Scottish Government to Review Fertility Services After £8,000 Cancer Survivor Campaign
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 18
Scottish Government to Review Fertility Services After £8,000 Cancer Survivor Campaign
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 18
Summary
Public Health Minister Maree Todd said the Scottish government will soon outline a review of fertility services after Erin Lavery campaigned over post-cancer egg preservation costs.
£8,000 is what Lavery says she now must pay for two egg-preservation cycles after tests a year after treatment showed her fertility had been heavily affected.
Stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed in August 2024, but Lavery says a long diagnostic delay left no time for NHS-funded egg freezing before chemotherapy and radiotherapy began.
Up to three weeks can be needed for egg freezing and storage, and current guidance leaves special consideration to health boards on a case-by-case basis when treatment timing is tight.
Thousands of responses to Lavery's TikTok posts helped turn her case into a wider campaign over whether cancer survivors can access fertility preservation after treatment.