21 April 2020

IVFAustralia welcomes the lifting of the IVF suspension

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Written by

IVF Australia

IVFAustralia welcomes the decision to lift the temporary suspension of elective surgeries, including IVF.

Professor Peter Illingworth, Medical Director at IVFAustralia, is delighted with the news now that the Covid-19 situation is improving.

“For many of our patients, particularly those who are older or have lower egg reserve, this is a long-awaited decision and we congratulate this first step in bringing us out of the suspension.

“Whilst some of our patients are concerned with the pandemic, some of them don’t have the luxury of time to wait many more months as their fertility is declining. It means women and couples that need assistance in order to conceive can now restart treatment.

“Now that the community has helped flatten the virus curve and the Australian healthcare system has a good supply of personal protective equipment such as masks and critical care beds, it’s the right time to resume IVF.

“Although the coronavirus has not yet gone away, without a vaccine or medicines to treat or prevent the virus, we need to start learning to live with the virus for possibly the next 6 to 18 months,” said Professor Illingworth.

“The ban on elective surgery was also impacting patients waiting for gynaecological surgery, for painful endometriosis. Surgery which is aimed at improving their pain and fertility,” said Professor Illingworth.

At IVFAustralia safety is our priority, we have heightened our infection and cleaning practices and patients will be Covid-19 tested where appropriate, as advised by their fertility specialist.

We are practising social distancing in our clinics and we are continuing to offer fertility consultations via phone or online video conferencing.

Our additional safety measures include:

  • temperature checking for everyone, including doctors and staff entering our premises;
  • hand sanitisation before and after contact with our patients;
  • washing down all surfaces between patients with disinfectants.

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