A fashion designer has been left distraught after she was turned down for IVF funding because her partner already has a son from a previous relationship.
Susi Henson, 33, is unable to conceive naturally as she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes cysts to form on her ovaries. She and her partner Jay Nightingale visited their GP and were referred for treatment.
But after a six-month wait, the couple were told by health bosses their funding request had been turned down because Mr Nightingale, 40, has a 20-year-old son whom Ms Henson has never met. This means they will have to find £7,500 to pay for the treatment privately.
Health guidance organisation the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends all couples with fertility problems aged between 23 and 39 should be allowed three courses of IVF paid for by the NHS. However, NHS Nottinghamshire County stipulates that couples who have a child from a previous relationship are not eligible.
Miss Henson, from Nottingham, said today: 'How can we not be classed as a childless couple? Jay's son lives in Wales, and I've never met him. 'It is a totally unfair system. If I lived in another part of the country I would be able to get funding.
'But the health authorities here won't allow for it. I believe it is totally wrong. It's discriminatory, a complete postcode lottery.' Miss Henson, who owns a corset-making firm, is now calling for the treatment to be made available for all infertile couples. She said: 'I'm sure I'm not the only one out there having these issues. I'm doing this not just for ourselves but for everyone else out there, men and women.
'The condition I have is a disease so treatment should be covered. 'My partner and I are both self-employed and are having to save a lot of cash to be able to think about paying for treatment. 'There must be many out there who cannot afford it. It isn't right.'
Miss Henson has been told that, before any IVF treatment, she will need a year-long course of the drug colmid. Treatment including IVF and the drug would cost £7,500.
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Showing posts with label ivf price. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ivf price. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
IVF clinics in London are overcharging according to Lord Winston
IVF clinics in London are "cashing in" by overcharging patients who want to store frozen embryos, according to a top fertility doctor.
Clinics are advised to use one embryo at a time to reduce the health risks connected to multiple births, but couples desperate to conceive often choose to freeze embryos for future use. Lord Robert Winston, the fertility treatment pioneer, said that some clinics were taking advantage of these "one at a time" regulations. He revealed that one clinic charged £915 for embryo freezing plus £325 for storage in liquid nitrogen which "costs a few pence a litre".
Speaking in a debate in Parliament on the future of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Professor Winston said:
"Embryo freezing will be increasingly required if we are to limit the number of pregnancies that result in multiple births by transferring just one embryo each time." The Labour peer added: "One of the key issues which the HFEA has not dealt with is the high cost of IVF treatment. In my view, it is a scandal.
"There are clinics that treat patients for around £3,400 a cycle. It is only when you look at their websites that you see that they are charging up to £1,100 to £3,200 for drugs that should be obtained on contracts at around £500 to £700 per cycle." Lord Winston said IVF was a "highly privileged treatment" because "hard-pressed" NHS trusts cannot afford to offer the three free cycles of IVF recommended.
Many clinics only offer single embryo transfers since the new HFEA issued advice on limiting multiple births three years ago. Figures published last week reveal multiple pregnancies fell to 22 per cent last year from 26.7 per cent in 2008. Lord Winston also said that some clinics are offering treatments which are not backed by scientific evidence. These include immune therapy which costs up to £3,000 and is based on the belief that a woman's immune system may reject a pregnancy and lead to miscarriage
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Clinics are advised to use one embryo at a time to reduce the health risks connected to multiple births, but couples desperate to conceive often choose to freeze embryos for future use. Lord Robert Winston, the fertility treatment pioneer, said that some clinics were taking advantage of these "one at a time" regulations. He revealed that one clinic charged £915 for embryo freezing plus £325 for storage in liquid nitrogen which "costs a few pence a litre".
Speaking in a debate in Parliament on the future of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Professor Winston said:
"Embryo freezing will be increasingly required if we are to limit the number of pregnancies that result in multiple births by transferring just one embryo each time." The Labour peer added: "One of the key issues which the HFEA has not dealt with is the high cost of IVF treatment. In my view, it is a scandal.
"There are clinics that treat patients for around £3,400 a cycle. It is only when you look at their websites that you see that they are charging up to £1,100 to £3,200 for drugs that should be obtained on contracts at around £500 to £700 per cycle." Lord Winston said IVF was a "highly privileged treatment" because "hard-pressed" NHS trusts cannot afford to offer the three free cycles of IVF recommended.
Many clinics only offer single embryo transfers since the new HFEA issued advice on limiting multiple births three years ago. Figures published last week reveal multiple pregnancies fell to 22 per cent last year from 26.7 per cent in 2008. Lord Winston also said that some clinics are offering treatments which are not backed by scientific evidence. These include immune therapy which costs up to £3,000 and is based on the belief that a woman's immune system may reject a pregnancy and lead to miscarriage
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