How do you choose the best ivf clinic?

[Claudine13]

Hi, I've just joined mumsnet as I'm about to enter in to the world of IVF and I was keen to find people who may have had experience of this world and can offer some words of advice. We're in the process of researching which clinic to choose, it's such an important decision and I just wondered if anyone has had any experience of Boston Place Clinic or The Lister Clinic and what the thoughts were? The google reviews for The Lister aren't overly positive and there's none yet for the Boston Place Clinic. I've booked for the open evening for The Boston Place Clinic but any feedback would be so greatly appreciated! Thanks Claudine

Hiya. Personally I looked at the HFEA website and compared stats. As I'm over 40 I was interested in results for older women. There were really only a couple of clinics that had good results for our age group. We went to visit both and just preferred the atmosphere at one of them so went with that.

We also talked to friends about their experiences as we had a couple of friends who had done IVF.

Looking back I'd say the main thing is that you trust your clinic - because once you start you will be handing all decision making over to them. If you trust them, that can be a great experience. If you don't, it can be stressful.

Good luck - hope it goes well for you.

Hi
Thanks for your comment, the HFEA is where these 2 clinics came up in their search functionality and best for over 40's. We're going to an open evening for Boston Place clinic but nothing available yet for the Lister Clinic. I'd read that you have to feel comfortable and trusting of who you select, hopefully we'll get to see the Lister before making a decision. Unfortunately I don't know anyone in London who has had ivf so we're relying on research, reviews etc.
Thanks
Claudine

Hi Claudine,

I just had a look for you in the HFEA detailed stats and Boston Place and the Lister don't look to be top for ages 40-42. It may be that you are 43-45 - I didn't look for that group. When I looked for myself about 6 months ago (and a quick glance looks similar) ARGC and CRGH were way better than others for my age group.

That doesn't mean Boston Place isn't good - they may be amazing. I really don't know. They are a smaller clinic - I expect that had both positives and negatives.

With stats something else I personally think is important is to look at live births per embryo transfer not transferred! Sounds like a small difference. The HFEA is obsessed with reducing multiple births so they have a whole campaign around clinics doing single embryo transfers. However this is irrelevant for over 40s as nearly all clinics will transfer more than 1 for our age group if possible. Some clinics are quicker to go for 3 than others and this can be why they have better rates. So the HFEA main stats ignore this. You will always have a choice over how many you transfer.

CRGH do open evenings and mini consultations so you can get to know them. Worth considering.

I went to ARGC and Guy’s. I got pregnant from my cycle at Guy's whose stats are above average but not amazing - so it just goes to show...

I also know someone who went to Care London and liked it. I've heard different things about the Lister - some women with low egg reserve swear by it. That is often mentioned on Mumsnet as their speciality but I have no personal info about it.

I hope that is helpful and doesn't just undermine your current research

That's great thank you so much!! That's really helpful, will definitely look into all those you mentioned!

I'd recommend Guys and St Thomas who were wonderful - my friend, my GP and I all used them (specifically Prof. Khalaf) after bad experiences elsewhere (avoid Kings!) and all got BFPs. We're just about to go back to him to try for a sibling.

Oh good! Glad it was helpful. I should just say that ARGC is by far the most expensive clinic and comes with a health warning.

I think they are amazing but they are very very intense - they will have you up at 5am doing injections and will blood test you daily. It's not for the faint hearted. Although their basic pricing is similar to others it becomes much more expensive because of all the testing.

I only switched to Guy's because we got offered an NHS cycle there. But I did want to warn you because ARGC isn't right for everyone. From what I understand CRGH is a similarly successful clinic who aren't quite as intensive or expensive. We went to a free consultation there too but preferred ARGC so it is just personal preference. Plus I was up for the "throw the kitchen sink at it" approach. But not everyone is and having done a cycle at Guy's I can testify that it is much more relaxing elsewhere (but I'll still be going back to ARGC if there's a next time for us!)

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