Some good news for fertility patients

After an incredibly difficult year in 2020, along with new lockdown measures which have been ushered in at the start of the new year, there is some good news for patients who are seeking fertility treatment. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates UK fertility clinics, has said that it considers it safe for clinics to continue offering fertility treatment to patients during the current lockdown. This will come as a great relief to patients whose treatment has been suspended or delayed during the course of 2020, causing much heartache and frustration.

Also, patients with frozen eggs, sperm and embryos will be happy to hear that from July 2020, the Government introduced new legislation, which extends the time limit on storage by 2 years. The previous limit (unless a medical exemption applied) was 10 years, and this new legislation increases the limit to 12 years.  This means that those who have had their treatment postponed due to the pandemic will have more time in which to use their gametes or embryos. This is good news for those whose family plans have been frustrated over the last year, and relieves some of the time pressure which they will have been under.

We understand the huge emotional, physical and financial toll that preparing for and starting fertility treatment involves, and are glad that people who have had to wait for their treatment to begin or continue can hopefully look forward to a smoother treatment journey.

Suzi Denton is an Associate Solicitor in our Fertility team. If you would like to speak to our expert Fertility Solicitors, please email us at fertility@ellisjones.co.uk or call us on 01202 525333.