A WOMAN aged 24 who suffered an early menopause meaning she cannot conceive naturally has spoken of the heartbreak at being too young to meet Oxfordshire’s strict IVF guidelines.

Claire Cousins and her husband Gary, also 24, of Hawksworth Close, Grove, said they had nowhere to turn after being told they cannot receive fertility treatment on the NHS in Oxfordshire in what appears to be another postcode lottery of healthcare.

The couple, who married last year, have been told the only options are to stump up £5,500 for a course of treatment or to adopt.

Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust only funds IVF treatment for women aged 35 to 38, although guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) in 2004 state women aged 23 to 39 should be eligible.

Mrs Cousins said: “I feel so angry a group of strangers can sit round a table and decide whether to let me have a child or not.

“I am a woman, my body was made to have children and just because I need a little help I’m having the chance to carry a child taken away from me.”

Mrs Cousins was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure at the beginning of the year after trying for a baby for two years. She has been told IVF treatment is her only hope of conceiving.

After the pair considered their options and ruled out adoption, Mrs Cousin’s sister agreed to donate her eggs and they went to a specialist at the John Radcliffe Hospital, who said the treatment could not be offered on the NHS and would cost £5,500 privately, which the couple said they could not afford.

They appealed the decision twice — with the backing of their specialist GP at the Church Street Practice in Grove — but were unsuccessful both times.

Mrs Cousins said: “Adoption is our Plan B, but we will not be going for this until I know I have tried everything – the thought of not ever carrying a baby just breaks my heart.”

The couple have now written to hospitals locally and nationally in a desperate attempt to find someone who will help.

Ed Vaizey, the Tory MP for Wantage, who this month tabled an early day motion in Parliament challenging the PCT’s guidelines, said: “We met the PCT about two weeks ago and they are going to reduce the age limit for treatment, probably down to about 30, but that’s not enough.

“They are making huge assumptions about the cost of providing this treatment without enough data on the demand for it. We think they are exaggerating the costs.”

Asked if he would fund the Cousins’ treatment himself, he added: “I would certainly consider making a donation to any fundraising campaign the Cousins would want to get under way.”

A PCT spokesman said: “We respect our public’s right to tell us about the impact of our policies and we understand and recognise the distress infertility can cause to some couples.

“Oxfordshire PCT strives to ensure that NHS funding is used to bring about the greatest health benefit from the financial resources available.

“Demands on funds for the healthcare of our residents are such we have to prioritise spend on treatments — this often involves making difficult choices. The proposed new policy, with regards to the age at which a woman can be offered IVF, is to be 30-34 years, reducing it from the current policy of 35-38 years.”

tairs@oxfordmail.co.uk