NHS IVF Funding

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Hi all,

We have an appointment in 3 weeks to apply for NHS funded IVF. I know it's different for each area so I'm not too sure but if my husband or I had a previous child from an old relationship that we didn't declare, is there a way they would find out and potentially reject our application?

Yes, I would think that's a possibility if your trust do not offer funding to those with living children. I believe there are a small number who may still consider offering treatment if one of you has children already.

Are you planning to lie?

I don't want to, I need to check what our trust's rules are, but we've been TTC for 7 years now so part of me thinks it would be worth a shot 😕

There are rules you can bend but please don't lie.

For example if your trust would exclude you because you already have a child, but you find another trust that wouldn't - simply change GPs to one in the area that trust covers. The trust rules go by GP address not your home address. It would be reasonable to register with a GP in an area you work in or visit often. As an IVF doctor once told me - if they're going to set stupid rules you may as well make them work for you.

The question of whether it's right for you to get free ivf when you already have a child when other childless people are waiting years for a referral is a moral one and one for your conscience...

It’s not the trust that set the rules it’s the ICB and you can check what your local ICB requires for nhs funding. However if you did decide to lie to access funding and were found out, you could face a criminal investigation for defrauding the nhs.

Yeah... Don't do that. It's scummy

Pretty sure the NHS doesn't offer IVF funding if either you or your partner has a biological child (and I believe that's a general rule across the board).

It’s a blanket policy across the board I believe so moving GP won’t help.

take out a loan / remortgage house / use ivf clinic finance packages

You're basically considering defrauding a publicly funded service. Given that all records are digitised, I don't think it's going to be difficult for them to work out one or both of you already has a child. You're risking criminal charges. And as a PP said above, there are moral implications to consider as you're taking away finding from a couple with no children at all (I'm a 38 year old woman pregnant through IVF after waiting 2 years to get to the top of the list and of course years before then TTC).

You say you've been TTC for 7 years - I presume you've already inquired about NHS IVF and have been told you're not eligible, given how long it's been? Why haven't you been saving up for a private consultation in that time?

No it isn't. I'm a GP and my srea the previous child rule is only if you have one in the current relationship

It varies place to place. You can look up the guidelines for funding for your local ICB online. Bear in mind the majority of places only fund one egg collection and either one transfer or transfer of all embryos from that first collection. You’re highly unlikely to be successful first time so it’s quite probable you will need to pay for private treatment in the future anyway. Have you researched the costs involved and is this something you’re prepared to do? My point being, accessing the NHS service may not actually save you that much money and is probably not worth the lies. Good luck.

If it is the dad that has a child already I can see your temptation. If you already have a child though I would be cautious as your gynae history is likely very relevant to any treatment you have and so for safety reasons above all else id say be very careful.

Would you really want a baby created by defrauding our NHS?

I agree it’s scummy. Save up for IVF if you want it.

My brother has had IVF with his partner despite him having an older child. The treatment is for her, and she doesn't have children.

Please don’t. They will find out and you can find yourself in a whole heap of trouble. I had IVF myself and I know it’s crippling. Look into finance and good luck

It depends on the Trust as others have said. Some Trusts do rule you out even if it’s the man who has a baby, not the woman. So check the rules of your Trust. Hopefully it won’t rule you out but if it does, don’t lie. It would be fraud.

My two cents? I qualify on the NHS as neither me nor my partner have any children. However, we started private ivf after we had been on the NHS waiting list for five months (this doesn’t disqualify us in our area, it just subtracts from the three cycles we were entitled to). Currently we’ve been on the NHS list for a year! That’s far too long given my low AMH levels (or low ovarian reserve). If we had waited for the NHS, I’d have lost my chance to be a Mum.

I am 15 weeks now with a baby boy, if the pregnancy goes to term then it will disqualify me from NHS ivf in the future but that’s ok. I’m very glad we went privately. Like I said, this probably wouldn’t have been possible on the NHS as I had so little eggs left that their two year waiting list would have scuppered my chances.

I would recommend getting a private fertility test for you and your partner because this can reduce NHS waiting times if they don’t need to test this first. You can submit your results to the NHS and they can use them to fast track your referral. Fast track is still a year compared to two but it’s something.

Or you could try private treatment. Through Access Fertility then it’s ‘only’ £12000 for two cycles with meds and transfers included. If it’s not a package and you need to pay for all the components separately then it can be £10000 per cycle so £12000 for two with meds and transfers included is actually a steal.

Best of luck. You can dm me if you have any questions :)

As someone who has no children, and my partner has no children, I had fertility treatment for 5 years. This was a mixture of NHS and self-funded - we still ended up spending tens of thousands on self-funded treatment as the NHS doesn't fund much anyway.

It was traumatic and horrible time, and I am finally pregnant, but it's been an absolute nightmare.

It makes me really sad that people in your position, who already have a child and are in a different situation and not eligible, would lie to benefit from this funding.

If everyone in your position lied, the funding would ultimately have to be withdrawn, because it wouldn't be able to stretch to everyone. There are reasons for the funding limits and it's not because they don't want you to have a child. It's because there are actual limits to the amount of money available.

You are in a difficult and horrible situation OP - infertility is horrible whoever it is happening to and regardless of whether you already have children and I am the last person to say that it's any easier for any of us. I feel for you.

But lying to get NHS funding is so so morally wrong, and you are very likely to get found out.

@heffalumpwoozle congratulations on your pregnancy! I expect people lie quite often. I can imagine the criteria being tightened or it withdrawn on the nhs at some point.

It differs from area to area but you absolutely should declare if either of you have a child. It can impact on the treatment you have depending on where the infertility lies.

I would not lie about previous children, no. The criteria for your particular trust will be on their website and there are lots of criteria, not just about previous children. I did not qualify as my AMH level was too low, for example. There are various finance options available for going private.

Interesting - the forms I've seen (which are general NHS) say eligibility is only for those without any children for either child. Guess some areas still allow it.

Fair enough - I feel like this should be consistent across the UK and not a postcode lottery. The funding information I have seen (as I would be eligible for NHS IVF with PGT) states no previous children from either side, and that is not specific to my area as when it gets into genetic testing it's more generalised e.g. I can choose between the 4 centres in the UK that have NHS funding for PGT.

Both your medical histories will be relevant for your treatment (and really important to assess what the likely issues are.) If they find out you have lied then I think there would likely be consequences for de-frauding the NHS. I know it's a hard pill to swallow, but lying to get this treatment would be so wrong when there are so many people waiting for treatment who may otherwise miss the opportunity to ever be a parent.

I'm shocked that you would ask this question, what do you really think opinion is going to be on defrauding the NHS?