Just emailing the PM/HFEA/BFS to lift the suspension of fertility treatments. Female age is the single most important factor when it comes to fertility. We won't get that time back. It is a medical necessity. My clinic (private) has suspended all treatments until further notice. This means come July perhaps clinics will be inundated with requests for treatment. Who knows when our next attempt will be? Perhaps not even this year! I'll be 40 this year and a lot of clinics won't even touch you then.
Anyone with me? Please do the same. Let our voices be heard.
It's a flipping joke. I'm a civil servant and have to work in a busy, dirty old office and that's ok as I'm a key worker. However I can't have treatment in a sterile clinic with another key worker
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I think this is very much a personal opinion but I think in the scheme of things a few months ban on IVF whilst acutely painful for all of us involved is the least we can do to help the country save peoples lives. Believe me I understand your concern (and remember you aren't out yet you might still get your BFP). I am 43. I have had a torrid couple of years and was about to embark on my 5th cycle when it got cancelled. My biological clock is ticking very loudly, and I have had to have 4 lots of due dates when I should have had my baby but didn't. Add to that I am sat working from home listening to next doors happy family with their 2 week old baby every day. So I feel the pain and urgency. But I could never live with myself if I took a bed for IVF and someone died of Covid 19 because of it. So I think we just need to suck it up, cry, rant whatever we need to do to get the frustration out of our system.. but then remember hopefully we have our health and thats what's most important.
I think with hundreds and potentially thousands of people dying from this horrible illness I think Boris has enough on his plate.
I agree with you regarding not diverting resources / staff from addressing COVID. From that perspective, while I am anxious about delaying treatment and fear of the unknown timings, I know it is the right thing. And so I will need to find my own coping mechanisms and keep my husband and myself safe and healthy so we’re able to get treatment when things open back up.
My issue is with the HFEA. They haven’t explained why they’ve put this extra blanket ban in place, when they will re-review, and what it will take for their General Direction to be lifted. That is the transparency I am personally looking for.
I understand it will depend divide opinions and not everyone will agree with me but It's a flipping joke. I'm a civil servant and have to work in a VERY busy, dirty old office but that's ok as I'm a key worker. However I can't have treatment in a sterile clinic with another key worker.
Hfea website says...
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has advised that as of 17th March suspension of all-new, non-urgent fertility treatments in the midst of a public health emergency. They aim to review their recommendations no later than 30 March 2020 with the aim of resuming usual patient care as soon as possible.
The Fertility Society of Australia suggests there is no evidence to recommend contraception or cessation of attempts to conceive, either unassisted or assisted. The FSA has in place guidance for those with symptoms or at risk which is similar to the ASRM.
The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has stated that there is no strong evidence of any negative effect of COVD-19 on pregnancy, especially at the early stages. They have taken a precautionary approach and have advised all fertility patients to avoid becoming pregnant at this time and suggested consideration of deferred pregnancy with oocyte of embryos cryopreservation.
As hard as it is and unfair as it feels, I think it's the right decision. It's not just about the risk to women having treatment, it's about the staff and medical resources that are now needed to save and protect the lives of sick people. Surely that has to be the priority at the moment x
I'm really sorry I don't agree. I work in a very busy, ancient. dirty office as a civil servant working in close proximity to others daily but that's ok according to the government. They're actively placing me at greater risk yet that's ok. Yet I can't have treatment in a sterile environment. The clinicians in my private ivf clinic won't go and suddenly work for the NHS. They'll still be doing their usual consultations by telephone, wrapping up those currently mid treatment. Just no new cycles. That's what they've told me. They're doing the bare minimum there. X
I know it’s awful and I really do feel for anyone having treatment delayed but I have to agree with the others. It’s less about whether it’s safe to get pregnant at this time and more about those medical staff and resources being desperately needed elsewhere. It’s not just fertility patients suffering, cancer patient are having their surgeries postponed as I’m sure are many others.
For everyone that’s affected in anyway, I really hope this blows over as quickly as possible xx
Unfortunately I agree that it’s in the wider interest to suspend treatment. Whilst it may seem illogical to have key workers still working in close proximity it doesn’t remedy the situation to also put other workers at risk which is what happens when social distancing isn’t observed. The fact that you acknowledge working in a dirty office with other employees is even more reason to distance yourself from others in a more sterile environment. Also, no one knows conclusively what the impact on pregnant women might be and the possibility remains that they could contract it or pass it on in a clinic. We need to take every precaution and be safe whilst using resources sensibly. It doesn’t make sense to be willing to risk lives in order to want to create a life that, however much wanted, doesn’t yet exist. Hopefully things resume soon and when safe to do so.
Hi Jessy. I don't want to get in to a debate with anyone on here, but I want to say I hear your anger and your frustration. This is a terrible virus and the direct and indirect consequences are horrendous. This is really sh*t and I really feel for all the people that have had their cycles cancelled.
I agree that pregnancy risks shouldn't be a reason to close clinics, but having listened to the British Fertility Society's reasoning, they don't mention that and it seems to do with social distancing to protect staff and patients, and to help relieve the strain on the NHS. I fully believe in the social distancing measures that have been brought in (in the country), and I think the fertility industry is being quite proactive in protecting their staff and are actually being quite responsible in this way. If it wasn't such an intimate service/business and there was some way we could continue with IVF without seeing the nurses so often, I would say we should 100% continue it, but unfortunately that's not the case. I know this is frustrating and awful and super disappointing that cycles are being cancelled. It's unfair, but nothing about this virus is fair.
With regards to your work though...... what office work can't be done from home?!?! Tell your boss that you should all be working from home!!!!
Lots of love. Still holding out hope for a bfp for you. xxx
Government workers don't have that ability to work from home due to the sheer number of staff. The number of computers they'd have to provide firstly and secondly because of the level of security and data held on national and onsite servers. It's a major security thing. It's something they cannot facilitate because of the type of work we do. Only those high up the chain in meetings and conference calls would be able to work from home. Admin officers and executive officers within the dept sadly don't have that option. I suspect the same applies to NHS Admin staff and local authority Admin staff. X
Mmmmm not sure I'd buy your employers telling you that when all sorts of roles can work from home (I work in a company of absolutely 1000s of people and working from home hasn't been a problem). Laptops just aren't that expensive! Especially to a large organisation. Bank employees can work from home.... so secure data also isn't a problem... I don't know, I think your bosses are making the wrong decision here. However, if they've told you that you have to come to work then I'm not sure what you can do about that! That sucks, love. I would challenge them on this, though. x
That's gov workers though. The dept won't pay for anything as it comes directly from tax payers money. You can barely get stationary let alone a laptop. Plus they're hot on people desk sharing or hot desking as they call it. I'm not even joking.
Going slightly off piste I saw an interview yesterday with an NHS nurse who was asked to share a mask with her colleague during this pandemic. It's the same when people on the front line in the army haven't had enough equipment and even shared bullet vests. Government pays for jack.
Yeah noone has a desk at my place. Everyone is hot desking. They've just announced they're going to make redundancies, though, (because of coronavirus) so working from home is the least of my worries! I can imagine government being tight when you put it like that. Ugh. x
Redundancies are awful. I thought the government had put something out there financially for employers to incentivise them to retain staff instead of making redundancies.
I guess that's why people like me have to go to work to handle claims to benefits. 😔
The government has put it in but employers don't have to take it. It's no safety net if employers decide not to take it and take this as an opportunity to get rid of people anyway! Think it's so immoral.
Didn't think of it that way. I suspect we'll go into recession after all this. Stock markets have fallen globally and that's usually the first indication of how hard its going to hit us. Sad times all round. X
I completely understand your frustration. I am 30 but I also have a sense of urgency as I we have been trying 5 years to conceive.
Couples who are able to conceive naturally are not being told or advised to avoid getting pregnant during this period. Whilst I understand social distancing it should be a choice of whether you want to continue treatment or not. People are still walking around in supermarkets, banks and hospitals.
My clinic said this could go on till July which means people on the waiting list will definitely not be seen this year, bearing in mind the clinic does not start new cycles between October and January.
I really hope it’s considered and cycles can continue with new measures to protect the staff and patients, maybe even a reduced service at least the list is still moving. Boris said Covid-19 will be around for 18 months and honestly I can’t even imagine waiting that long.
Let’s give it a few weeks. I’m sure they will figure it out. I read non-elective procedures are still allowed so maybe the same controls used can be rolled out to everyone to keep us all safe and to get people in.
I just feel sad because my fertility isn’t in my hands and all we keep hearing about is the baby boom coming due to everyone being in isolation.
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