Patient Hurricane Information
As hurricane season is upon us, we at IVF Florida would like to share our plans for hurricane preparedness with you. We take the building of your future seriously and would like to make sure you are aware of the procedures in place to protect you and your future in the event of a hurricane. As you are aware, many decisions regarding what to do in the event of a hurricane during an IVF cycle will need to be made daily. As these decisions will impact your IVF cycle, we would like to make sure you are aware of these treatment changes that may occur.
We will continue to work in the office until the last possible moment so that we can ensure our staff is safe. Be aware that some of the buildings where our offices are located may be closed due to the hurricane and we may have to consolidate to other locations.
During Cycles:
Depending on the timing of the hurricane and the cycle point you are at, we will discuss with you the options of possible cancellation vs continuing with the cycle.
If you are in the process of a frozen embryo transfer (FET), we will be discussing changing progesterone start dates as well as transfer dates if necessary to be able to proceed with the transfer.
If you choose to evacuate during a stimulation cycle, PLEASE contact your nursing team and we will work with you to find another center that will be able to care for you during the cycle.
Oocytes/Embryos in the Lab:
Once the retrieval occurs, the lab will continue to work up until the last possible moment so that we can assuring that our staff will be safe before a complete lab shutdown. If we do have to shut down the lab, we will need to freeze all oocytes and embryos in the lab and put them in safe storage as we may not be able to access them for 24 to 48 hours and want to assure that they are safe. What this will mean is that your oocytes/embryos may be frozen at a different stage than what you would have discussed with your doctor. While we strive to freeze all embryos at the blastocyst stage (day 5), they may need to be frozen at whatever stage they are currently, this may be anywhere from oocyte without fertilization, to days 2, 3, or 4. In the scenario where it may be a lose all embryos or freeze at the stage they are, we will freeze them. If the plan had been for PGT and the embryos are not at the stage for biopsy, we will need to delay the biopsy until the embryos can be safely thawed and biopsied.
After the Hurricane:
Please be assured that we will be back in the offices and the lab as soon as the all-clear has sounded. We will also begin working on completing your cycle as quickly and as safely as we can and ask that you have patience with us as we work with all of our patients to make sure that everyone is being taken care of in the best possible way we can.
