Couples losing out in NHS infertility treatment lottery

Back from Hols - Results Through!

The Mrs and I took a week off to have rest and relax. It's nice to get away, but, I'm sure you'll agree, with long-distance overseas trips, the negatives are jet-lag and picking up bugs on the plane (I have a nice cold now, boo hoo!)

Anyhow, as with any period of time away from home, there was a pile of mail to sift through on our return. Amongst the items of junk mail, mail for the previous tenants (we feel like we're a free version of the Royal Mail re-direction service, grrrrrrrrrr...), there was a letter from the consultant (as well as invoices from the BUPA hospital and the blood test centre - which I've forwarded to my medical insurer to sort out!)

The letter was fairly brief, a short statement reading:

"Dear [Me]

I now have the results of all the tests that I arranged for you and your wife.

I am pleased to say that your genetic makeup is normal and you do not carry the mutations for the commonly occurring causes of cystic fibrosis.

With kind regards.

[etc.]"

Interestingly, I had no idea that this is what he was testing for. It's reassuring to know that my genetic makeup is normal, but I don't know what this means in terms of the avenues that are open to us regarding fertility treatment.

I have e-mailed the consultant to ask for a follow-up appointment. Frustratingly, there was no mention of this in the letter, so it begs the question how these guys operate - I would have thought he'd be glad for the extra cash (£130 for a 20-30min consultation sounds like a good gig to me!) Don't worry, I'll be calling his office soon.

Random muttering: We've swung from thinking that kids are the be-all and end-all, to wanting a dog, to wanting kids, to thinking they're a pain in the butt. The worry is that if we do eventually have children, that we'd spoil them too much (and I've met kids born to infertile couples who fit this description), but that's neither here nor there right now.

Nonobstructive azoospermia - genetic defect?

In this article in the Urology Times, it suggests that "Idiopathic, primary nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) is linked to a genetic defect known as a dysfunctional DNA mismatch repair pathway that also places these men at increased risk for cancer and other medical illnesses." Great!

Of course, this finding is the result of one person's research, and as with any scientific study it's likely that a significant amount of additional research will be required to support this thesis.

I'm pretty sure that my consultant wanted to check my chromosome count - he certainly didn't mention anything about 'dysfunctional DNA mismatch repair pathway'.

Not time to freak out yet (I don't actually know which form of azoospermia I have), but it's an interesting (and scary!) bit of research.