Wellness company withdraws £250 'fertility drip' IV treatment after row
A wellness business has decided to withdraw its so-called ‘fertility drip’ treatment following a backlash.
The intravenous (IV) drip treatment, sold by London-based Get A Drip, came at a steep price tag of £250, and was marketed at aspiring parents.
It involved injecting a concoction of vitamins directly into customers’ veins.
However, it has this morning been withdrawn from sale on the company’s website, following a social media backlash.
Dr Tom Dolphin, a consultant anaesthetist, was the first to call out Get A Drip for its services.
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Sharing an advertisement for the business’s latest clinic in Westfield shopping Centre in White City, he called the service “dubious”.
So @getadrip have opened in Westfield in White City, selling intravenous therapies of things that most people can take very easily by mouth. I confirmed that those numbers are pounds. £75 for a bag of saline with K! Dubious, costly medicalisation of basic nutrition/hydration. pic.twitter.com/cUgrmFg5dv
— Tom Dolphin (@thomasdolphin) June 30, 2019
Dolphin also shared an image sent to him by a colleague of a similar IV drip business at this year’s Glastonbury festival – and commented on the potential hygiene concerns.
A colleague at Glastonbury sent me this pic.
I’ve worked (non-clinically) in a field hospital at a festival and I know how difficult it is to keep things clean. I expect they’re working hard to ensure no infections at the cannula sites for these non-essential interventions. pic.twitter.com/zFWSuQ92ed— Tom Dolphin (@thomasdolphin) July 1, 2019
The row escalated as as number of users – including a representative from BPAS, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service – called Get A Drip out for the specific ‘Fertility Drip’ treatment included on its menu.
The only vitamins recommended the NHS for women trying to fall pregnant are vitamin D and folic acid, taken in oral supplement form.
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Social media users accused the company of “praying on the vulnerable” with its expensive treatments.
Following the backlash, the ‘fertility drip’ product was removed from the Get A Drip website earlier today.
Hi @getadrip can you please explain the clinically proven benefits of your £250 "Fertility Drip" at @westfieldlondon? Or is this just an attempt to prey on women's desperation with the kind of unproven "add-ons" the @HFEA has cautioned IVF clinics against? Via @thomasdolphin pic.twitter.com/sKkz0e2d4y
— bpas (@bpas1968) July 1, 2019
Scandalous. £250 for a “fertility” drip. Praying on the vulnerable when they may be feeling desperate- completely unethical .
— Bex Bailey-McHale 🧜🏻♀️🏳️🌈 (@bexbm) July 1, 2019
£250 for a ‘fertility drip’? Women who are trying to conceive are vulnerable enough without peddling them this snake oil in an IV bag. @getadrip @westfieldlondon this is NOT OK. 😤 #fertility #ivf #tryingtoconceive https://t.co/Du5KfOVHHg
— Leah Hazard (@hazard_leah) June 30, 2019
What is in fertility drip?! Absolute scam and playing on emotions. Not okay!
— Amelia Gershuny (@AmeliaGershuny8) June 30, 2019
Katherine O’Brien, associate director of communications and campaigns at BPAS, told Yahoo UK that the organisation “welcomes” the removal of this product.
She said: “We welcome the decision by GetADrip to withdraw their “fertility” product. This is a product lacking any evidence base, pitched at an exploitative price and playing on the fears and anxieties of women who may be struggling to conceive.
“GetADrip has a responsibility to be open and honest with their customers, which clearly has not been the case. We understand regulatory bodies are looking into these kind of products and hope these companies and their offers can be properly monitored going forward.”
Richard Chambers, founder of Get A Drip, has since apologised for the “insensitivity” of the fertility drip product.
“We understand that the issue of fertility is much deeper than nutrition,” he told the BBC.
"We are deeply sorry for the insensitivity of the fertility drip and apologise wholeheartedly for any upset caused," he added.
Get A Drip has not at present responded to Yahoo UK’s request for further comment.