Private treatment while waiting for NHS funded IVF

[Nora11]

My husband and I have been trying for over 2 years and are now waiting for our NHS referral to go through. Spoken to GP in January but I don't think the referral has been submitted yet as they wanted a repeat test from my husband which has now been done.

We have had private tests already which showed we have male factor subfertility and are contemplating paying for a private cycle, with the mindset that if it fails we can then go ahead with the NHS funded one. I've checked and my CCG does allow NHS funding after unsuccessful private treatment.

However I'm worried that

A) if we are offered an NHS consultation during the private cycle we would have to refuse it and this would set back our referral? Worried they would cancel the referral it we can't attend straight away.
B) we will spend a lot of money on private treatment when the NHS wait might not be as long as we expected! I can't really get any clear answers about how long we can expect to wait.

Has anyone else paid for private treatment while being referred? Would you go for it, or sit tight and wait for the NHS?

We are in our early 30s and I have a high egg reserve so not massively against the clock... But tired of feeling our lives are on hold. Private cycle would be a lot of money for us as we are not high earners, but we can afford it from our savings.

Also take into account your CCG might change their funding rules.

Is it worthwhile asking roughly what the wait will be?

I was in this position a few years ago and went ahead with private IVF as I couldn't bear the wait! Our CCG did allow an NHS cycle after a private cycle so that was our plan but luckily the private cycle lead to our daughter (and the embryo that became our son 2 yrs later) so we didn't need to go down that route in the end. I just found the waiting so hard so felt like I just had to go for it, of course it's easy for me to say now that was the right thing to do, but it's impossible to know in advance. I wish you all the best of luck with it all

I would suggest you ask what the NHS wait time is roughly and then make a decision. You're right that if you are mid private cycle you won't then be able to go for NHS testing. Also in some places once you've had private treatment you are then not eligible for NHS funded care. However, the waits can be lengthy on the NHS so considering your options is sensible. It's also worth checking what your CCG offers on the NHS eg ours only offered one retrieval and one transfer so we went ahead and went private rather than wait, as we figured we weren't going to lose much! If they had offered 3 full cycles I might have felt differently.

Thanks for all your help everyone

@AliceAbsolum that is a good point about the criteria changing! I haven't been able to get a straight answer about how long it may take, although I guess if I wait until my initial appointment I might find out more.

@Sleepyone1 I'm so glad it worked out for you! 💖 I definitely wouldn't begrudge the amount of money if we are successful. I feel the same way as you just really struggling with all the waiting and feeling like my life is on hold!

@MGee123 thanks, it's been hard to get an estimate on the time from my GP but someone I know who is currently undergoing NHS treatment, says it took them about 8 months. Luckily I am still eligible for NHS treatment after "unsuccessful" private treatment. I know what you mean, 3 full cycles would be worth waiting longer for! We get 1 cycle/transfer plus potentially 1 frozen transfer so not the worst but not the best...