HEALTH bosses in Nottinghamshire are denying a 28-year-old woman the chance to become a mum – because her partner already has a child.
The Basford woman, who does not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of her situation, has been told she cannot have IVF treatment on the NHS because her husband has a son from a previous relationship.
She has appealed against the decision several times and written to her MP. But if she wants the fertility treatment, she has to find £5,000 for each cycle – which could push her into debt – even though she has no chance of having children naturally because she has suffered two ectopic pregnancies and had her fallopian tubes removed.
National NHS guidelines suggest that all women should be entitled to up to three free cycles of IVF on the NHS but clinical commissioning groups in the East Midlands have drawn up strict criteria for potential patients due to the cost of the procedure.
The Basford woman said: "If my husband did not have a child, I would have at least one free cycle. I'm being punished for that. It's heartbreaking.
"He's not my own child and he's not going to be a child that's calling me 'mum'. As much as I take responsibility for him, he still lives with his mum 50 per cent of the time, so to him I will never be anything other than daddy's wife.
"I appreciate they have to have rules but I can't have a child naturally. It's the most devastating point of my life so far. That right to be a mother is being taken away from me unless I pay five, ten, 15 or maybe 20 thousand pounds.
"Who can afford that in this day and age? Even with my extenuating circumstances they still don't see me as a clinical exception to be helped."
The woman is considering making a last-ditch appeal to Health Minister Jeremy Hunt but said she did not have much hope of a positive outcome.
Judith Smith, of private IVF provider CARE Fertility, has seen many families in difficult positions and said the strain could be massive. She said: "The effects of no IVF or failed IVF for some couples is immeasurable.
"Many couples have depression and are being treated for this condition, exacerbated by no treatment or failed treatment. Many are having counselling support and, very sadly, some relationships do not survive this whole process and couples separate as a result."
A spokeswoman for Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys and plans health services, said the organisation had been in touch with the patient.
She said: "We adhere to a region-wide policy on funding for IVF to ensure that all cases in the East Midlands are considered fairly. NHS funding is available for couples who meet certain eligibility criteria in the policy.
"Although we sympathise with the circumstances in this case, we have a finite budget and a whole population to serve and we have to consider carefully how we fund all treatments, and allocate resources as fairly as possible."
