NewsHealthSeetal and Neil Savla are devastated to be told that their fourth attempt at IVF has been put on hold

Wednesday, 15th April 2020, 6:10 pm

Thousands of couples may have missed their last chance of having a child via in vitro fertilisation (IVF) as fertility clinics have been forced to shut their doors to patients today due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) which regulates the UK fertility industry, ruled that all current treatments must be completed by 15 April.

All new treatments had already been banned for safety reasons and now patients who are in the middle of an IVF cycle at NHS and private facilities will have their treatment suspended indefinitely.

As women are often in their late 30s or early 40s when they seek treatment, a significant proportion of the 68,000 patients who have IVF every year have little time to delay. Some fear the delay will decrease their chances of conception by the time the restrictions are lifted, which no-one can say will be.

Many women are also worried about the impact on their funding. NHS clinical commissioning groups do not generally allow a second cycle of IVF after they turn 40, and will not offer any treatment at 42. Private clinics often refuse to treat women aged 45 or over.

Each year around 20,000 children in the UK are born through IVF and donor insemination treatment. The restrictions will prevent thousands of desperately wanted babies, the exact amount depending on how long the shutdown is in place.

'Time isn't on our side'

Seetal and Neil Savla were heartbroken to be told that their fourth attempt at IVF has been put on hold.

The couple, aged 38 and 39 respectively, have been trying to conceive for four years. Seetal has a low ovarian reserve, which she's been told is likely age-related. They were due to have their frozen embryos implanted a few weeks ago.

"I was on the fence about children until I accidentally fell pregnant in 2016 and had a miscarriage which made me realise how much I did want a family," said the PR worker from north London. "It's devastating to be told our IVF is on hold. We're acutely aware that time isn't on our side. For us, lockdown may mean we never have children."

Seetal was told about the process being paused three days after she had her eggs collected, which involves taking fertility drugs and then being sedated for the actual procedure.

"We have our embryos frozen but we're all too aware that there are no guarantees as we have had three failed cycles where implantation of our frozen embryos didn't take," she said. "My egg reserves will only decline.When restrictions are lifted we'll have to decide whether to go ahead with a final fresh cycle or choose to give up on having a child that's biologically mine and go with donor eggs.

"IVF is stressful enough I call it the hope and heartbreak cycle without what's going on with coronavirus. The worst part of what's happening now is not knowing when we'll be allowed to try again."

'We cannot give a date'

A statement from HFEA said: "We will do all we can to lift this restriction as soon as possible but we cannot give a date when this will happen given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic."

It said while its aim is for the UK fertility sector to "restart as soon as possible", the decision would need to consider the views of professional societies, the impact that resuming treatment would have on NHS services, and general guidance from Government designed to slow the spread of Covid-19 on safe distancing.

Fertility Network UK said calls to its counselling helpline increased by 50 per cent over the past three weeks due to the distressing and traumatising impact of the developments.

Social media envy

Social media posts about family life during lockdown could be proving painful for many people who are childless not by choice.

Amanda, who didn't want to provide her surname, had been trying to get pregnant for two years. She is about to turn 43 later this year, the cut off point for being offered one IVF cycle on the NHS. She told i: "I will likely miss my chance at having IVF and we can't afford to go private. It's propelled me into a deep depression and state of grief for the family I could have had.

"There's a lot online about parents home schooling their children or even some complain about how irritating it is to be around their kids all day, which can be painful to see.

"And there are also jokes about how there is going to be a baby boom in nine months time and that's difficult to hear when you have fertility problems."

Do you have a real life story? Email claudia.tanner@inews.co.uk

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'Lockdown may mean we never have children': Heartbreak for thousands as coronavirus halts IVF - inews