Affordable Kind IVF or ABC, any experiences?

[Barbs3116]

Hi, I’m looking for any personal experiences of either Kind IVF (Harrow is closest to us) or ABC (St Albans) and I guess some reassurance that these “low cost” packages are ok! My DP is very sceptical about why they’re so much cheaper than other clinics.

For background, we’re yet to start any IVF treatment and both our tests have come back with no issues. I’m 35 and BMI etc all meet the criteria.

Ive read lots of online reviews about ABC and they’re generally ok. I’m not able to find much about Kind, as this is a new treatment that they offer.

Thanks so much x

Hello,

I have just had my first FET with abc following an egg retrieval and (unfortunately unsuccessful) fresh transfer a couple of months ago. I can’t speak to the “kind ivf” but can tell you of my experience with abc. (For context I am in a same sex female couple ttc via donor sperm hence the need for ivf, rather than due to a known physical health issue.)

I believe the reason it is so much cheaper is because your appointments and monitoring scans are all led by specialist nurses rather than consultants. this I think is due to the idea that if you meet the criteria they require you are not as clinically “complicated” as someone who may have various factors that require a more complex approach/investigations. The nurses do discuss your case regularly with the doctors and they do input - for example I responded quite sensitively to the stims so they tweaked my dosage halfway through to stop me overstimulating.

The egg retrieval and transfers are all done by the consultants.

Furthermore with the “mild” protocol done at abc they do it within your own cycle, rather than doing down regulation, and typically you are taking the stimulation medication for a shorter time period. I imagine this also saves some costs. They say that they get fewer eggs as a result of this, but they are of better quality, rather than getting loads and having a huge drop off rate from fertilisation through to blastocyst stage.

I have been very happy with all the treatment I have had via abc so far. I do not believe it is clinically inferior to more expensive treatment, and it is probably less taxing on your body as it usually involves less drugs.

However, if you have concerns that you may have more complex health needs it would be worth raising these in any initial consultation. If you are wanting/needing a high number of blastocyst embryos, it may again be worth asking about.

unfortunately ivf is a total gamble, no matter how much you put down on the table. When it came to it, I saw no reason to pay almost double the amount when I could find no medical reason for needing extremely specialist care.

hope this is helpful, good luck!

That’s so good to know and very reassuring, thank you for taking the time to share your experience! Sorry to hear that your fresh transfer wasn’t successful, sending you lots of luck for the FET!
As you say there’s never any guarantee but it sounds like the care you’ve received has been good and without any complex medical needs, I’m inclined to go for it. Thanks again 🙏

Hi,

I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with ABC or Kind but I can recommend Bridge Clinic in Kings Cross. Their pricing is very transparent with no add ons, so you know exactly how much you’ll pay, everything is included in the price. They also have a good deal with a pharmacy so the meds are a lot cheaper. I paid around £1000 for fresh and £250 for frozen which I think is a lot less than most other clinics.

Access Fertility is also a good option as they do multi cycle packages. I wish I’d known about that when I started.

Best of luck!

Thanks @Quiteunlucky I hadn’t come across this clinic so will definitely check them out too! That’s good to know they’re transparent with their pricing - the hidden extras are exactly the issue I’m finding the more I look into it. Thanks so much x

I'm with ABC doing my first IVF, as another poster said it's nurse lead and they deal with the more straight forward cases but so far I have been super happy with them (currently day 6 of cycle), all communication, understanding and support when I delayed my June cycle, easy to get hold of etc, delivery of meds within a day. I definitely don't feel the care from them is any less than other clinics. I feel they care more about the wellbeing of the patient than trying to get a few more eggs and quality over quantity. For me I like that it was times with my normal cycle and there's less injections required as I didn't know how I would deal with it.

I went through 3 IUIs with Care Fertility last year and found them really cold and hard to reach at critical times. As a single female using a sperm donor I thought there would be more support and wasnt.

That’s great @ttcsolomumtobe I’m so pleased to hear it’s going well for you so far, particularly after your experience with the other clinic. Thanks for your message, I’m feeling very reassured now and ready to take this on! Best of luck x

Hi @Barbs3116 I've never posted on here before but I have just started the process with kind.I was searching for info/experiences on them before I started and didn't come across anything so thought it might be useful to others if I respond. I have added as much detail as I can remember for kind in case it helps you or anyone else.

For background I am turning 35 soon, have no known fertility issues, husband has 3% morphology but otherwise count and progression etc everything else is good. We have been trying for more than 18 months, 1 miscarriage in feb this year, my gp has referred us on NHS however I know that process can take a very long time so I looked into Kind. I am also closest to Harrow, the low cost is what drew me to it, I know I could wait for my NHS referral to come through but I just don't know how long it will be and don't want to wait.

I did a webinar with Kind and was happy with what they had to offer and they answered lots of questions after the webinar too, I went ahead and paid £350 for their initial checks which included AMH, AFC, BMI check and Semen analysis. If you already have any of these from your GP or other private tests they can accept them if they are recent so this initial cost may be lower if for example you have already done a recent semen analysis you just need to call them to arrange and not book online if you dont need all checks.

I had my scans and blood test at LWC Harrow and my husband went to Harley st for his semen analysis as Harrow dont have this facility. I had a video consultation with consultant the following week, I was told I would be a suitable candidate for kind and said I would like to proceed, I was contacted a few days later by a patient coordinator. My next step was to book in a nursing consultation. I also sent over the relevant paperwork(most recent smear result ) and consent forms were all completed online, there are also some online training modules to complete.

I had my nurse consultation earlier this week, they wanted a TSH blood test (either through GP or you can pay to do it with them £70) and they took blood from me and husband to screen for hiv etc. The nurse explained the whole process in detail and went through how each stage works and which medications would be needed on each days as well as how/where the scans and egg collection will happen. Once we were done with the consultation I made full payment and the following day they got in touch to arrange when I want the prescription medication delivered to my home address.

I am due to start my period in the next 5-10 days so on my first day of full flow I am to email the nurse who will then instruct me when to take my first injection. I will have 3-4 scans at Harrow and then egg collection and embryo transfer will be at Harley street. 🙏🏼

From what I can tell the process is very similar to what I have read about the mild ivf at ABC and Create. I can't speak about those but I can say so far I am happy I chose kind and they have been great with communicating and putting me at ease.
The main reason it it so affordable is because it is nurse led and mostly a fixed plan to suit 'non complex' cases according to their eligibility criteria.

If you have any other questions let me know I would be happy to answer.

Hey can I ask was the medication included in the price they give u or is that an additional cost? X

@Bellarose74019
Medication was all included. The only additional thing I had to pay for was a TSH test before starting treatment. This was £70 however they did give me the option to do it with my gp for free if I wanted to.

Something else to consider -I would say that although I am glad I did Kind I would go for the long protocol if this isn't successful. I didn't have any particular medical reason to go for Kind it was more the cost and being able to do it quickly which appealed to me.

Kind is a standard protocol which they can’t deviate from. So although they can give you more days of stims (I had 14 days of stims) they can't up the dosage. I got 3 mature eggs although I had a lot of follicles. Had they been able to up the dosage I could have potentially had a lot more as there were 7-10 more medium sized ones that didnt get a chance to catch up.

Thank you so much for the info, yeah I have endometriosis so I’m not sure what I’d need in terms of dosage, where are you now in terms of the process x

I know the idea is quality over quantity but for me it was hard to hear only three collected and then only one fertilised. I know it only takes one but I still think I would go for long protocol next time as I have decent AMH and AFC for my age

@Bellarose74019 I am currently in my two week wait trying my best not to symptom spot before test day. Don't feel hopeful and the embryo was 2BB and according to everything I read this isn't the greatest although the embryologist seemed very positive.

I am very fortunate that whilst I am going through this process my nhs referral appointment has come through for October. I'm praying I don't need it and I'm pregnant but have peace of mind knowing I'll soon have another shot if it hasn't worked. I eligible for three rounds on nhs in my area and Kind would found as one round so I should have two more.

Gosh it must be so much harder to navigate this journey with endo too. Do you qualify for a nhs referral?

I do yes I live in wales and I’m currently at the top of the list for Ivf just awaiting an appointment! I just feel like it’s taking forever lol! It sure is hard I’ve got stage 4 endo too so Ivf is really my only chance! Aww 2 week wait must be hard but fingers and toes crossed for you ! Keep positive I’m sure you will get a positive! Xxxx

@Bellarose74019 thank you 😊
Fingers crossed the wait won't be too long for you.
Also a friend of mine told me when you get your referral/appointment letter just call them every few days to try to get cancellation appointments. That was what she did when doing nhs funded ivf and sped up the process. Might be worth a shot for you once you are able to contact them.

Good luck on your journey and hope everything works out 🙏🏽

Thank you and a massive good luck to you too! Fingers crossed ❤️ keep me posted xx p

@User262 I’m sorry I missed your previous message - just catching up now and this is so useful!

Thank you for sharing your experience and I appreciate your balanced view. I’m in a similar position, in that I don’t have a medical reason to go for Kind but the cost and speed are the main factors…that’s good to know you can still get your 2 rounds with the NHS having done 1 round there, I assumed as soon as you have any private treatment you would be removed from the list. I’m on the list but who knows how long it will take, we’ve not had any appointments through yet.

The TWW must feel long after treatment, I hope you’re doing ok and sending baby dust your way 😊

@Barbs3116 thank you keeping everything crossed!

I totally understand not wanting to wait for the referral I just didn't know how long I would be waiting and after a loss earlier this year felt I didn't want to waste any time. Even though it may not work it was worth the extra chance at the price point.
My gp referred me to Chelsea and Westminster so before starting Kind I called them to check the rules in the north west London integrated care board. They confirmed I could have up to three rounds on nhs but any self funded rounds would count towards the three. This is different for every area though so always double check with your local car board.
Also within the rules if a round is self funded you need to use up any frozen embryos before being able to get nhs funding. This is also something to consider as if you end up with some frozen with Kind and first try isn't successful you would need to pay to use them before being able to go through nhs.

Are you north west London too? If so timing wise my gp sent the referral in May and my appointment has come through for October. I don't know how long it will be from the first appointment to actually starting treatment but from what I have read it usually isn't too long.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions 😊

Oooh that’s really reassuring to know - thank you! I’m in Hertfordshire (used to be North London!) so will give them a call to check the rules in my area before doing anything. So it sounds like around 5 months wait, that’s not too bad. I was working on the assumption from other posts on here that it’s around a year from GP appointment to IVF and that’ll mean I’m 36, almost 37 so really keen to get moving!!

Keeping my fingers crossed that your Kind round was successful - please keep us posted x

@Barbs3116 You can also check with your gp the wait times for where you have been referred.
Fingers crossed it's a quick process for you but I know it can vary so much in different areas so it's so hard to know for sure.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on!

@User262 thanks, I really appreciate all your advice! I’m sure it is a bit of a lottery. I asked my GP and her response was just that she didn’t know anything about waiting times and didn’t know where they would refer me - not super helpful but they must be so stretched

@User262 quick update, I spoke to the gynae clinic yesterday and they’ve confirmed that it’s only 1 round that we’d be eligible for in Herts and they couldn’t really give much indication of waiting times. I think that’s made up my mind that we need to get moving with either Kind or ABC to avoid the wait. DP seems to be on board so looks like we’ll be going for it if we’re not successful this cycle 🤞🏼

@Barbs3116 good to know for certain about how many rounds. It's so unfair how it varies in different areas.
Glad to hear you have made a decision going forward, it must be hard to decide knowing that it may not work and the costs etc but I totally know how you feel about not wanting to waste any more time. When were you initially referred by your gp?

I know how hard it is when all you want is a baby and time is ticking so completely know why you are choosing to go with kind/abc as i did the same thing.

However if I was in this position again I would have waited for nhs as I had already been waiting for 3/4 months by the time I did kind or I would have paid for normal ivf (if I could afford it). I just turned 35 so I know you are a little older and this is also a factor.
Thinking about it now, I could have more chance of freezing some embryos for a sibling with normal ivf knowing I am getting older by the time I would want a second child. Although a lot of people do get this with mild ivf too so I think it was just my response to stims that wasn't great. Possibly because my bmi was close to the top threshold? Not too sure why. Also don't know for sure how I would respond to normal ivf but just assuming I would have got more mature eggs due to seeing lots of medium follicles on my scans during kind.

My clinic advised test day was today (10 days after transfer) and it was negative even on a sensitive test so they said it hasn't worked for me this time. Even though I went into it knowing it's not a guarantee you can't help but think it will work as you have so much hope for being pregnant. I am so so fortunate to have my nhs appointment in October which gives me comfort knowing the wait won't be too long to try again but I actually don't know how long it will be until I start any treatment so who knows. Either way it still sucks that it didn't work this time but im surprisingly okay.

Sorry if this all isn't helpful for you just sharing my thoughts. Every journey is so different with this so there's no right or wrong in the decisions you make. You just both have to be on the same page with your choices and hope for the best.

I wish you all the luck in the world and hope this is your month 🤞🏽so you won't even need to go through kind/abc or anything else.

@User262 definitely, I feel much better informed now and in control now we’ve made this decision. Another big factor was my partner’s BMI - we wouldn’t be able to start treatment with NHS until he brought his weight down and there is some medication he’s on which makes it more difficult to lose weight…whereas ABC and Kind don’t have the same criteria for the male, only the female.

I’m really sorry to hear that this round wasn’t successful, it sounds like you’re coping so well with the news and you have a strong plan B lined up which is fantastic.

That's really helpful to get your perspective on mild IVF vs normal - I’d like to get some more advice on this and see what could be best for our circumstances. I was leaning towards mild because of the meds and not being so intensive on the body (and the price) but that’s a good point about getting additional eggs to freeze for future in case we should want more children. DP seems sure that he only wants 1 but I think that could change when we have the perspective of being parents…

Wishing you all the luck and baby dust for your next round ✨

@Barbs3116
It must feel good to know you have a plan going forward. Good luck getting the answers you need and hope you have success whichever option you go for. 😊

Keep us posted on how you get on! Sending lots of baby dust your way too!

@User262 hey sorry to reignite an old thread. I'm just looking at starting with Kind IVF, and was wondering what the timeline from initial testing to having the meds ready to go was?
Have testing this week and consultation next week. But will only have a couple weeks after the first consultation until my next cycle starts, to have the nurse consultation/pay/forms etc. Trying to figure out if we will be able to get a round in before Christmas or if that's wishful thinking.