It’s a time for great cheer and positivity if you are planning IVF treatment cycles. The wave of Covid-19 infections across UK is now past its peak and the HFEA announced that IVF clinics across the UK can now resume treatments. Fertility clinics have in turn, also announced their own strategies of coping with the pandemic. They have taken steps to ensure social distancing, avoiding overcrowding in waiting areas, adequate sanitation and use of protective equipment for frontline workers.
But resuming your treatment requires that you go for in-person consultation and clinical procedures. This may entail coming in contact with potential carriers and infected people. Though research has not proven that pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant are at a higher risk of getting infected, a possible infection can set your treatment further behind. You may end up losing precious time, delaying your hopes of becoming a parent. Not to mention the consequent and unimaginable heartbreak and toll on your mental health. Also, incidence of high fever is known to affect sperm quality temporarily, which can impact your treatment.
Getting yourself tested in case you have symptoms associated with Coronavirus such as high fever, fatigue, a persistent cough, shortness of breath or loss of sense of smell/taste or have experienced them in the past should be your top most priority to ensure continuity of treatment. Therefore, it Is recommended that both you and your partner get yourselves tested using our at-home test kits appropriate for you:
A PHE approved PCR Swab Home Testing Kit for Current Symptoms conducted by TDL
A PCR Swab test tells you if you are currently infected. Infection with SARS-CoV-2, an RNA virus, is diagnosed using reverse-transcriptase PCR. The assays used at TDL show a minimum sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 100%, with no cross-reactivity with other viruses.
Or
A PHE approved Rapid Covid-19 Antibody Home Test by Abbot Laboratories, conducted by TDL
Antibody testing can tell whether a person has been previously infected. It assesses whether your immune system has produced antibodies in response to Covid-19. It is carried out in our lab and has a 99% detection rate for antibodies.
TESTS can now be purchased on Pride Angel please see here
https://www.prideangel.com/Shop/STI-Tests.aspx
We recommend that you opt for an antibody test before each IVF cycle to know if you have been infected recently. This will ensure your personal safety and of those around you.
Laboratory results provided by The Doctors Laboratory (https://tdlpathology.com/).
Regulated by the Care Quality Commission. Certificate number: 1-2166893538
References:
https://www.eshre.eu/Press-Room/ESHRE-News#COVID19_April2
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/covid-19-and-fertility-treatment/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-patients/
https://www.givelegacy.com/resources/will-covid-19-affect-male-fertility/
https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_148559