IVF NHS entitlement after private IVF

[nicopico1]

Hi folks,
Does anyone know whether or not you give up your NHS entitlement to IVF if you do a private round first? (in Scotland)
I have just been diagnosed with unexplained infertility so next step is IVF. Problem is, despite me having lost a significant amount of weight, my BMI is still not what the NHS would like it to be.

I'm not 100% sure for Scotland but I know the rules in Wales and England is that for every private round you try, you lose one of your NHS funded rounds. Many Trusts only provide 1 funded round now so you would lose that so it may be best to try your funded round first before going private but obviously, this depends very much on personal circumstances. Best of luck

Hi @nicopico1 My experience (but in England) was that I would lose my NHS round. I googled my CCG and assisted conception to see their policy, as each area seems to vary so blinking much! I'd wanted to try a private round in the summer whilst waiting for my NHS clinic to catch up after their lockdown closure. I'm only entitled to one NHS round, but a round of private would have made me no longer entitled to that apparently (not sure what the logic is for that!) Perhaps one go at private would only knock one round of entitlement off for you, but leave you with your remaining goes with NHS? Good luck!

Thanks ladies! I'm (hopefully) entitled to 3 rounds on NHS. I am going to have to lose 3 stone before I even go on the NHS list (despite losing 2.5 stone already and being a size 14)!!! Such a difficult time!!

Hi, I'm in. Scotland too. I was told that each private round knocks one round off your NHS entitlement - so if you'd get 3 rounds on the NHS but have a private round, that means you'd only get 2 on the NhS.

The NHS want your BMI to be below 30 but i think the private clinics go up to 35. If you're a size 14 it's worth checking again with them - I'm a 14-16 and they've accepted me so they might well accept you.

I was told by my consultant in Scotland that it doesn’t matter what you do treatment wise before. You’re still entitled to 3 rounds on the NHS, as long as you meet the criteria.

@Pumpkinspice77 that's strange that we've got different answers to that question despite it being meant to be the same across the country - I suppose that underlines how confusing this whole system can be!

Bear in mind there are two reasons why nhs will want bin below 30: a) quite simply its more likely to work. Fat is an endocrine disrupter and may affect the hormonal medication they give you. B) high bmi= higher risk pregnancy.