Overview
- The couple from Sutton-on-Hull went public on Saturday, July 4 and set up a GoFundMe after more than three NHS refusals for funded IVF.
- Courtney Reen’s BMI is reported at 16, calculated from a weight of 42.4 kg and height of 163 cm, and Hull’s commissioning policy requires a female BMI between 19 and 30 before referral.
- Her consultant and three GPs have written in support and dietitians told her she eats appropriately and may be constitutionally slim, but attempts to raise her weight did not meet the board’s threshold.
- NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board says low BMI can reduce treatment safety and success and that local rules follow NICE clinical guidance.
- The couple estimate private IVF could cost about £12,000 for a first attempt and say repeated refusals have left them distressed after seven years trying to conceive, highlighting how fixed BMI cutoffs can limit access.