British couples undergoing fertility treatment in Portugal have been left facing a painful combination of interrupted IVF treatment and potentially heavy financial losses after Ovom Care abruptly entered insolvency proceedings.

The collapse has left some patients thousands of pounds out of pocket, with one couple estimating that their ordeal could cost them more than £30,000, while another woman discovered that she had already paid for three IVF attempts before being told by a new doctor that she may have endometriosis.

According to The Independent, the situation became particularly distressing because Ovom Care continued collecting payments from patients shortly before the clinic ceased operations. One patient reportedly paid £10,000 just days before the insolvency, raising fresh concerns among affected couples about whether they will recover money for treatments they may never receive.

For patients, however, the financial losses are only part of the crisis. Many were already in the middle of emotionally demanding fertility journeys when the clinic closed, leaving them uncertain about how and where their treatment would continue.

The problem was compounded for patients who paid through methods other than credit cards. Some have reportedly been told that they may not qualify for refunds through payment-protection arrangements, leaving them dependent on claims submitted through the insolvency process.

Ovom Care’s Portuguese subsidiary was placed into court-supervised insolvency proceedings, while its German parent company is separately undergoing insolvency proceedings. The company says an insolvency administrator is overseeing the process. (consultation.ovomcare.com⁠)

There has nevertheless been an intervention to protect patients’ reproductive material. Portugal’s fertility regulator, CNPMA, approved the transfer of stored embryos, eggs and sperm to AVA Clinic in Lisbon, while patient medical records are also being transferred. (AVA Clinic⁠)

AVA Clinic said it received the reproductive cells from Ovom on September 7 and is prioritising patients who were actively undergoing treatment or facing time-sensitive procedures. (AVA Clinic⁠)

The clinic has also said it will support affected patients through the transition, although the financial question remains separate from the immediate effort to safeguard their biological material and medical records.

The scale of the disruption is significant, with Portuguese reporting putting the number of affected Ovom patients at about 200. (DossieInsolvência⁠)

For couples who had committed substantial savings to IVF, the collapse therefore represents more than the failure of a healthcare provider: it has disrupted carefully planned attempts to have children while leaving families uncertain about the money they have already paid and the treatment still ahead of them.

Investors in Ovom have said claims relating to prepaid treatment can be registered with the insolvency administrator, but affected patients face the prospect of waiting for the insolvency process to determine what, if anything, can ultimately be recovered.