Coronavirus and fertility clinics.

[mabel92]

Has anyone’s fertility clinic told them they will close due to Coronavirus? I’m due to start treatment and now confused as what to do or whether I’ll be able to start. Thanks.

Rumtopf*

Blanket freeze all. I hope they're good enough to freeze.

UncleBryn are your clinic still going ahead with ET? Good luck to you and your eggs too!

Good luck @Rumtopf

@UncleBrynsfishingtrip how are you doing, have you heard yet?

Thanks for the well wishes, we have 1 good blast in the freezer and 2 slower ones that are still progressing and they'll assess on Monday. I'm feeling bittersweet happiness. But also relief and a bit excited for the future. And impatient.

We have 4 that are growing well and looking good. We think we will freeze all of the however the embryologist will call Monday morning to confirm. It’s exciting!!!!! Hope you are all ok. We will get there. I’ve waited many years for this to happen so a few more months is ok. xx

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for four or five people to share their stories with me.

As a freelance writer I’d like to get our stories out there and am currently working on an article I intend to pitch to various newspapers / publications about our cancelled cycles.

Like many of you on here I had my cycle cancelled due to Covid-19. I’m 42 in a few months so this might mean I’m out of the game now, with my own eggs, at least. Gutted doesn’t even describe how I feel.

If you’re interested in contributing please email me your story, including the info below if possible and anything else you’d like to share that you think will be relevant.

• Your name (just first name is fine) and if you’re happy for me to write your name (I can put a false name if not)
• How old are you?
• How long you’ve been trying?
• Do you already have children? Through ivf?
• Is there a medical reason you have to have ivf?
• Have you already had an unsuccessful cycle(s)?
• What stage were you at?
• What clinic you were at and what they said about the cancellation and next steps?
• How this has affected your life, your plans, your emotions?
• What you think this means for you?

I don’t know at this stage where the article will be published but as soon as I know I will let you know.

Please note: I will only write about people who share their info with me. I won’t replicate anything from this site.

Many thanks

Heidi
[email protected]

Hi everyone
After two years of psyching myself up to have iui with donor sperm (I'm single), I had the sperm delivered to the Assisted Conception Unit at Chelsea and Westminster hospital (private) and days later the pandemic broke out. Bad timing - story of my life! I'm now kicking myself for not having started it sooner but it's such a complex decision as it took me so long to grieve the idea of having a family in the normal traditional way. Like everyone on here I'm wondering when on earth things will get back to normal. I turned 41 this month so I'm really conscious of time now. I'm wondering if the private clinics not affiliated to NHS hospitals will open up earlier. The tough thing is that with lockdown there is so much time to think over things that it becomes incredibly stressful. Although I wouldn't wish this on anyone, it was something of a comfort to find this forum as no one in my life really understands what I'm going through right now. I also feel bad thinking about this so much when people are dying out there. Wishing everyone success with their treatment when this is over.

@AnnaLCox I'm in the same position as you. Also kicking myself for not deciding to go ahead sooner!

I’m 41 soon and feeling the same .....

Hi @AnnaLCox please don’t kick yourself. I’m in the exact same position as you, (although we are using donor sperm due to my husbands infertility), I have donor sperm waiting to be shipped and ready for iui. I’m not coping very well with not having a timescale and having already faced two years of heartbreaking infertility and time to come to terms with donor sperm. Are you with a private clinic? I suspect they will open sooner but you really can’t tell! Sending hugs.

Hi AnnaLCox and everyone else,

It's totally understandable how you feel. Everyone on here gets it. Let's hope it's all over soon. Hang in there. Your time will come XXXXXX

How long do people realistically think it will be before private clinics open again
( I know this is an impossible question - I’m just wondering people’s thoughts on this/ guesstimates )

@Xx40yearsyoungxx I really don't know, I note the HFEA haven't updated their website since the open letter last week - a bit more communication from them would be helpful

I hope everyone is coping with this horrible situation. After finding out I missed out on treatment by two days- I felt completely done with the whole IVF nightmare and just wanted to move on with my life. However I made this decision in the morning and by the evening I already started to doubt. My partner was just so broken up about it and we promised we would try 3 cycles before this virus horror happened- so in the end I agreed that we would wait and see if we could try again after all. I'm now trying to work out when clinics might reopen but it is really hard to tell. I believe that HEFA seems to categorize the ban on fertility treatment under the non urgent and elective surgery cancellations which will start on the 15th of April and last for 3 months (so possibly ends on the 15th of July). I think this is absolutely terrifying and I really hope that this isn't the case. HEFA has an account on Twitter so you can ask them directly (they will not get back but perhaps they will start to realise they need to give patients some guidance on when clinics can reopen). Xxx

Hi There
My IVF (round 2) was also cancelled 2 days before injections were due to start. I obviously understand the reasons why but it is very difficult. Just wondered did any of your clinics give you an idea of when they will start again? Edinburgh NHS said the whole ward is closed and they are getting sent to other wards to help with CV and have no idea when but thinking minimum 12 week but they have no idea.

Thanks for anyone who replys

Yeah @Matilda128 that rationale does make sense ..... I’m thinking they may follow the non urgent and elective surgery ban for 3 months and use that as a guide . It seems so far awaY .

My clinic has no idea either

I feel bad for wanting to continue this process ASAP when there are people so poorly etc . It’s such a tug on the heart strings at all levels
X

Good tip ref HEFA by the way ...... they need to update their stance at least - eg are they considering it to fall under the umbrella of non urgent / elective surgery or could they possible allow clinics to open sooner x

@Xx40yearsyoungxx I understand what you mean-I really feel awful for all those people who are terribly ill. But I do not see why I cannot feel terrible for them and also care about my own fertility treatment. What I think has happened is that NHS connected clinics complained about private clinics staying open and taking away their clients and as such HEFA banned everything. So it was mainly a business decision. HEFA used the elective and non-urgent surgery cancellations to enforce this ban- even though for many women fertility treatment is very urgent and related to a medical condition (so not elective). I don't know what will happen if in May social distancing will be relaxed (if it is) because the NHS will still be very busy and surgeries will still be banned. Maybe private clinics will be allowed to do IUI and FET but no egg collections so no IVF. I don't know why HEFA doesn't want to be clearer- of course it is difficult to predict the pandemic but to give some guidance on when it would be possible to start is so important.

Hey everyone I was quite hopeful the closure would only last a month or two but now that seems unlikely I have to say.

I suspect once the lockdown is lifted and social distancing is relaxed then private clinics will be allowed to reopen which should be sooner than July but it will be much longer for NHS patients

Private clinics will also have had to furlough their staff so unless the government plans to extend the scheme past May 31st (doubt it can afford that) then business will have to be allowed to reopen by June 1st as they will have to pay their own wage bills from that date

My clinic has said their London branch had had quite a few enquiries from patients looking to transfer but the Birmingham one hadn't plus my Create isn't always that attractive to NHS patients because it doesn't do long protocol

I doubt the schools will go back before September and have had this in my mind for the clinics opening back up too. Although the points made are very relevant so I hope it's sooner. If I set my expectations for Sept and it's sooner then that's great but if not then I'm nor disappointed.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my comment of earlier today. I am currently at a private wing of an NHS hospital (I believe they do private and NHS there) which probably puts me at a disadvantage to the purely private clinics. It's particularly frustrating as I was formerly a patient of the London Womens Clinic (I did egg freezing with them two years ago) but I decided to swap over to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital when I made the decision to do iui. I'm hoping that all service providers will open up again at the same time, otherwise I might need to try to go back to my original clinic if the one I'm at now takes longer to reopen on account of it being located in an NHS hospital. It's all a lot of drama and stress for sure. Let's just hope the virus peaks soon so that we can get back to normal ASAP!

Watching a segment on BBC news this morning the expect reckoned that non essential medical treatment wouldn't resume for 6 months at NHS hospitals I just hope that the HFEA decide to reopen IVF clinics sooner x

Do you think it would be a good idea to form a collective response to hfea to highlight our concerns?
Some of us may sadly lose any chance we have of having our own child.

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted - 6 months??? That is a VERY long time in the fertility world, especially when you are 40+. If that's the case, I'll have to try to go back to my previous clinic on Harley Street, but I imagine they'll all be well in demand so even there there's likely to be a backlog.

My AMH was 1.0 in January. 6 months seems very long indeed