Cancer sufferer desperate for baby has chance ripped away because she is overweight
dailyrecord.co.ukA cancer sufferer has had her chance of being a mum ripped away because she is overweight.But as Claire Nisbet, 37, plans to use a surrogate she cannot understand why her weight is an issue.Claire from Cambuslang, Lanarkshire had her womb and her bladder removed when she was diagnosed with cancer in August 2021 after years of being told she had urine infections.Her cancer was already at stage three so she underwent a course of chemotherapy followed by a 17-hour-operation to remove her bladder, her womb and part of her intestine to create a new bowel.But her surgeon was able to save her ovaries, knowing how important it was to her to be able to have children.After her surgery she developed a flesh eating bug which was dismissed as shingles at first before her consultant was informed and performed emergency surgery to save her life.The resultant recovery meant she was unable to exercise and being confined to the house caused her to gain weight.But now she feels she is being discriminated against because doctors have said she is too overweight to receive fertility treatment.When she felt well enough to consider having a family in 2022 she and husband Billy, 36, asked a close friend to be a surrogate, knowing they would be able to harvest Claire’s eggs.NHS Lanarkshire referred her to NHS Glasgow for the fertility treatment but the other health board rejected her referral saying her BMI was too high.Claire said: “I am not able to carry a baby myself so I don’t see what my weight has to do with it.”She challenged the decision but was told it was down to NHS guidelines.Claire said: “No-one from Glasgow Royal Infirmary has been able to sit down with me and explain it.“But I could go to a private hospital five minutes down the
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