IVF suspended due to coronavirus

[peasoup8]

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/12/thousands-lose-last-hope-of-having-a-baby-as-lockdown-closes-ivf-clinics

Sorry but this is so wrong and unfair. Thousands of people could lose out permanently on their chance to have children because of a virus that most people survive if they get it anyway! The restrictions have now gone way too far.

Many people have had very important (potentially life saving) medical procedures cancelled or put on hold because of coronavirus patients taking priority and that shouldn't be allowed to happen either.

[MrsHardbroom]

@SleepyNightOwl I was speaking in a broader context. I understand why IVF has been suspended for now and why that is necessary. I feel very sorry for those affected, especially when their situation is time-sensitive. My point was that in general, IVF is viewed as a 'luxury' when that is not the case. Those who make those judgements have invariably not had to deal with the all-consuming head fuck that is infertility. And I suspect that once this is over, it will be an easy target to defund.

[ineedsun]

So many assumptions.... I'm infertile but totally don't see IVF as necessary.

It's a head fuck, definitely, but having kids isn't a right or necessary for life.

[Schuyler]

It is upsetting but it’s necessary. I cannot see how IVF will be on the priority list to reinstate when things go back to ‘normal’ either.

[poilymo]

People are dying in huge numbers, staff are at breaking point, PPE is in short supply. Of course IVF and countless other non urgent treatments have been halted. The NHS is trying it's absolute best to save lives. However hard it is for those whose IVF has been halted, please see the bigger picture.

[SouthsideOwl]

I cannot believe how unsympathetic people are to the idea that it's a future for women which could be stripped away.

I also find it horrendous that cancer treatments and followups have been stopped.

Let's hope that in the next month enough space is freed up to resume the essential treatments. Although I wouldn't class IVF is essential, and I'm sure most who planned to have it can understand, it's still heartbreaking.

[Scottishgirl85]

My goodness me, those saying IVF is a nice to have have NO idea of the mental torture that infertility brings. Do you also think liver transplants for alcoholics shouldn't be allowed on the NHS? What about treating obesity? Some COVID patients are gravely ill due to their underlying diabetes, obesity and smoking. These are mostly self-inflicted, infertility is not self-inflicted in the majority of cases.

Whilst I understand that IVF procedures need to be delayed, the usual rules on age need to be dropped afterwards for those who would have been eligible before COVID but fail the criteria after all this is over.

[NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite]

www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-regulation/nhs-block-books-almost-all-private-hospital-sector-capacity-to-fight-covid-19/7027196.article

[Zogsbigsister]

‘Some COVID patients are gravely ill due to their underlying diabetes, obesity and smoking. These are mostly self-inflicted, infertility is not self-inflicted in the majority of cases.‘

This is a horrible statement to make, those poor people are desperately ill or dying and you are blaming them? Shame on you.

[JulesM73]

It must be heartbreaking to think you’re going to get treatment and for it to be stopped but in the current circumstances it is understandable. I get what is being said re removing the cut offs when we get out of this but the reality is the chances of success drop significantly and when there is less money around there are going to have to be some tough choices made on where to spend the money.
I do hope that a number of current treatments available are reassessed but I suspect there will be a lot of anger once this is done as there is always arguments that people believe they should get the treatment.
It’s an awful situation and is unlikely to get better in the short to medium term.

[Scottishgirl85]

I'm not blaming them! I was making the point to a previous poster who thought infertility treatment was a nice to have. It is the same as any other disease, it is an organ that is not functioning and therefore should be treated.

[StrangerDays]

This is a horrible statement to make, those poor people are desperately ill or dying and you are blaming them

I didn't read that post as shaming at all, the poster was making a wider point in relation to some previous deliberately goady replies.

[StrangerDays]

It is the same as any other disease, it is an organ that is not functioning and therefore should be treated

Absolutely. My infertility was due to a consequence of a violent attack, the idea that some believe I don't deserve NHS treatment has been surprising.

[SleepyNightOwl]

MrsHardbroom I do agree. I guess I’m seeing it in a much simpler way. To me, and I don’t have an issue with it being on the NHS, it kind of is a luxury, in that we are lucky enough to have such a thing even available, to be able to help those who can’t have children have them is pretty amazing. But, it’s never going to be a need, because in my view I see need as much differently.

I do hope though, that anyone falling out of the age criteria isn’t turned away and exceptions will be allowed. It wouldn’t feel right then having no chance through no fault of their own.

[Xenia]

Anyone desperate - planes are still running from terminal 5 at Heathrow so you might be able to get abroad for it - I am not saying that would be easy to achieve but might be possible. I am not sure how easy it is to get on those flights however
www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1267464/flights-uk-airlines-airports-repatriation-cargo-lockdown-full-list

[Wineislifex]

I think anyone who was hoping to have nhs funded ivf in the future should start saving to go private as I can’t see it returning to the NHS after this pandemic.

Yes infertility is awful but it is not comparable to cancer patients, people requiring life saving interventions and people bedridden with pain!

[peasoup8]

Covid spreads through hospital wards like wildfire

And yet NHS Nightingale is practically empty.

www.hsj.co.uk/service-design/exclusive-nightingale-largely-empty-as-icus-handle-surge/7027398.article

[TrainspottingWelsh]

I agree with @LilacTree1. It isn't that I think people don't deserve ivf on the nhs, but even in normal times there are far more essential treatments the nhs doesn't provide because of the cost, so until the funding is there for some cancer treatments, suicidal patients etc I don't think ivf is a priority.

Certainly at the moment it's more than reasonable to cancel it when the nhs is under so much strain, let alone when essential treatments are being cancelled. It's quite obvious what your priorities are though op, that with everything that's going on you consider pausing ivf as a step too far.

[RenegadeMrs]

Full disclosure: I've had one IVF baby, currently pregnant with another.

I think this is the right, albeit heartbreaking decision, in the short term. I hope the age restrictions would be extended for those it affects and that funding is reinstated ASAP.

As usual on any IVF thread I'm always shocked by the callousness of some replies. The mental health implications of childless can be huge (they can also not be, but you know, everyone is different).

I always hate the comparison between IVF and cancer treatments. There is a vast gulf in spending between the two, IVF is a drop in the pan compared to cancer treatments and already not avalible in many NHS trusts areas. How about we just charge all the drunks that come in for emergency treatment on a Friday / Saturday night after getting wankered instead of playing cancer patients and infertility patents off against each other? There are loads of other ways of looking at it and other services that the NHS offer, but it always seems to boil down to cancer vs infertility.

[lynsey91]

I also think that IVF should not be provided by the NHS. The money could be spent on far more important matters than bringing yet more babies into an already overpopulated world.

Anyone even thinking of getting pregnant at the moment is both incredibly stupid and incredibly selfish

[SinisterBumFacedCat]

Why is it only women struggling with infertility who have to be sensible about when to conceive? The conception boards on here haven’t suddenly gone quiet. 9 months from now there will be a baby boom due to lock down, just like when they had the power cuts in the early 70s.

It is incredibly sad that people will miss out on the chance to be parents when because of the timings. It might not make sense to some how this will leave people heartbroken, depressed and basically grieving. Some will need counselling for the rest of their lives. It’s down right cruel to come onto a thread and start kicking people when they are already down, I really wonder why posters do this.

I get how awful COVID 19 is, I don’t think anyone can avoid seeing the news about it. But I really hope we haven’t forgotten people get other illnesses, manage condition, have accidents, become depressed. Healthcare can’t just stop for everything else. I think there will be many deaths relating to lack of healthcare during the pandemic but they will never be counted.

[Ginger1982]

"If nature says you can't have children - there is a reason - one we may not know about but its there."

ODFOD

[Tattiebee]

Wow some heartless replies as always. I think that it is fantastic that IVF is funded on the NHS (albeit it should be equal across the board rather than having differing criteria); and it is heartbreaking but understandable that it has been halted at the moment to protect lives and resources.

If nature says you can't have children - there is a reason - one we may not know about but its there

Nature also gifted humans with the intelligence to use science to enable those of whom through no fault of their own can't conceive without intervention. It's astounding that you think someone who has recovered from cancer is somehow faulty and doesn't deserve a chance, fucking shame on you.

[GroundHogDay01]

“If nature says you can’t have children - there is a reason - one we may not know about but it’s there”

^^I’d love to understand this. One friend has had 3 children taken off her due to her drug use. Another had numerous rounds of IVF to finally have her baby & is the most amazing mother, what a stupid comment

[Chirpychirpy3]

”If nature says you can't have children - there is a reason - one we may not know about but its there.“

Wow in that case all those babies who have been born by c section over the years shouldn’t have been.

As a mother to an ivf baby I am forever thankful to science.