Advice on selecting a donor IVF clinic in UK with Spanish partner....

[machTucker]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are both 44 and currently considering using donor eggs. After struggling to conceive my wife finally became pregnant but misscarried at 9 weeks so we decided to emabark on IVF due to age. We used Care Fertility for one round but this was unsuccesful. We then decided to use a frozen egg that my wife had prior to us meeting and used Lister Fertility Clinic for this as that is where the egg was stored. After a number of set backs we finally got through to the egg thaw stage but unfortunatley the egg didn't thaw properly, so this was another failed cycle. We've spent a significnat amount of money up until now but would like to give it one last go using donor eggs, which we understand will give us the best chance of a succesful pregancy. Having spent so much money up unitl now and the prospect of spending even more on an IVF donor programme I'm trying to gather some thoughts/experiences from people who've been through it before. We've had a look at a number of clinics and are considering both Care and Create which I hear good things about. They both have programmes with spanish clinics who have one of the best donor banks in Europe. We like this idea as it should give us the best chance of a pregnancy as they have significnatly more young egg donors than the UK.

So, has anyone had any experience using Care or Create and their IVF donor programmes? I see some offer embryo gurantees etc and some don't and the cost of these programmes is significant. We are looking for the best value clinic that'll give us the best chance.

One thing that has annoyed me so far is that some clinics wont give me a price or even tell me what they will offer in terms of guarantees etc without going for a consultation. At around £250 per initial consultaion this is money I don't want to waste. How are you meant to make a decision who to go with without hemarouging your bank account!

Any thoughts, advice or reviews very welcome.

Ed & Louise

I used Manchester Fertility and they didn't charge for an initial consultation. They were also very clear about their pricing from the start.

I have a friend who used donor eggs, but she travelled to a clinic in Barcelona and had success there.

Hi, I am also 44 and we are using DE but in Spain. So unfortunately I can't offer any advice you requested. But I am curious how the clinics in the UK are able to use donor eggs from Spain as the law regarding donor anonymity is different in two countries (Spain anonymous and UK ID release at 18). Did you ask them to clarify this issue? Where will the treatment take place, UK or Spain?

Many clinics will reimburse you the initial consultation fee if you go ahead with them. You can ask them if they offer this. That way if you are considering two clinics, you lose money on only one.

I think you’re referring to having treatment in a Spanish clinic that partners with a UK clinic for monitoring scans etc. If that’s the case you could also try IVI. I had treatment with a Spanish clinic (Instituto Bernabeu) but did not partner with any UK clinic, just had my UK scans in Ultrasound Direct (it’s a nationwide chain, they’re about £150 for a full monitoring scan, a bit cheaper if you just need to know lining thickness). I had blood tests via a private GP or got them done in Spain when having treatment. My Spanish clinic said I had to have a mammogram as over 40, I got one in a private hospital in the UK, also had one a fair bit cheaper in Spain.

Regarding consultation costs it’s annoying but it’s spending a bit to see if they are the ones for you. Maybe liaise directly with some of the Spanish clinics. Instituto Bernabeu, IVI, IVF Life, Clinica Tambre, Instituto Marques have all been mentioned here. Do read up on the donor anonymity as you might prefer ID release. Have a look too at Donor Conception Network. And good luck!

Hi everyone,

Thanks very much for the responses and your experiences. Yes I think Care and Create are partnered with Spanish clinics and as the actual "business stuff" is done in Spain it comes under Spanish laws.

We haven't really considered going direct to a Spanish clinic as I kind of liked the idea of it being managed by a UK regulated one however I'm sure this comes with a cost!

There seems to be so much variation in what they offer. Create offer an embryo guarantee for example. I can't remember the exact details but it's do with a number of guaranteed embryos etc. Some guarantee numbers of eggs etc.

Numbers wise the package using frozen eggs from the bank in Spain comes in at 15k Seems like a similar price at Care but not sure what they offer in terms of guarantees etc, if anything. Seems a consultation is required....again!

I think Care use IVF Spain and Create use IVI Spain as partners. I will ping an email off to some of the clinics there and get some information.

Many thanks,

Ed & Louise

The Spanish clinics usually have patient coordinators for international patients (it’s big business). I would have a look at contacting some of them direct considering you may decide to travel anyway.

Not sure where you are based but IVI also have a clinic in London.

We used Institut Marquès and had also visited Instituto Bernabeu before deciding between the 2.

I think Lister is partnered with IB, but you'd have to check. As someone else mentioned I think all your scans and monitoring are done here with transfer in Spain.

I went direct to Spain due to costs and waiting times. We had tests done at the birth company which is quite expensive. However, if you travel to Spain off season flights and hotels are relatively cheap if you want to stay there for the monitoring.

Hi OP. I'm with the Lister and if you can in any way go with them, that is what I would recommend. They are amazing.

After a traumatic 4 year fertility journey with another (incompetent) clinic, I've now got a handful of genetically normal embryos in the freezer after my first round of IVF at the Lister. I'm not pregnant yet but it looks unlikely that I'll need any further rounds.

I can't comment on Care or Create though, I haven't used either of them.

I would just also really empathise with the money side of things - the costs mount up so badly. But, if you can in any way afford it, please don't choose a clinic on the basis of saving a small amount. It's very hard psychologically, but a couple of £1000, at this point and in the context of funding 18 years of a child's life, is neither here nor there.

I understand trying to save money and have been there, but you really do need to go with the clinic that is going to work best for you and that you have confidence in.

I have no regrets about spending some extra money and going with the Lister because the care they've given me is excellent and I feel really positive that there's a high chance I'll be pregnant in a few months. My consultant is fabulous and if you want me to message you privately with the name/ details, I'm happy to.

Good luck whatever you decide xx

Thanks very much for the info. We are very interested in going with Lister as we have history with them and like you felt it was a good experience. We have a counselling session with them on Wednesday and a meeting with the donor coordinator the following week to chat things through.

This will be our last attempt so I want to make sure we get the best chance possible. Since age seems to be the biggest driver for a successful live birth we really want a good pool of eggs from young donors. That’s why we were thinking about Spain, not really the cost. If we can do it in the UK it would be great but I don’t know what the Lister donor bank is like.

Please feel free to send a DM, we’d love to cha5 about your experience.

Many thanks,

Ed & Louise