Fund NHS scheme for women with Endometriosis to freeze their eggs

Women with endometriosis should have the option to freeze their eggs on the NHS, due to the high percentage of infertility (30-50%). Women undergoing chemotherapy have around a 40% chance of being infertile, yet they can get their eggs frozen on the NHS and women with endometriosis cannot.

Endometriosis is a debilitating disease where the lining of the uterus (endometrium) grows in ectopic sites, such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the pelvis. It occurs in 1 in 10 women but takes approximately 7 years to get diagnosed.

Around 30-50% of women with endometriosis are infertile and as there is no cure for endometriosis, there are very limited options to conceive naturally. One way of managing symptoms is surgery, which actually increases the chances of infertility.

The Government is very sympathetic to women who are struggling to conceive due to suspected or confirmed endometriosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a range of information and guidance on diagnosing and managing endometriosis, including on fertility problems (NG73) - https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73/chapter/Recommendations. The guidance states that the management of endometriosis-related fertility problems should have multidisciplinary team involvement with input from a fertility specialist. This includes the recommended diagnostic fertility tests or preoperative tests, as well as other recommended fertility treatments such as assisted reproduction that are included in the NICE guidelines on fertility problems (CG156) - https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG156

The level of provision of local health services available to patients, including fertility treatment, is a matter for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), who have a statutory responsibility to commission healthcare services that meet the needs of their whole population. In respect of NHS fertility services for women with endometriosis, the Government expects CCGs and clinicians to take full account of relevant NICE guidelines. Where NICE guidance does not make a specific recommendations on a particular topic, such as egg-freezing for women undergoing treatment for endometriosis, it does not mean that it cannot be funded by the NHS, and local commissioners should make individual decisions based on an assessment of the evidence.