IVF~Proof of identity

[Visitor9]

Hi all,
I have been thinking about this all week and wondered whether other clinics do this differently. DH and I did numerous amounts of cycles before falling pg with DD, a few years down the track we are embarking on FET's. My fert IVF specialist has no real idea who I am as I have been transfered onto his books from a IVF specialist that no longer does it anymore. He has never met DH just has his name on a computer screen. It worries me that at my appointment I went alone and it was all set for a FET at the transfers I sometimes go alone due to time restaints. What worries me for other couples is
1. What if you had seperated and did this and had a FET done fell pregnant with out the other spouse aware of what you are doing?
2. What if someone off the street walks in and say I'm Rebecca ........ and I need an appointment with the Fert specialist and have a transfer done ( abit far stretched they obviously would have to know details about me)but the doctors have no idea who I am.
Maybe it is just my paraniod feelings coming though!

Bec

[rufalina]

Bec - When I recently signed up to start IVF we both had to show photo id (drivers licence) and they took copies of them to keep in our files. I have no idea what they needed them for... might have to do with some of the points you raised.
xo

[sushee]

Interesting Bec, coz I'm thinking hard about when anyone had ever asked to see any proof of identity for me, except for a Medicare card, even from the very beginning, and I cannot recall ever being asked to prove who I was. Similarly, after having Charlie and doing my blood tracking for a possible FET, all the clinic people I saw were new and didn't know me from Adam but didn't ask for any id either. You're right, I could have been anyone and they would have been none the wiser. I wonder why it's so lax?

[Megan]

Good point. I know from doing my FET, I didn't even go into the clinic. Called my nurse to tell her we wanted to start a FET cycle and she sent me the paperwork for both of us to sign. Then I had BT's and then went in for transfer. I never showed any ID. The whole time dealing with nurses I had never met before on transfer day.
It does make you wonder doesn't it.

[Visitor9]

I never have been asked either Sush even from the original appointment.
Ruf :Sounds like your clinic is moving with the times, I still wonder if they ever would get you to produce your licences as you were having a pick up or transfer done.
It still amazes me that you have to have so much counselling to decide whether if a partner dies what to do..as far as what could of happened last week..DH could of been dead and they were not going to be aware of it ,he may of not wanted to give them to me. Doesnt say much about my clinics protocol
Meagan: at least you got something to sign

I'm sure if searched hard enough on this site people would be able to find out alot about me

[rufalina]

Interesting how different the clinics are... Once I get started I will let you know if they make me produce ID before any procedures...
xo

[Megan]

Lol Bec, true!! I guess anyone can sign a form and send it back though.
Yesterday at EPU I just had the hospital admission form to fill in, but they didn't check any id, medicare card etc. Then they put the wrist id band on me and just use that to identify me through the whole process.
It does make you wonder though if anyone out there has tried to be dodgy and actually been successful.

[{sarah}]

We had our licenses photocopied at the very first appointment & they were put in our file, so I assume anyone at the clinic (Sydney IVF) had access to see them.

For point 1, there is no way it could happen in our clinic because you have to have the signature of both parents for everything, of course unless someone forged the signature. Aaron had missed on spot on something & luckily I took the paperwork in early or there could have been a delay with having to get him to sign it later IYKWIM. Because we had Zander with us for the transfer & he wasn't allowed into the day surgery the paperwork was taken out for Aaron to double check & sign before transfer.

For your second point, I'm not sure how it could happen with our clinic. I dealt with two nurses the entire time & by the third visit they knew me by name & where I was at in the cycle. I was also given a green card with cycle details & a number on it that I had to have at each appointment. If I didn't have it they'd still do the BT or u/s but it would be charged as normal without the card details rather than being included on the bill. For egg collection & transfer again unlikely, because I had the same nurse with me & I was asked to confirm my details, full name, DOB, address, phone number.

[sushee]

At my EPU and transfer, my bracelet was handed to me and they asked me to check if the details were correct, and that's it! Mind you, when we were trying for Charlie, everyone at the clinic knew me by name, so it would have been unlikely that they would have mistaken someone else for me. But it was when I went back after having Charlie and, with all the new staff, no one knew me but didn't check that I was me anyway.

[Visitor9]

Thats me too Sushee . 3 years later no one is the same and they wouldnt know me.
FET's dont require hospital admission so I am not even going to get a braclet, I might get lucky if they ask me my DOB! and say is that you? and I say YES
Bec

[Willow]

This is an interesting point actually. I don't remember showing any ID (definately not a drivers licence etc). We had to give them all our medicare details etc when we signed on for a cycle but by that time I'd been seeing our FS for a few months, had a lap done with him etc etc so had filled out heaps of paperwork.

I know we both had to sign paper work to start the cycle and had to decide and sign on what would happen if one partner was deceased etc but I don't remember if DH signed the paperwork during the cycle (EPU, transfer etc).

[{sarah}]

It's interesting you guys talking about the paperwork if one of the partners passed away because we weren't given any & it was never discussed.

[sushee]

I did get paperwork before each transfer that Karl gad to sign (and I could witness for him ) that articulated our desires for remaining embryos, and it covered whether we wanted to donate/discard/freeze, and what would happen in the event of death of one partner, divorce etc. But like I said, he signed it at home, I witnessed it so it would be easy enough I guess to dodgy it up if someone really wanted to.

[AngelPunks]

We've got all the paperwork to bring in when we start, there is a lot on what will be done if one partner dies, or if we break up etc - they (Wesley IVF - Brisbane) went through it in intricate detail when we had our 2nd clinic appointment. We had to hand over all our ID stuff when we went to see the FS, then again when we saw the clinic. We have basically been told that from the moment we start we'll have the same nurses to deal with throughout the process to give us some comfort.

But then again we're starting this time next year, so I think we'll have to go through all the paperwork again.

[butterfly_warrior]

I vaguely recall us having to have drivers licenses and things photocopied at our first appointment, but didn't really pay much attention to it.

The whole ID thing is something that really freaked me out - our clinic has the habit of calling couples by the female's first name only. I don't exactly have a common name, but three times I've had someone else stand when it was called. Twice it was the same other person.

The most panic-inducing moment when this happened was when we were there for transfer. The other couple were much closer to the desk than we were and actually got taken through to the transfer waiting area. We approached the desk with me freaking out about my embryo being put back into the wrong woman... was not a nice feeling!

Eventually we got them out and us in, and the embryologist came out and asked us for our DOB, etc. It wasn't a case of her asking if such and such a date was our DOB, we had to give her the information. There were more checks than DOB, but that's the only one I recall. We were shown our name on our embryo's petri dish (?) through the microscope, so there were thorough checks along the way the whole time.

We'd only ever met our embryologist once before - briefly at EPU when she again checked all my ID details before it all happened (I recall the anaesthetist, the FS and one of the hospital nurses all doing the same, as well), I really don't think there was any way someone would have got through without them being us. There was simply too much that we had to know, and I suspect any hesitation in answering would cue them in to start wondering.

When it comes to the question of what to do if one partner dies - it was part of the fine print on one of the forms we signed - the assisted reproductive technology agreement. The relevant portion of the document:

If one partner dies, the disposition of cryopreserved embryos will be at the discretion of the remaining partner.
If both partners die, our cryopreserved embryos will be discarded, subject to existing legal and ethical guidelines.
If our relationship is terminated or if we are unable to make a joint decision, the disposition of our cryopreserved embryos will be determined by the court having jurisdiction over our cryopreserved embryos. We agree that we will notify NextGen Fertility upon the possible dissolution of our relationship

I suspect that there would be such details in papers that others have signed, also. Our agreement is valid for two years from the date of signing. I guess we'd have to sign another when that period is up in order to continue with fertility treatment.

BW

[Shannon22]

Hi Ladies Just thought i would throw my 2 cents in, our clinic took copies of our licences and then took an actual photo of DH and I that is on the inside of our file and we are constantly checked against that photo for every procedure. I confused them when i dyed my hair! Apart that all paperwork has to be signed at the clinic. They are pretty thorough

[Lissie]

HI Ladies,

I have never been asked to produce ID or medicare card, they basically just asked for the medicare number which i read out. There was also alot of stuff regarding seperation etc and what was to be done etc. I would find it hard to beleive that anyone could fudge getting in under false names.
They have always asked me 3 times before transfer to confirm my details to them and then once more by the scientist just minutes before transfer. I too was with Sydney IVF but the satelite clinic now i am with Fert Gold Coast doing donor embies.

[Indadhanu]

Something interesting at our clinic... Shel had to be there and also sign the paperwork, and we had to give our drivers licenses to check signatures and all that. Nothing has been checked since, except the double checking thing when doing the IUI, but they know us both by name now so I am not really worried.

Though I don't think its an isolated thing... when you go to A&E or the drs surgery they don't always check for ID, just give them medicare and they're fine... it seems a global medical system flaw. There must not be a guideline on identity checks in the medical system...?