A new working party report from the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Radiologists, and Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, including specialists in cancer and fertility, recommends that the NHS should fully fund fertility services for patients with cancer.
NICE guidelines from 2004 recommend universal access to sperm, egg and embryo storage, but a survey of oncologists to accompany the report shows that these were not always widely available and funded, and certainly not universally provided.
The report The effects of cancer treatment on reproductive functions; guidance on management recommends that a national policy on sperm, egg and embryo storage is needed and that funding bodies develop equitable funding protocols for patients. In addition, the report stresses the need for patients to be fully informed of the risks of treatment at the time of diagnosis, including written information, and psychological support and counselling should be available.
Dr Ben Mead, Chair of the working party said: "Techniques are available, or in development, to store sperm, eggs, embryos or even parts of an ovary that can then restore fertility after treatment. What is lacking is a uniform national strategy - leaving the present arrangements as analogous to postcode prescribing. It is time for action nationally to deal with this distressing problem."
Dr Michael Williams, Vice-President of the Royal College of Radiologists, said: "It is shocking that arguments over funding still limit patients' access to fertililty preserving treatments. Sperm freezing is well established, simple and effective. It should be available to all as recommended by three reports from NICE, and there should be a national strategy to fund other options for patients".
