Fertility preservation services and COVID-19: the urgent need for phase two

By the time of writing, epidemic in Italy, one of the countries at the epicentre of the European COVID-19 outbreak, has entered phase 2 with high levels of caution. The overall system has been burdened with the paralysis of standard practices dedicated to the delivery of health services. This interruption has included the provision of assisted reproductive treatments to infertile couples, apart from fertility preservation services to oncologic patients. On behalf of a tissue establishment inside a public hospital, we experienced a reduction of 65% of demands for fertility preservation. The unexpected and unavoidable shifts of health networks required to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic have indirectly created a new barrier obstructing the access to fertility preservation services. It is known that gaps in the organization of oncofertility cares and the lack of patients’ awareness regarding fertility preservation strategies are the most common barriers to services. The delicate working conditions due to COVID-19 have amplified those barriers, complicating the chance of counselling cancer patients of fertile age about fertility preservation options. The restart should include strategies to reduce the risk of a missed reproductive counselling, limiting the chance for the virus to become a further barrier. *Correspondence to: Jessica Daolio, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy, E-mail: jessica.daolio@ausl.re.it