Which IVF clinic to choose

[ThashG]

Hi there, I’m 34 and have been offered IVF via the NHS after 2.1/2 years of unsuccessful attempts of conceiving. I really don’t know which clinic to choose. Has anyone any experience of the HEFA website? Or does anyone have any recommendations? I only know of the ARGC clinic but that’s a private clinic and it’s one of the best in the world. Any recommendations for NHS funded clinics? Thank you in advance smile

Sorry I wanted to add. haven’t had my AMH test back yet but otherwise both my and my husband have had a inconclusive test so far. No one knows yet why we haven’t conceived. I’m using the the clear blue sticks etc but no luck so far.

Long story short I’m just so confused which clinic to chose. The HEFA has a list of nhs funded hospitals to chose from. So far I’ve narrowed it down to CRGH due to its success rate but I’ve heard they’re not great with patient experience or patient centred care. To be honest I’m looking for the best success rate over anything ....

Hi, my experience of CRGH is that they are excellent clinically but you have to be really on top of booking appointments and getting them to book you in / start a prep cycle in ahead of any results coming back. This sometimes means having to be very clear and firm about what you want and why. Otherwise you can "miss" cycles and it all takes ages.

On the whole however I'd recommend CRGH - I've done two IVF rounds and am about to have my first transfer. Yes they can be very frustrating but I do trust them. My consultant suggested changes after my first round that led to a much better second round, although obviously we'll never know what drove this. They are also open seven days a week, so if a Sunday is the best day to do an egg collection they'll do it on a Sunday - I understand some NHS clinics would push it to a week day when that might not be the best thing clinically.

I know they previously had a rep for being inflexible with appointment booking times and then appointments running late. On the whole I haven't had any issues with this - I work full time and they have always been willing to accommodate my requests for an early, late or lunchtime appointment and most of my appointments have been on time or maybe ten minutes late max.

What I would say is CRGH aren't cheap, so if you pay for any add ons that the NHS won't fund (as I did), or extra rounds, then you are likely to find yourself paying more than you would at other clinics.

Also check NHS waiting times - last year CRGH had no waiting list for NHS patients so you were seen straight away, whereas other clinics make people wait months.

Hope this helps!

The HFEA website can be a bit confusing I found when it comes to reporting success rates.

We went to a few open evenings to get a "feel"'for the clinics as you can't really rely on reviews either as what's important to some people isn't to others (someone gave a bad review about my clinic because it's located on a business park 🤔🤷‍♀️)

The other thing to look at is the "type" of IVF they offer - I specifically wanted mild IVF or natural modified so went with Create

Also don't underestimate location to be able to fit everything in around work if needs be as that helps reduce the stress

Thanks @ivfbeenbusy and @msgloria.

@msgloria- have you had a successful conception/birth yet? Sorry to pry - I take it there maybe more background to your situation? Part of the reason it’s hard to choose is I don’t have a diagnosis or reason for not conceiving.

@ivfbeenbusy- again for you was their specific reason to your conception issues. Also again have you managed to conceive through create? I was initially going to choose create in at Paul’s ? I believe that’s the clinic you’re referring to ?

@ThashG

I had a history of recurrent miscarriages and had also lost a tube to a ruptured ectopic so we chose to go down the IVF route to see if additional testing/more in-depth look at our blastocysts might shed any light. It sort of did as had rubbish PGS testing results on one batch and then lost my last tube to another ectopic so IVF was only option then

I have birth to twins in January thanks to Create Birmingham. I did have some treatment as St Paul's - it's much bigger and busier than Birmingham though

Hi @ThashG you're right - there is a back story. I don't technically have any fertility issues and I already have a DC, but I'm doing IVF with PGD and PGS. However, not having any known fertility issues seems to have little correlation with whether somebody is likely to be a good IVF responder. I'm preparing to do my first transfer so no result from IVF as yet.

I might be being cynical, but I get the impression the default approach for many clinics is to proceed to IVF following initial scans and tests, and then use they first round as a bit of a test round to see how you respond and work out what might be going on. If you're an NHS patient then any more detailed investigations you might want to have are likely to come at a cost to you. Happy to be corrected on this though, as it's not a situation I've personally been in.