IVF failure - how to find the best clinic in London

[Pinxixc]

Hi there,
I've just got my terrible beta result after ICSI: NEGATIVE.
It was our first cycle at a local fertility clinic.
I am so disappointed because I produced 23 eggs but only 3 fertilised. They transferred 2 embryos on day 2, they didn't implant and the third one didn't survive on day 5. Very frustrating.
I'm looking for a good clinic in London specialised on male factor (low count sperm) and tailor made monitoring.
What would you suggest? I was thinking about ARGC and CRGH. Please give me some advice and I would welcome our stories. Today is a bad day!

Hi pin - sorry to hear about your recent cycle. Quite difficult to advise about "best clinic" as think it depends v much on what you're happy with. I see Mr Davis at Evewell (it's a new clinic he's just set up and literally everything is state of the art, all the embryologists, lab etc have been head hunted).
I would definitely recommend giving him a call - he's v methodical and thorough with his approach. We're going through a frozen cycle with him currently and he's always thinking how he can do things differently - won't just keep the same formula and hope for a different outcome

Hi pinxixc

From my experience I've noticed most fertility clinics do not specialise in male fertility factor. What the clinic can offer you is IVF with ICSI where they inject the sperm into the follicle. But bearing in mind if the sperm is poor quality it can result in the embryo not developing properly and subsequently resulting in a BFN. They can also surgically remove sperm from the testicles but again it will come down to the quality of the sperm. Also if there is DNA damage then investigating/treating the cause may increase your chances of conception.

A urologist specialising in male infertility is your best bet. That's the route we're taking now. My DP has low motility also as well as high sperm DNA fragmentation. The fertility doctor said it will impact fertilisation and may possibly cause miscarriage if I do conceive...

@pinxixc I looked into Mr Jonathan Ramsay in London. He seems to be an expert in Male infertility. We're due to see him in a few weeks privately. FYI he's not cheap! But he's our last hope to get things resolved with hubby's sperm.

Thank you very much @chocolateandwineplease27! I will check the Evewell clinic.

@Maybe2019 thank you so much for sharing your experience. I was thinking the same...the male factor is not easily assessed in an Ivf clinic. May I ask you which clinics have you already gone for the male factor?
I have booked two appointments one at ARGC and another at CRGH. Let's see what they propose and I will think about your advice. Could you please tell me what your urologist will tell you?
We will probably go to an urologist as well.

Please keep me posted! I'm so frustrated! Thanks!

@pinxixc I wasn't actually trying to explore male fertility factor. Just assumed we'd have to go down the IVF/ICSI route since that's what we were advised early on in 2014 after hubby's semen analysis results. 18 months later we had 1 fresh cycle of IVF/ICSI on the NHS with UCLH which failed (I responded poorly to stimulation, only 3 follicles were just about ready but only 1 was actually collected!). The hospital used CRGH for collection and transfer. I didn't have a good experience with both hospitals.

In January this year we decided to try again and went to Serum Clinic in Greece. That's where we discovered hubby had High DNA fragmentation. They were trying to persuade us to try again with a high dose of meds even though they felt hubby's sperm was a factor?! That didn't sit well with me so I decided not to follow up with them. Btw I looked into overseas as it was cheaper than London...but when you factor in flight, accommodation and spending money it didnt seem worth it. Plus i found the whole traveling aspect of it very stressful!

Last week we went and had a consultation with Care Fertility London. The fertility doctor was concerned about hubby's sperm and was the first person to suggest for him to see a urologist. All those years no body battered an eye lid at hubby's sperm. GP didn't care, fertility clinics have all just been pushing us to try IVF again with ICSI. It's been super stressful trying to make the right decision. I don't want to go into cycles with the possibility that it may fail, you know?

I'm due to have a scan in 2 weeks to check how many follicles I have. I have low AMH and low ovarian reserve . The doctor said if she sees enough follicles she'll refer my hubby to a urologist so he can have his sperm checked out. I couldn't wait so I got the ball rolling and booked an appt with the Urologist anyway in 3 weeks time. I never imagined with private clinics there would be a long waiting time for appointments. Allow at least 3 to 4 weeks if you're booking any.

One last thing, I came across finance fertility packages from a company called Access Fertility. You can buy multiple cycles with them to the clinic of your choice with savings. Look them up. Most clinics seem to be connected to them.

Hi @Pinxixc

I'm sorry to bring up an old thread. I just wondered how you got on? We are in a similar position and trying to look at the best clinics out there. There's just so much info!