North Derbyshire woman calls for an end to the 'postcode lottery' around IVF treatment
Kathryn Hart - who lives in Dronfield - had her son through IVF in 2024
A North Derbyshire woman believes 'everybody' should have an 'equal opportunity' to access NHS-funded IVF fertility treatment.
Kathryn Hart - who lives in Dronfield - gave birth to her son last year - following just one round of IVF on the NHS with her partner - at Jessop Hospital in Sheffield.
They were only entitled to 1 round overall though - & the 32-year-old is concerned it's still a 'postcode lottery':
"I feel really, really lucky that it worked for us and we had such a positive experience with it - as I know not everybody does.
"It was a real lifeline for us and we're so fortunate that we've got our little boy now.
"Even the hospital staff told us that it is quite rare that it happens on the first attempt.
"We always say that it worked out for us because we were able to get one round free - but it worked out for us because we were lucky, and it worked that first time.
"However, if it hadn't worked, it would've cost potentially thousands and thousands of pounds.
"We are literally right on the Derbyshire/Yorkshire border, and that means that if we'd been two minutes away from our current address, we would've had two rounds of funding potentially.
"If we'd have been maybe 20 minutes down the road, we could've maybe ended up with no rounds of free funding, so it all does feel really unfair in that sense."
New figures suggest nearly 1 child in every classroom these days is born through IVF.
Almost 21,000 babies were born from IVF in 2023, compared to 8,700 in 2000, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).