Why I’m Calling on the NHS to Change Its IVF Funding Rules.

I am sharing our story because the current NHS IVF funding rules have failed us, and they are failing other cancer survivors too. This is incredibly personal and sensitive, but we feel compelled to use our voice. We won’t give up.

My fiancé Ben and I have at the time of composing this petition, been denied NHS-funded IVF for our first and only chance of having a baby, solely because of his current BMI. This decision has caused us immense distress, frustration, and heartbreak, not only because it feels deeply unfair, but because it directly contradicts the very reason his fertility was preserved in the first place. I hope you’ll take the time to read this, and fully understand the ongoing battle we are fighting. 

Six years ago, Ben underwent cancer surgery and intensive BEP chemotherapy due to sadly being diagnosed with testicular cancer. At that time, Macmillan funded the freezing and private storage of his sperm at Bourn Hall Fertility Clinic. His BMI was assessed then and confirmed to be below 30, and his fertility preservation was approved with the clear intention that IVF would be an available (now only) option in the future if the treatment left him infertile. Sadly, that is exactly what happened.
Ben survived cancer, but his fertility did not.

Now, after everything he and we as a couple have endured, we are being told we do not qualify for NHS-funded IVF because his BMI is above an arbitrary threshold. We are not able to go through the next steps of our referral until this is met. It feels as though Ben is being punished for surviving cancer and for rebuilding his body and strength afterwards.
What makes this even more painful is the cruel irony of the situation: had Ben not survived, I would legally be able to access his stored sperm. We signed consent papers regarding this, when Ben was first diagnosed. But because he beat cancer, because he is now a strong, healthy man, we are currently being denied our only chance to have a child that is genetically ours.

BMI is an outdated and blunt measurement, created nearly 200 years ago, not as a measure of individual health, but as a population-level statistical tool. It does not account for muscle mass, body composition, fitness and metabolic health. Many health professionals now recognise BMI as an overly simplistic and potentially misleading tool. However, in Ben’s case it is completely irrelevant. He is athletic and muscular, goes to the gym three times a week, plays football, and lives a healthy lifestyle. Bourn Hall themselves acknowledge how inaccurate it can be. We do not drink, we do not smoke, we work hard, we own our home, and we are getting married this year. We have done everything responsibly in preparation for starting a family. All other criteria has been met, including my BMI. Without going into detail, I also suffer with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), something which can also affect fertility. I am lucky to be in a position where at present, I am a strong candidate for a successful IVF story.

To be told that a single number, one that does not reflect Ben’s health in any meaningful way, invalidates our eligibility for treatment funding, is devastating.

This is our one and only chance to have a baby that is biologically ours. While I understand that guidelines exist for a reason, when those guidelines become rigid to the point of injustice, exceptions must be considered. Our case exposes a serious gap in policy that unfairly penalises cancer survivors, people who have already endured more than most can imagine. Cancer has already taken so much from us in the past, and those who survive it know the dark cloud never really goes away. It always lingers, the PTSD, the anxiety. To continue taking from us and our future, now feels cruel. 

This experience has been mentally exhausting and deeply distressing. I would choose Ben over a baby every single time. I am endlessly grateful that he survived, and I am so proud to be marrying him this September. But we also deserve the chance to become parents to a child who is part of him, part of us. 

No cancer survivor should be punished for the physical changes caused by life-saving treatment. The NHS must review and reform IVF eligibility criteria to ensure compassion, fairness, and common sense are applied, especially in cases involving fertility preservation due to cancer.

By signing this petition, you are standing up not just for us, but for every cancer survivor whose future family should not be dictated by an outdated metric. 

Thank you for listening. Thank you for helping us fight for change, please share this far and wide, we need to be heard.

Bethany & Ben