Perspective: COVID-19 and its effect on patients undergoing infertility treatment

Abstract

The sudden pause in infertility following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic felt like another loss for those who were trying to conceive. Infertility can also be classified as a disease and as such, not all infertility care procedures should be considered elective. There is complexity in defining essential versus nonessential treatment. Therefore, for all of those who were about to start IVF (in vitro fertilization) cycle after years of trying to conceive, frozen embryo transfer (FET) could be a possible solution. FET has the potential of separating fertilization from pregnancy. It means that the IVF cycle without “embryo transfer” (ET) can be carried out and the resultant embryo can be frozen. These frozen embryos could be transferred to the patient after COVID-19 pandemic subsides. This way, the patient can avoid the adverse effects of the virus on the pregnancy. A sudden pause in the fertility cycle may lead to a feeling of hopelessness among patients, with certain thoughts that “they will never be able to conceive or that their life will never be happy.” Indeed, short delays may not compromise fertility. Patients as well as their doctors should be prepared for a stress-free post-pandemic period for pregnancy. Thus, assisted reproductive technology (ART) may ensure that the virus spoils do not spoil their life expectations.