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.

@LongtermTTC - thanks for that, totally answers my question

Due to my age I’m not expecting many / any embryos to make it let alone if they had to be extra sturdy to survive a thaw!

Let’s hope they even let us get to that stage.....with how rapidly everything is changing I’m not sure.

X x

Anyone at a clinic up north with an update?

I just found this on the Care Twitter site (posted an hour ago) and thought it may be useful for someone else as well xxx

I’m with Fertility Fusion in the North West. I’ve been stimming for a week and due to be having egg collection next week. I called them today at lunch time to see if they were still going ahead and they said that they would do the egg collection but eggs would be frozen and no transfers would be done until further notice. It’s our first cycle and I’ve been told I have a low egg reserve. Built myself up for this and feeling really emotional and sad about it today. I have a scan in the morning so I am going to ask more questions. The NHS are funding this cycle so I’m curious to know whether private funded clinics are making the same decisions. Also worried that frozen eggs may not be as good as fresh, I have no idea at this stage...

@Josephine2020 I'm north east but literally the exact situation as you, been stimming a week after been on lp, low egg reserve, 1st nhs
I haven't been given any update. I have bloods tomorrow so hopefully will find out then.

Hi ladies I hope you don’t mind me jumping on this thread. According to my clinic at Yorkshire fertility Halifax it’s business as normal I rung today however I’m struggling to believe this with what many others are going through. Trying to mentally prepare which wasn’t helped how I was spoken to when calling them but I understand the pressure they must be under is untrue. Due to start the process for FET next Thursday following OHSS
Also Josephine2020 there is a lot of research to suggest frozen transfers show slightly better pregnancy rates so every cloud hun it really helped with my process I know how difficult it is I found out after EC it would be a freeze all
Thinking of you all at this uncertain time 💕

@Matilda128 - that looks promising ......

So it’s looking like the 2 biggies create and care are still doing ET

Does anyone know whether you can transfer embryos between clinics ?

@Matilda128 thank you for sharing that. It’s put my mind at rest for now.

@Lynda07 I don’t think that’s a useful comment. I know it’s a difficult time for everyone in the country but most of these women, me included have been on this journey for years. As if we haven’t got enough things to worry about, we have to face judgment from people like you just because our time happens to fall right in the middle of a pandemic. If I could conceive naturally then maybe I would think twice with what’s going on but I don’t have that luxury.

@Lynda07 alot of us ladies have been trying for years we have not just decided to start now that a virus has hit. IVF is a massive journey to start and a heartbreaking one . People are hurt by it been cancelled but understand why it is. They have the right to be hurt by the situation we are in . Are you in it

@Hoping1 @Owlz
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Well said ladies. xxx

@luby89k good luck, hopefully yours will still go ahead for a full cycle.

@EmmaJ4142 Thank you for the kind advice. From what I can gather it looks like NHS clinics are cancelling but private clinics are still going ahead (looked on some private sites and their updates).

Good luck to to everyone at a particularly difficult time

Hi ladies,
I messaged a couple of days ago. I’m NHS Scotland and on a cancelled FET cycle due to previous OHSS at EC.

I’m bitterly disappointed like a lot of you on this thread.

Is it possible to get a private clinic to pick up my embryos and do the transfer? I’ve heard of clinics taking over from each other when someone moves house from one part of the country to another.

Depressingly I’m still taking progynova to build womb so that it will shed better now rather than be implanted!!

I think I just don’t want to give up on the dream.
Couldn’t get to sleep last night - hope I can tonight. I’m shattered!!

@Lynda07 why are you even on here? Head over to AIBU, may suit your personality more

@YogaPants4 which clinic are you with in Belfast? I've got my initial consultation with TFP in a couple of weeks. Feeling a bit sick now 😢

@LemonRabbit I am thinking the same thing after my FET was cancelled today. I’m going to call around to investigate tomorrow morning. I don’t have much confidence that the NHS clinics will open again any time soon. Understandable given the pressure they will be under but I don’t want my frosties to be in limbo indefinitely and I’m nearly 41 😢

@Josephine2020 I was told by my consultant that the odds with fresh and frozen transfers are about the same but can totally understand your frustration at getting this far and now being told you have to wait.

@xx40yearsyoungxx I’m 38 and have low AMH so feeling the same pressure and was (and still am) panicking at the thought of it being delayed even further when I feel like I’m running out of time. On the plus side, if we can at least get some/one embryo frozen they say that it’s the age that the eggs are collected that matters, not so much the age at which they’re transferred. Still so frustrating though, am just hoping they are allowing transfers again by the time I get to that stage but who knows!

@papoy is the open evening still going ahead? If not am happy to send you over copies of any of the information in the pack I got at their open evening in Feb or I might’ve asked them a lot of the same questions (although nothing coronavirus related at the time) so just let me know.

@jcurve my clinic have said that if I get coronavirus or am told to self isolate and they have to cancel the cycle then they’ll do the next cycle free AND refund me for the drugs so fingers crossed your clinic comes out with the same policy. Still not ideal situation to be in but as I’m privately funded too it gave me some reassurance that I won’t be left out of pocket at least.

@Lemongrass1 and @LemonRabbit - my clinic is private and have also cancelled all new FET cycles unless they’ve already been thawed but from other posts on here it sounds like others are still going so worth asking around. Good luck

I get that Hoping1 and sympathise but I read something that's in the news about it not being advisable to try to conceive right now. I was just scrolling and found it - it said that there were risks that a pregnancy could result in premature birth. I'll try and find it. No, I'm not TTC, God forbid, I'm 70 :-).

Here it is, sorry it's the 'HateMail' but was the first I could find:
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8122915/Women-told-NOT-IVF-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-fertility-watchdog.html

It's up to the people concerned whether or not they go ahead.
Good luck to everyone.

@Lynda07
I suspect you have kids and never struggled to conceive in your life or lost pregnancies

Don't comment on threads you couldn't possibly
Know anything about

@LongtermTTC mine has said they won’t refund drugs or blood tests if the round has to be abandoned by me, and they would send me to their partnered clinic (a HFEA requirement) if they had to close as they are a one clinic job. It seems that other clinics are offering much more in terms of guarantees.

I am due to have FET tomorrow. When I phoned the clinic on Monday they said it was still going ahead but yesterday I read the mail article and that it’s suggested women don’t have IVF and I have no idea what to do

The other thing i was thinking is that I may as well go ahead as if it works 🤞🤞🤞🤞at least I'll be in a protected category in the event of any redundancies at work

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted hahah indeed 👏👏👏

I did call another proctor clinic yesterday (outiside of London) and asked if they would take me to continue my cycle or do an egg retrieval if my clinic closed and they said no. Might call few more today and will let you know

@Lemongrass1 and @LemonRabbit I am with private but they are ( hopefully !) only getting us to egg collection.........
From the thread above care and create are still doing transfers. I too was wondering if you can get another clinic to do the transfer and move your embryo across ( and the cost ?) ...... I tried to phone create yesterday was waiting for ages and ages for someone to pick up before it went to voicemail. Understandably they are probably inundated with calls.

I will try again today too and update on here Any info . Looking forward to seeing what answers you get too

Good luck ladies

(I’m sure this stress isn’t going out bodies any good !)

X

My clinic, ABC are still carrying on as usual. I’m due to start my FET on my next cycle which should be any day now. I’ve waited too long for this transfer I’d be so upset if they cancelled on me. I will take all precautions needed but I really don’t want to wait :(