Crohn's patient Lizzy Rose accepts clinic's egg-freezing offer
A woman with Crohn's disease has accepted an offer of free private treatment to freeze her eggs after NHS funding was refused, her lawyers said.
Elizabeth Rose, of Kent, was told by the High Court on Tuesday Thanet Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was not acting unlawfully in its refusal.
Now a London clinic has offered treatment with the CCG paying expenses.
The CCG has not commented but has said it would consider the court's full written judgment when it is released.
Twenty-five-year-old fine art graduate Miss Rose, from Margate, has had a severe form of Crohn's disease since she was 14.
Doctors at King's College Hospital in south east London are recommending a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy to bring the disease into remission, but it is likely the treatment will leave her infertile.
Thanet CCG refused to pay to freeze her eggs but Miss Rose believed she was the victim of a "postcode lottery", since the treatment is available to single women in some other parts of the country.
But, Mr Justice Jay ruled the CCG's refusal of funding in March and on previous occasions was not unlawful.
However, he also said the CCG "failed properly to address" recommendations made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and its current funding policy was unlawful.
Miss Rose's lawyers Leigh Day said she would be undergoing the fertility procedure at the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre (ARGC) in London.
'I am lucky'
Solicitor Merry Varney said "The CCG are currently considering their legal position.
"Having accepted that this takes time, which Lizzy simply does not have, they have agreed to financially support Lizzy to access fertility preservation treatment privately."
Miss Rose said the offer by ARGC clinic gave her the best opportunity to continue her treatment.
"I am aware that I am lucky and I hope that Thanet CCG do revisit their policy to ensure that no other single women in my position has to go through this process to ensure that they can have children in the future," she said.
Thanet CCG said it could not comment on individual cases.
On Tuesday, it said: "We will consider the full written judgement carefully and will work closely.
"If necessary we will review our policy on the freezing of eggs."