Coronavirus: Hopes raised as IVF clinics get set to re-open

A woman whose fertility treatment was suspended due to coronavirus has said she now has some hope after NHS clinics announced plans to re-open.

Amanda Faulkiner-Farrow, 38, from Gwynedd, had said it was "soul destroying" to find out her scheduled treatment would not go ahead in June.

Non-urgent outpatient appointments and surgical procedures were suspended by the Welsh Government in March.

A fertility charity has warned patients could still be "stuck in limbo".

This is because they cannot undergo the tests needed to be referred to a fertility clinic, Fertility Network UK said.

And one provider set to open on Monday warned it would not be at full capacity due to social-distancing requirements.

Earlier this month, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates UK fertility clinics, said clinics across the UK could apply to re-open from 11 May if they could show they could provide safe and effective treatment.

Two of Wales' three NHS fertility treatment providers - the Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre and the Hewitt Fertility Centre in Liverpool - said their applications to re-open had been approved by the HFEA, and services would resume on Monday.

Mrs Faulkiner-Farrow said it had been a difficult time for her and husband James.

The couple had their first round of fertility treatment in January 2019. It was successful and she became pregnant with twins, but lost them early in the pregnancy.

"I was thinking that these treatments wouldn't start again until 2021," she said.

"And next year I would have been 39, and that sits with you heavy.

"The difference between being able to conceive in the next couple of months compared to next year… that could be the difference.

"They don't realise how much hope that's given us."

The Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre said it hoped treatments would start again on 15 June.

The Hewitt Fertility Centre said capacity would be limited to allow social distancing.

The third provider for Welsh NHS patients, the Wales Fertility Institute, said it hoped to relaunch fertility services "as quickly as possible".

Ms Faulkiner-Farrow, who has a 13-year-old son, Tristan, from a previous marriage, said she had not heard from her clinic yet, but would be getting in touch.

The re-opening of a number of clinics is "reassuring", according to Alice Matthews, Wales co-ordinator for Fertility Network UK, but she urged caution.

"A large number are still unable to undergo the investigatory tests needed before even being referred to a tertiary fertility clinic," she said.

"Until these vital outpatient appointments can resume, there will still be a large number of people who are stuck in limbo, feeling isolated, anxious and ill-informed about their condition."

The Welsh Government said it appreciated the anxiety the situation had caused, adding that all fertility services had been asked to submit plans on how they would re-open safely.

The London Women's Clinic Wales, a private provider, said its application to re-open had been approved.

Another, the Centre for Reproduction and Gynaecology Wales, said it had applied to re-open and was hoping to resume treatment from July.