Best IVF Clinic in London?

[RaInB]

Hi ladies,
I am 35yrs old and new to Mumsnet.
Please can I ask for any recommendations on best IVF clinics in London.
I have already been to Lister and had 2 failed embryo transfers and lost 2 embryos to the thawing process, so I don't want to go there again.
My next options are ARCG, CRGH and Guys St Thomas (Privately)

Has anyone of you been to any of the above? Please can you tell me your experience and if you would recommend any of these places?

ARGC has the highest success rate, but some say they do a lot of unnecessary tests and charge a lot than what they say, is that true?

You genuine experience and recommendation will be highly appreciated.

[applecrumbl3]

Odd that you haven’t had many replies! I’m at CARE who are lovely but only my first round and haven’t had transfer yet. I’m using an independent doctor based at the Portland who uses them for the lab based stuff. I’ve heard their embryology facilities etc are v good. They are much cheaper for other procedures and scans than the Portland. So far so good with CARE. Nurses etc are lovely.

[BonnyE]

Sorry to hear about your losses.

We used Create near st Paul's and had a good experience (professional, transparent pricing etc) and successful FET.

That said I can't really say how they compare as location was a key factor so we didn't look too widely.

[Waterdropsdown]

Argc is really expensive. It’s also quite a stressful place but they seem to do really well at actually getting you a baby.

Our twins (now toddlers) came from a FET there following a miscarriage with the original cycle. I know a lot of people who have been successful there. My experience of Kings was awful so that would make me dubious about Guys. It felt like they just did the same thing no matter who you are. Argc were total opposite but that also causes stress cos you have so many visits there and get so many test results.

There is a new place people are talking highly of begins with an E - can’t remember the name but look on here and you will find it.

[RaInB]

Hi applecrumbl3,

Thank you for your reply. That’s great that you are having a good experience there . What’s the name of the Dr at Portland ?
Wishing you all the best with your cycle.x

[RaInB]

Hi BonnyE
Thank you . I also work close to St Paul’s so that will be a great option . I will go there and see on Monday :) How long ago did you do yours and who was the consultant you were seeing?

[RaInB]

Hi Waterdropsdown,

Thank you for your reply . That’s great you have twins 😃
When did you do the treatment at ARCG and who was the consultant you had? And if you don’t mind me ask, how much did it cost ?

Is it Evewell ? I wonder why they are better than ARCG?

[Ilovewillow]

Hi - we used Guys and St Thomas' privately a number of yrs ago - our consultant was Mr. Khalaf. They were brilliant and he is lovely, professional but friendly. We had IVF in 2007 and have an 11 and yr old and we used them again in 2012 for FET and have a 6 yr old. Obviously a while ago now and no guarantees etc. But I would use them again without hesitation if I weren't so old now!! Good luck with wherever you decide !

[BonnyE]

I had a likely very unsympathetic boss at the time so used to sneak out of work for appointments clutching a notebook and pen trying to look like I was heading to a meeting
Our cycle was 8 months in total (FET due to my crazy overreactive ovaries) with a gap in the middle). I'd go back if we decide to have another (unsure as my body is knackered through endo + childbirth but that's another story!) Everyone has such a different experience so I guess go and see and you'll likely get a feel for where you prefer.
Dr Melina did the retrieval and Apostolos did the transfer. Both professional and lovely.
Best of luck whatever you decide x

[Chocolateandwineplease27]

I've cycled at Evewell (currently 35 weeks) and also had my son with Colin Davis (who set up Evewell) when he worked out of private consulting rooms and used CREATE for the lab/procedures.

Colin is amazing - incredibly caring and attention to detail is second to none. He's put in a huge amount of work setting up Evewell (head hunting all the best doctors/embryologists). I don't imagine they are the cheapest but you get the same tailored approach without the crazy of ARGC. They are also v patient focused so have individual waiting rooms if you're going for a procedure/need time to process bad news with your partner etc.

[Waterdropsdown]

Argc doesn’t operate with you getting your own consultant. You basically see who is available/on shift. My twins are nearly 3, it’s not changed at all (I have a friend who has newborn twins from ivf there). The add ons cost a lot - if there is a clear reason for your infertility they don’t do the add ins if you are unexplained they do.
We spent an actual fortune £35/40k for fresh and one FET but over £10k on ivig drips the vast majority of which were when pregnant.

[RHY1819]

I have been with City Fertility in Farringdon and couldn’t speak more highly of them. They are smaller than some of the bigger clinics but all of their doctors, nurses and embryologist are very experienced having worked at the bigger clinics. They all say they have more time to properly care of their patients at City Fertility. I’m 5dp5dt on our first cycle so waiting to see if it’s a positive result!

[Pognut]

I was at ARGC, now moved after we had a closer look at their stats on the HFEA website. They have two clinics - ARGC and another one called the RGA. The RGA is basically just another ARGC building, it only deals with ARGC patients and is used for scans (I think?) and some patients' transfers. But if you have your transfer there, you go on the RGA stats and not the ARGC ones, which are reported separately to the HFEA. They are much lower than ARGC's. It's not that ARGC aren't a good clinic, they are, but you need to combine the RGA success rates with ARGC's to get an accurate picture.

(PS Probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, so sorry if I am, but I'd also have a v close look at the births per embryo transfer rates for the clinics you're looking at. I was quite shocked at the difference between pregnancies per cycle and births per embryo transferred for some of the places I looked at.)

[Amara123]

I would second looking at the HFEA reports. I've heard the same of ARGC and you need to always take clinic results that are way outside the norm with a pinch of salt.
I had success with the Lister after multiple failures elsewhere. I can also understand the need to move after a string of failures too.

[mummykanga]

Hi - I went to see Carole Gillings Smith at the Agora in Hove. She was brilliant. I was your age but my test results were not great and a couple of clinics wouldn't even consider us. 6 weeks later I was pregnant with twins. They are 10 now. The discipline of going on the train, and then staying in a really nice airbnb with the money we saved by being outside london was actually really helpful, even if it was by accident ( I knew I wanted her and I wanted to avoid C&W where she practiced in London at the time. She is very honest, very caring, and extraordinarily clever.
very best with your journey - I remember ours so fondly now before I saw her I remember crying so much I got a nosebleed. My other tips would be walks in nature in the days leading up to the egg collection, massage and acupuncture but most of all at each step of teh process just focus on that step and don't give teh next step a moment's thout or worry...

[RaInB]

Mummykanga , thank you very much .🙂

I love decided to go to Evewell in London it’s a new clinic by an experienced Dr, I hope we made the right choice x

[RaInB]

Thank you very much to all of you lovely ladies who took the time to reply 🙏🏽

We decided go with Evewell . Starting in November, will update with results experience around January .

All the best to you all 🙂💕💕

[BottomleyPottsSpots2]

Good luck! Currently feeding my 3 week old Evewell baby to sleep. They were amazing.

[Chocolateandwineplease27]

Glad youre going with the Evewell!

[twinkledag]

Good luck with the Evewell. It didn't work for me but they were lovely.

[Simz01]

Hello,

I am new to this, and wondered how you got on with Evewell please ?

I’ve currently just finished my second failed cycle of ivf and looking to potentially change. I only ended up with one embryo on each cycle (2 made it to day 5, but lost 1 on both occasions due to thawing process and bad quality ). Also two failed IUI’s. Was looking at guys, but Evewell seems to come up lately and appreciate any feedback

Thanks in advance x

[fool11]

We had ivf in October at Guys and they were great. Early days, I’m 9w pregnant and still many things can go wrong but would recommend them (I’m 45 so my chances were close to zero to get a positive).

[fool11]

Forgot to mention that we visited both clinics Guys and Evewell. Both clinics do an open evenings which I thought were really good and helpful, you get to meet the team, talk to them etc..it helped us to make a decision..

[Simz01]

Thank you fool11!

Congrats on your pregnancy and hope all is going well x

Thanks, I’m inclined to go with Guys too. My friend just had her second baby boy after success there too. Could I ask, is there any particular consultant you recommend please?

[GlamGiraffe]

I cant speak more highly of mr colin Davis. I have my 2 year old because of him. He is the most lovely and warm doctor. He has been my gynaecologist for years and done several lots of complex surgery on me so was an obvious choice. He is very genuine in his work, he never rushes you, will chat about all kinds of things, taking time to get to know patients, it not a case of an apppointment where you feel you are on a conveyor belt. He is humble about his part in the families he helps to create and comented he wants everyone to be treated in the same way his wife or sister would be.
He is a really lovely man.

[Simz01]

Thanks both,

Thanks GlamGiraffe, sounds really positive and confirms the good things have heard about Dr Davis. Although not sure if it would be him we get if went with Evewell. I think I will look out for the open evenings for both as per Fool11’s advice .

I think the other consideration I have is that Evewell is far for me from work , as I work in CW. But worth it if it is a better experience

Thank you both x