How to manage NHS and private IVF treatments?

[estebancolberto]

We were waiting for our NHS IVF treatment. As the waiting list was long, we recently decided to move to private and just started our first cycle IVF medicine this week. We have paid for 3 cycles. However, we are now contacted by the referred NHS clinic to move forward with our IVF treatment. They have now asked to schedule a blood test.

How do we manage both these IVF treatments? We already paid for the private treatment for 3 cycles. Is it possible to request NHS to delay our IVF treatment for a few months? Or, should we ask to get refund from the private? Our concern is that even if we decide to move with NHS, they still might take a long time to start the actual IVF treatment as they are just now starting with scheduling the blood test.

If you’ve started the medication for the private one I would continue with it.

The first blood test for NHS referral was still a few months away from me even seeing the IVF consultant to then repeat some bloods and scans etc. If you’ve already spent the money then see that as a positive step in taking control and try not to dwell on a saving! Now you have started meds, I doubt you will be able to do the blood tests this month, so that will extend things further for the referral.

It’s frustrating timing if you could have avoided spending the money, but it’s a very long process so the sooner you start better. Especially if you can afford to.

We had first NHS fertility clinic blood tests (repeats of GP referral ones) in February 2025. The confirmation of ICB funding for the referral was received end of April 2025, I started first IVF meds on July/August cycle. I was on the case daily to book things asap when asked such as scans and blood test, read and return paperwork etc and it still took over 6 months!

I spent the whole time thinking it would be ‘next month’ what more could they possibly need and eventually it was sorted. I found that whole process far more stressful than the IVF treatment part has been, so far!

To add- we are unexplained. Assumed low morphology which had corrected itself by the time he had his final analysis the week before my egg retrieval.

The blood tests/ scans we have had are the minimum at each stage so for some people I would expect NHS Fertility clinic to referral to an IVF clinic being made to take even longer if they need to investigate anything further or repeat things.

This will depend on the trust that you’re with. If you were in Northern Ireland, you could have two private rounds but if you paid for three rounds you wouldn’t qualify for the NHS round. Maybe you don’t need to disclose this to them though - I’m just not sure how it works

We're doing IVF through NHS. Egg collection is planned for September this year. We first got contacted by the clinic we'd been referred to in either November or December 2024. So it could be a very long wait for the NHS round. Also you need to check your areas rules, but once you've done private you may not be eligible for NHS.

To provide an update as I can see a few reactions to my past posts so I assume people are reading for info before starting their own process. I did that too and it was helpful when people shared their full story.

I am now 13 weeks pregnant!

This has taken 28 months from initial GP appointment in November 2024.

• GP Nov 2024
• Referred to Hospital fertility clinic immediately
• Accepted December 2024
• What followed was multiple rounds of bloods, lots of repeats for things the GP had arranged a few weeks before ( this was by far the most frustrating period as there was no follow up between, I still don’t understand why they didn’t request all the microbiology and initial bloods, book the scan in when I was referred instead of dragging it out over 3 months- with some organisation and thought it could have been completed within one cycle. A true waste of NHS appointment time.
• February 2025 Call with fertility nurse (more blood repeats)
• March 2025 Call with Consultant- referred for IVF (more blood repeats + another scan)
• April 2025 call with nurse - referred for IVF to a clinic of our choosing (private but NHS funding)
• April 2025 IVF Clinic (Care UK Woking) applied for funding on our behalf, this was approved within a few days.
• May 2025 Initial paper provided and appointment provided for June. Repeat of all bloods and scan.
• June 2025 - consultant appointment. And paperwork.
• July 2025 - started treatment for egg collection.
• August 2025 - egg collection. My progesterone was borderline high on collection day so we were advised to freeze all embroys if possible. They said they would consider transferring an embryo that wouldn’t survive the freeze to prevent a loss, this wasnt the case so we froze all. Gave us the opportunity to do PGT-A testing. (Paid for privately).
• October 2025 - Frozen embroy transfer. This failed. No reason determined. All conditions and confirmed euphloid embryo were ‘perfect’. I wanted to investigate further as we were referred as unexplained infertility. (Consultant was initially reluctant as the protocol is to transfer another embroy, and only after multiple failures of ‘high quality’ embroys are there further investigations. ) I wasnt satisfied with this as I was already approaching 38 and I didn’t want to ‘waste’ my younger embroys on experiments and need to do another egg collection when older. He agreed to clotting and immune investigations (funded privately)
• November 2025 I have both an immune and mild clotting disorder. Both relevant, both impact implantation, both treatable. I paid for the initial prescriptions for the next FET as they were not covered by NHS funding. (Intralipid infusion, Fragmin, prednisolone, aspirin).
• December 2025 - additional medication added to protocol. Hormones and FET still funded by NHS. Other medication paid for privately. Once it was confirmed I was pregnant, the funding then covered the additional medications.
• January 2026 - confirmation scan at 7 weeks and midwife booking appointment at 9. Medication continues.
• February 2026 - NHS 12 week scan, medication continued up to now but tailoring off. 7 days to go. I am very bruised.

Hope that is helpful. Shorter than some journeys but it has felt like a constant battle, I am slowly easing into what I hope will be normal levels of pregnancy worry.

Not having multiple alarms a day to take various medications at certain times cannot come soon enough!