IVF - IVF in another country?

[mellen93]

Hello all,

Just in need of some friendly advice, iv been doing my research on IVF in other European counties and its a little confusing as every country claims to be "the best".

Abit of background, my partner and I are trying for a baby but we know we have to go down the IVF route as his sperm count is very low. I'm 30 everything is fine my fertility is very good.

Obviously like anyone going through IVF we would love it to work first time, so i have been looking into possibly going aboard as the success rates claim to be higher and of course the money ( and some sun is always nice ;) ).

I would love to know has anyone been or going through the same journey, or could recommend any european clinics? the main issue i have is time off work.

Thank you! x

Hello,

I am currently having IVF at TFP Storkklinik in Copenhagen. 4 years ago, we conceived our daughter there through IUI. We are a same sex couple with no known fertility issues, and were recommended the clinic by friends. We've had a great experience and the clinic staff are so friendly, welcoming and supportive. They speak English and all my communications are in English too. Travel between the airport and hotel is extremely easy. The public transport is amazing there - there's an essentially direct tram that takes about 20/25 mins.

We found that even in an expensive country like Denmark, the cost of treatment worked out cheaper there, even when factoring in flights and hotels. I also purchased the majority of the medications over there and found it to be between 25 - 50% cheaper. The only issue can be getting a Danish prescription filled out in the UK. Technically, it should be fine but I found Boots just flat out refused to look at my prescription. When I need additional meds, I've used Zen Pharmaceuticals. They require a hardcopy of the prescription, which I either pick up in advance from my clinic or they post over to me.

In terms of time off, I only told my line manager recently and managed to take most of the time of as holiday and was lucky enough to have some dates fall around weekends etc, so I was only ever taking off a day here or there. I could have got away without saying anything at all to work but I felt I wanted to share what was happening in the end.

I would say do your research as I don't know how Storkklinik compares to other European clinics in terms of success rates. As I say, we went off a recommendation, and at the time we were only doing IUI so felt it was worth taking the chance. With our early success, it made sense to go back to the same clinic to try for number two.

Let me know if you want to know anything else and good luck with your journey.

I've posted this before, but this was the guide that I read and found it to be pretty helpful in terms of country comparison.

https://www.fertilityclinicsabroad.com/ivf-abroad-guide/

We are with Reprofit in Brno and have found them to be excellent so far, and much cheaper than the UK (everywhere in Europe is cheaper than the UK!).

Depending on your proximity to a city, I wouldn't worry too much about time off - we had our consultation on Teams so didn't need to go over for that, you can buy private blood and sperm tests to do at home and send the results to Europe. You can also have ultrasounds done at places like Ultrasound Direct in the UK. For my first egg retrieval, I think I spent about a week in Czechia for a scan, some bloodwork and the procedure itself but did everything else in the UK.

So glad people replied, really thought this might just sit with no replies!

@St4rbuck Thank you so much, i hadn't looked into Copenhagen, there are just so many options out there. im 100% going to add this to my research list. I guess its just scary going elsewhere, but paying £5000 +++ for results that are only 35% is super disheartening! Good luck in your journey !xx

@loulamay That is exactly what I been using! its so good, but so many options. Also with it being the male factor i found there is less information online.

Ok amazing, because i work in a very male heavy industry so i don't really want to share too much of my personal life.

a week is amazing, most places say up to 3 weeks, but i "up to" being the main words.

Thank you!

No worries - I think in the end it came down to Spain and Czechia for us and so we just went with the cheaper option (even though the sun in Spain would have been nice!).

Quick question - have you looked into whether or not you qualify for NHS treatment? I think all counties have different criteria.

3 weeks is certainly not necessary as long as your Euro clinic will accept info about scans etc from a UK provider and you can get the meds here. We use Fertility4U and they just accept the prescription from Brno and you pay through their site and the meds are shipped from the UK.

I mean this SO kindly but having been in the IVF trenches for a while now (we have a daughter who is 2 from one successful FET and trying for a sibling) I wish someone had advised me from the beginning to just lower my expectations a little. It's awesome that you have no issues, but not everyone has success first time and it can turn into a bit of a slog. Money and persistence definitely help 😂

@loulamay We have only been trying for just under a year, on the NHS you have to be trying for 2 years, and they have my notes as to when my coil was taken out. We really don't want to wait :(

I totally get it, but i have to be the positive one as my partner has already had 2 failed IVF's with his ex wife, so i need to be the positive one, i know its going to be tough but not being stressed out should help our chances, even if its by 2%..haha!

This is very new to me, I think I'm over doing the research, im just ready to have a baby :(

I'm so sorry, I hope I haven't burst your bubble! Of course it's great to stay positive and you sound like you're very strong :-) I also love to research but it can definitely be overwhelming! If you're ready then maybe it's time to pick say two clinics and see if they offer a free consultation online and get the ball rolling!

@loulamay oh no don't be silly, i appreciate your honesty and of course we all come here for advise so its always welcomed!

Good idea! thank you :)