People going through fertility treatment will be able to freeze embryos, eggs and sperm for an extra two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministers do not want patients to be

People going through fertility treatment will be able to freeze embryos, eggs and sperm for an extra two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministers do not want patients to be 'unfairly caught out' after procedures were paused earlier this month due to Covid-19.

Current storage limits are 10 years, at which point people must decide if they want to undergo fertility treatment, or have their frozen eggs, sperm and embryos destroyed.

These time limits will be extended for to give time for treatments to resume, the Department of Health said.

It comes just weeks after IVF treatment centres closed down, with British couples telling MailOnline about their journey to becoming parents being postponed.

Health minister Lord Bethell said: 'Many people rely on fertility treatment as their only hope to start a family and the current pandemic means some will have to put their hopes on hold.

During in vitro fertilisation (IVF), an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. IVF helps people with fertility problems have a baby. Private clinics typically refuse to treat women aged 45 and over, while NHS clinical commissioning groups do not generally allow women a second round of IVF after they turn 40

'We are taking steps to ensure during these extraordinary times those that have embryos, sperm or eggs stored as part of their treatment are not unfairly caught out by the existing storage limits and have the best possible opportunity to start their family in the future.'

It comes just weeks after IVF treatment centres close down this week due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) ruled that NHS and private clinics will stop treating women undergoing IVF treatment from Wednesday, April 15. 

Patients who are in the middle of an IVF cycle will have their treatment suspended indefinitely, according to HFEA, the government body that regulates IVF clinics in the UK.

All new treatments have already been banned for safety reasons relating to coronavirus. 

There are now fears that women who were due to undergo IVF will be too old to do so by the time lockdown lifts, which is yet to be determined. 

Natalie Williams, 40, a midwife from Formby, is desperate to have a child with husband Shaun, 39

MailOnline previously spoke to one woman set to undergo IVF, who said that time is 'not on our side' and waiting just a few months will 'reduce our chances massively'.

Days before Natalie Williams, 40, a midwife from Formby, Merseyside, was due to start taking her hormonal medication to prepare her body for IVF, she received the news that her treatment had been cancelled.

Mrs Williams and her husband Shaun, 39, had already taken out a loan to pay for IVF treatment which they are still paying back in instalments. 

'We totally understand why they are doing it, but I believe couples should have been given the choice and a disclaimer given to sign with the risks on,' she said.

Femail also previously spoke to couple's whose treatment had come to a halt.

Freelance writer Seetal Savla, 38, and her husband Neil, 39, from Woodside Park, North London, were going through their fourth cycle of IVF when they received the 'crushing' news that their clinic was postponing their embryo transfer. 

Freelance writer Seetal Savla, 38, and her husband Neil, 39, from Woodside Park, North London, started IVF five years after seeking fertility advice

The couple suffered a devastating early miscarriage from a surprise natural pregnancy in 2016, and started IVF five years later after seeking fertility advice.  

Speaking about the postponement of her IVF treatment, Seetal told FEMAIL: 'Not knowing when we can resume treatment is extremely frustrating because the situation is completely out of our control. 

'Given our ages, time is not on our side and thinking about this sobering reality is a source of considerable stress and concern. 

'We understand why treatments must be paused, but it is devastating to have to wait longer to complete a cycle and find out where we stand: we are basically in lockdown limbo.' 

Seetal admitted her miscarriage made her realise how much she wanted to have children. 

'Until then, the relentless pressure to build a family had dampened my desire to do so,' she explained.

'After coming to terms with the miscarriage, we sought fertility advice from our GP and started IVF a year later, first via the NHS and then private clinics. We have had three failed cycles to date.'  

The blogger said she hopes her eggs will survive the thawing process in a few months' time - otherwise the couple will have to reassess their options. 

Describing it as a 'crushing disappointment' when their consultant told them their treatment would be postponed following her egg retrieval, Seetal explained: 'In terms of the effectiveness of the delayed treatment, there is a risk that our frozen embryos may not survive the thawing process, in which case that would be the end of the cycle.'  

She said their clinic is unable to confirm when the transfer will go ahead due to the constantly evolving situation. The couple are due to speak about their treatment with the clinic next month where they hope to have a better idea of the next steps. 

Marketing director Alexandra Matthews, 34, and her husband Edward, 33, a teacher, are both from London and were referred for IVF in March last year after they started trying for a baby in July 2018.

Marketing director Alexandra Matthews, 34, and her husband Edward, 33, a teacher, are both from London

After an early miscarriage in their first IVF cycle, and three further unsuccessful transfers, Alexandra was due to start taking medication last week ahead of a Endometrial Receptivity Analysis test, which takes a small amount of the woman's endometrial lining and uses it to determine the optimum day to transfer the embryo. 

The couple were told by the clinic on March 19 that all cycles that had not started would be cancelled, apart from women who had already started taking medication. 

Alexandra told FEMAIL: 'It is devastating. The very difficult thing about IVF is the waiting, and you get yourself ready to go through treatment again and it's quite hard to prepare yourself.

'When you are not doing anything you feel hopeless, but when you are in treatment you feel like you are taking action and are more in control.

She added: 'You feel like the hope is taken away and replaced with uncertainty.

'We are lucky we are healthy, and we know there is more going on that is so much worse, and this is more of a personal tragedy.'

The couple, who have been together since 2013, were told by the clinic to look for updates on the website but are yet to be told any further dates for treatment.

Alexandra praised the support from a network of friends going through IVF, adding: 'We totally understand that the measures are a necessity and we know this is the right call made by the necessary bodies.'