Hi
So I’m currently waiting for my period so I can have my first go at medicated iui. I’ve paid for three cycles upfront and will move to ivf if unsuccessful after this. For me getting this far has been a long process. I had endometrial polyps and ovarian cysts so had to first have biopsy’s and then surgery. This could be done via the nhs (as it needed doing even if didn’t want to get pregnant) but obviously then I had to sit on a wait list which held me up. And then after the surgery there were more problems resulting in a cancelled cycle before Christmas. My initial clinic appointment was in 2018, I then found out about the need for surgery, and then my first appointment with the clinic I'm proceeding with was August 2019. My surgery was September 2019, so I’d probably fairer to consider it 3 month wait as I couldn’t attempt anything until after the surgery.
My advice is start by going to your gp, you won’t qualify for nhs treatment (I have known fertility problems that would qualify me for treatment if I weren’t single, the single thing seems to be a big issue however) but you may find they will do basic fertility blood tests, which would save you money. Then take the results with you to your private clinic. They might not, but if you don’t ask you don’t get, my gp was lovely and willing to help in any small way she could. Some clinics offer free mini consultations, some don’t. Google is your friend here - search clinics in your area. I met with 2, the one I chose was recommended to me by a friend who’d had two children with their help. She’s a midwife so I took her advice to heart. Either way do some research and choose the one you feel comfortable with.
My clinic has been able to provide me with a donor, it ended up being cheaper that way than getting from one of the larger sperm banks and I actually struggled with the overwhelming amount of information I could have about a donor going through the larger banks. The hand written notes were a big issue for me. If I didn’t like what they wrote they were immediately off the list. And if I’m honest I rarely liked what they wrote. My donor was a good physical match for me and healthy, so I was happy to proceed with him. Your clinic will likely tell you what banks they are able to work with if you don’t want sperm via them or they can’t provide it. I remember the first clinic I went to gave me a leaflet outline where you could source sperm from and what to look for when buying it.
In terms of cost, my clinic do a 3 cycle iui package for £1450 so I paid for that, iui rarely works first time and even if it did it’s not an amount of money I will regret parting with if it gets me pregnant. My medications were between £3-400, I forget the exact number. Sperm cost £495.
Good luck x