Male infertility ended my relationship and led to me losing my house

Matt Leary says a lack of help after finding out he was unable to conceive led to the end of his long-term relationship.

He now wants more support for men who have fertility problems.

"I was slowly going off the rails," he says. "I had to take a step back to sort my own head out because I wasn't offered any help."

Matt, 26, says he was told he was infertile after trying for a baby with his ex-partner Bethany.

The charity Fertility Network UK says men's needs are often ignored when a couple is unable to conceive a baby.

Matt, who's from York, had been trying to have a child with Bethany for more than three years but says that asking for help from doctors "didn't seem to get anywhere".

"At first, we were told that there wasn't a problem with me," he says.

"When we did pay for a private IVF consultation and were told there was a problem, it came as a massive shock."

Matt says he had a problem with the structure and movement of his sperm cells.

Having already paid £1,000 for private IVF consultations, the couple applied for NHS funding to help with fertility issues.

But Matt says they were rejected because Bethany was under 23.

"I was struggling to cope with it," he says.

"I just didn't feel happy in myself because I couldn't give my partner what I was supposed to be able to give her."

Matt says he wasn't offered any support and describes it as being "left in limbo, not knowing what to do".

"It put me into depression. No matter who I turned to, no-one seemed willing to help."

Bethany agrees, saying: "I definitely don't think we got any support from the NHS. I feel like they failed us."

Matt didn't want to use a donor sperm for IVF and both of them say the situation was what caused their relationship to end.

He moved out because of the situation and they say they decided to go their separate ways.

IVF consists of inserting a sperm cell into an egg cell

NHS guidelines recommend that counselling should be offered before, during and after IVF treatment - regardless of the outcome.

But Matt says that the NHS needs to provide more support in the form of counselling and funding for IVF treatment for people who are told they have fertility issues.

"For both men and women, there should be more support offered to help people through the tough news that they're getting," he says.

"I've always wanted children, so I am hopeful that one day it will happen."

For more advice the NHS has information online about infertility and IVF.

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