Homerton

[Julianne]

Hi everyone

My partner are looking to get a referral to Homerton in the hopes of starting a family.. WE are currently in Oz travelling but up on returning to London soon we want to move in to the right area so we can get a referral - Does anyone know the catchment area? Also if you went to another hospital in London that took lesbian couples any information would really help..

thank you so much

Jules and NIcky x

Hey Jules ;-P

I don't know of any other hospitals other than the Homerton, but I've had a little search on the net and found this article...

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2076122.ece

So it looks likely that other hospitals aren't up to speed, although it may be worth calling UCLH to find out if they already do and if so which health authorities fund treatment.

Either way if they don't fund treatment they may take on self funding patients which works out much cheaper than private (£500 per cycle compared to £800 at a private clinic).

Hope that helps you lady :-D

hi Jules

There is also St bartholomew's hospital. We were seen at their fertility clinic, and they didn't have a problem with lesbian couples. The main issue we have encountered is the shortage of donors, if you don't already have your own donor lined up. All of the NHS hospitals we contacted either weren't taking people onto their waiting list, or had a waiting list of about 6 months, due to the shortage, so we ended up going to the London Women's clinic, which is a private clinic, so is more expensive, but even via an NHS clinic you have to pay for treatment, although it is cheaper. We actually went via Barts hospital initially, and got all our screening tests done there for free, and then went to the private clinic, which kept the costs down, and we were very happy with the london women's clinic, which is very lesbian friendly. The best place to find clinics in your area, and to look at the results of the clinics is the HFEA website (Human embryology and fertility association) - do a search on it, and then an advanced search to find clinics using your postcode. Good luck with it - even though there is a shortage, its not impossible, but be prepared to either wait a while, or pay privately.

King's College Hospital is very lesbian-friendly.
Best of luck.