Coronavirus: 'IVF is on hold and we don't know where we stand'

Sarah Patterson and her husband were told IVF could help them conceive before treatments were postponed

As the health service focuses on the Covid 19 pandemic, many medical procedures have been put on hold - including fertility treatment.

IVF has been postponed in Northern Ireland, as is the case in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Sarah Patterson and her husband were told that IVF could help them conceive at the end of last year.

They are now awaiting a date for it to start, but the postponement means it's delayed indefinitely.

"We were given the rough timeline of a year, then lockdown happened," she said

"All we know is that fertility treatment is on hold for the foreseeable future, we don't know where we stand within that.

"Given our journey up to this point, we've had to make peace with lots of different things.

"Lockdown means there's a whole new potential situation you have to make peace with and not knowing the outcome, or how that's going to change, has made making peace with that very difficult."

Deborah Cross from the fertility support group, Fairness In Fertility, said the postponement will affect people at all stages of IVF treatment.

Deborah Cross said the postponement will affect people at all stages of IVF treatment

"This could very well be the first cycle of treatment for someone but, equally, it could be the second, or third, or fourth," she said.

"Someone could also be seeking private treatment which has also paused, so if there's someone of a certain age and fertility treatment is their only means of pursuing parenthood, then the postponement, and the continued postponement, certainly will, in some ways, erode their chances of becoming parents."

NHS IVF treatment takes place in Belfast.

The Belfast Health Trust said: "In February, we initially paused all patient treatment where it was safe to do so and as government guidelines changed we have since paused treatment for 248 patients, including 154 who had yet to begin taking pre-treatment medication.

"We appreciate this is a difficult time for patients on this treatment pathway and we continue to work with them to ensure treatment can commence as soon as possible."

Earlier this week, it was announced that anyone who has frozen their eggs, sperm and embryos will be able to extend their storage for an additional two years under new government plans.

Currently, the storage period is limited to a maximum of 10 years, but that will now be extended to 12 years.

Sarah Patterson says she has been left in limbo.

"I am so very aware that everyone in the world is dealing with their own issues in the midst of coronavirus," she said.

"It feels unfair for me to complain, but I feel like the decision has been made for us which makes it a lot harder to get our heads around.

"It also makes it harder to live in that half hope of, 'maybe someday'.

"I can't stop thinking about people who did have appointments that were just cancelled overnight, who had that picture in their head that's just gone.

"It's really hard, the uncertainty of it all."