ICSI IVF - London

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Hello

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a clinic in London for ICSI IVF (we are thinking about going private) but I just don't know where to start. We have just recently been diagnosed with low motility.

And if anyone has any low motility success stories they would be warmly received.

So many thanks

It's very difficult to recommend a clinic as the approaches and prices vary hugely. If you have plenty of cash and want to throw every drug in the book at the cycle, look at ARGC. The rates are amazing but the amount of testing and drugs would have had me running for the door. The more holistic approach at Create suited me better, but it wouldn't be for everyone.

My advice would be to have a look at the HFEA website which has info on all the clinics and then go to some open days to see which clinic you like the feel of.

Hi, we did 'self-funded' ICSI at Guys and after 2 fresh cycles and 2 frozen goes I'm currently bouncing on a Swiss ball trying to encourage a baby that he wants to be born!

The clinic you choose really does depend on a number of things, including location (lots of appointments, checks and 'popping in' required), specialisms, supporting treatments/facilities, cost etc.

As eurochick suggested, the HFEA website is a good starting point as you look into this. Also the clinics will run open evenings or days where you can find out more.

IME results are pretty similar across the main clinics, figures are often interpreted differently though, so do think about the points I mentioned above, as it's a helluva process to commit to, so anything that makes life a little easier or you find reassuring will be valuable!

Good luck!

We used the London bridge clinic. They were lovely. We had issues with quality and quantity. We now have twins! Good luck.

I should also mention that we had motility figures that were on the floor, low soerm count and 0% morphology, so a triple kicker and it still worked for us. . Guys and their wider team apparently leads a lot of research into male infertility, so this was another bonus for us.

We had fairly low count, low morphology & 0% motility and went to The Lister. I could not rate them highly enough. I had our ICSI miracle on the first attempt (yes, so lucky I know but it does happen). The staff there were very caring and just lovely to deal with.

We initally went for SA tests at London Bridge but the consultant there was none too friendly and the Lister had much better FET cycle results so we transferred there for treatment. That was 5 years ago now though (almost to the day!).

If you're feeling brave, the fertility friends website has a forum for each of the major clinics so you could ask specific questions on there.

Huge hugs and lots of luck to you. Hope you find the right place to start your family

We had 'transport' ICSI - we had all treatment up to egg removal at our local hospital, (in Surrey), then the eggs were taken to London for all the embryology stuff. We used the Bridge first time, which was unsuccessful, and Kings the second, which resulted in our DD. We only had the two choices, so thought we may as well try both. Both clinics were lovely in different ways - the Bridge is obviously 'smarter' while Kings is typical NHS. I preferred Kings though, (even before we knew it had worked!) They seemed a bit more approachable and friendly there, not quite so conveyor belt, IYSWIM? Just little things like having music in the waiting and treatment room, (I think it was Magic FM), and just generally making you feel like they had plenty of time for you. DH tells me that the quality of pornography in the sample rooms was about the same .
We had severe male factor too, an inherited problem which meant DH had 98% severely abnormal sperm. I only produced four eggs that were good enough for fertilisation, and only two of those went on to be viable embryos, so it's testament to their skill that we got DD. Best of luck with it all, it was just over 5 years ago for us, but I remember it like it was all yesterday.

Forgot to say, ours was also self funded NHS, so although not exactly cheap, not eye wateringly expensive either.

Thank you so much for all your really helpful responses. It was so kind of you and I've found them so useful. ARGC has been recommended by a friend - it does seem quite a full-on clinic...

Also have read some articles about increased risk of birth defects from ICSI specifically. Did you have thoughts on this?