Burst pipe at Boston fertility clinic disrupts critical timing for several IVF patients
BOSTON - A Christmas Eve water main break is disrupting care to approximately 200 fertility patients at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The embryos and eggs are safe, the hospital said in a statement, but much of the in vitro fertilization clinic is damaged from the flooding. More than a year of meticulous planning wasted for one IVF patient from New Hampshire who wants to stay anonymous.
"Everything has to do with timing and nothing is in your control. It all has to do with your body, how it reacts, how it ovulates," the patient said. "Sixteen months of precise planning and relying on your body for the next timeline and so now that's all upside down."
She's not alone. Alexis Goulette heads a private Facebook group dedicated to helping women in the thick of their IVF treatments and says more than 200 members spoke out.
Brigham and Women's Hospital said repairs should take about a month, in a statement that read in part, "For our IVF patients, our clinical teams have reached out to all impacted patients, offering them the opportunity to move forward with egg retrievals and fresh embryo transfers with their same clinical teams at an alternative site."
At least one patient has missed the window for her embryo transfer and it's unclear what the next steps will be.
"All the injections, procedures, ultrasounds and it all comes down to this one day and that's what is going to hopefully give you the baby that you've dreamed of and to have that taken away from you within hours is heartbreaking," she explained.
And if time wasn't the only problem, the temporary closure may have some women paying out of pocket for their procedures.
"They already paid into this. They have deductibles starting up again for the beginning of the year. Some pay out of pocket," Goulette said.
This is the heartbreaking scenario hundreds of women are facing. Months of built-up hope and excitement dashed by a single phone call.
"They said in their statement to reach out and they would help with emotional support. None of that has been offered. I've called countless times, left voicemails," the New Hampshire patient said.
The non-profit Resolve New England, created to help people struggling with fertility, is hosting an online support group on January 22nd for those impacted by the temporary closure. For more information, click here.
