A super-slimmer yearning to become a mum, who was rejected for IVF on the NHS for being was too fat, is devastated after being denied the treatment again – because her egg count plummeted.
Sarah Glasspool claims her chances of becoming a mum have been drastically reduced after she wasted two years of precious time trying to become eligible for the treatment by losing three stone.
Her and husband of Chris were trying for a baby for more than a year after they sadly had a miscarriage.
But when she enquired about IVF in January 2014, she was told she would need to wait until two years of trying without conceiving.
When she enquired again in September 2014, she was told her BMI was too high.
So Sarah, from Broadfield, West Sussex, then spent the next year losing three stone to become eligible, but was then told her egg count had fallen two low to be eligible on the NHS.
She said: “I’m quite disgusted about how the NHS has behaved. It’s not efficient. This is an extremely emotional time. The way it’s been handled is appalling.”
She claims that had she been told about the eligibility criteria all at once, she could have addressed all the potential issues at once.
Sarah said: “The most frustrating thing was that if they had told us about the criteria from the start we would have been able to prepare ourselves.
“Even if it was bad news, we could have taken it on board but we had no communication at all. I’ve just lost complete trust in the NHS.”
The couple, who have been together for 14 years, have been trying to get pregnant since 2010 but suffered a number of miscarriages.
She said: “I didn’t think my weight would have quite that impact and that’s quite upsetting.
“You’re going through quite an emotional rollercoaster on a monthly basis because you’re hoping to conceive naturally, and to have that playing on your mind that you’ve let yourself down while you’re trying to lose weight is really, really hard.”
She added that she will not give up hope and is now pursuing private IVF treatment.
Dr Paul Vinson, clinical director for Crawley CCG, said the service has a threshold before patients are seen to ensure it is fair.
He added: “I understand it can be a very stressful and emotive time.
“However, to help balance the needs of those trying to conceive with the clinical needs of the wider population within the constraint of finite funding as a CCG we need to set criteria in place for some conditions and procedures.
“Our fertility guidelines and policies can be found on our website.”
