Access Fertility - is it worth it?

[waitingforourmiracle]

Just that basically! Has anyone used access fertility and would you recommend to use?
Just had my first round of IVF on the nhs and ended up with just 1 low graded blast on day 5, I'm having a FET transfer due to high risk of OHSS so I know I'm still in with a chance but looking at plan b if it's needed!

[ExhaustedPigeon1988]

Used access, highly recommend! We got 2 egg collections & 2 fresh transfers, plus 3 FET, for £10k + meds….. had we paid separately it would have easily been double that price. It’s always a gamble though, as if you fall pregnant first time that’s the end of the program and no refunds, or if you don’t produce many embryos then there’s not many transfers to be done…. But the same applies for pay as you go, it’s so hard as there is a lot to think about. We got our son on our 5th transfer, and have just started another access fertility program to get a sibling… best of luck whatever you decide x

[waitingforourmiracle]

Oh that's really helpful thank you! So happy you got your son and the best of luck with your next journey! X

[lemons44]

It's worth noting the access fertility packages differ depending on clinic and your age. Our package is 2 fresh cycles and unlimited frozen transfers for £12,200 at CRGH great Portland. This does not include medication or anything sperm related (we are male factor so need things like calcium ionophore on top). It also doesn't cover pre-IVF screening checks if yours have expired. Medication for my first fresh cycle cost £1,700 and I bought this via the clinic (probably would have been cheaper had I shopped around). The rule with Access Fertility (for my package not sure if it applies to all) is you have to use up all frozen embryos before starting the next fresh round i.e. you can't bank embryos. It's worth contacting AF to ask for the price brochure for your specific clinic x

[lemons44]

Forgot to add ours was for ICSI! So also a bit more expensive. They give you two different prices one for normal IVF and one for ICSI x

[waitingforourmiracle]

Thank you @lemons44 we're also male factor and will be using ICSI, I've requested a brochure! :) x

[lemons44]

No worries @waitingforourmiracle good luck with your transfer, we are also waiting for a FET. We have a consultation tomorrow to agree the approach. Try not to get disheartened about the quality I have been reading lots of stories on here about AAs not working and get lower quality ones becoming a baby - it seems to be quite random! x

[Btowngirl]

@lemons44

No worries @waitingforourmiracle good luck with your transfer, we are also waiting for a FET. We have a consultation tomorrow to agree the approach. Try not to get disheartened about the quality I have been reading lots of stories on here about AAs not working and get lower quality ones becoming a baby - it seems to be quite random! x

Echo this! Our consultant said grade A has a 56% chance of working and grade C has a 50% chance of working, with a B being somewhere in between. It’s reassuring hearing how close the percentages are!

[waitingforourmiracle]

@lemons44 @Btowngirl thank you both! We have a 4CC waiting to be transferred, only survivor from 21 eggs! X

[lemons44]

Sorry to hear about the drop in numbers @waitingforourmiracle the drop off rate for male factor can just be brutal. This is our third round of ICSI and the first time we have had any day 5s to transfer.

[waitingforourmiracle]

@lemons44 very! When are you due for transfer? X

[Natty2]

Hi @waitingforourmiracle I think we spoke back in Jan! I'm sorry to hear about your first cycle, it was very similar for me.
We went to a "freeze all" day before EC due to high progesterone,
We ended up with 14 eggs but only 5 mature and 3 fertilised through ICSI. We managed 1 good embryo by day 5 which is frozen.
We decided not to transfer yet and now going to start a second round soon, with Access Fertility. We went for the 2 multi cycle option, no refund, which will cover FETs until live birth. IVF can be so uncertain so we thought it would be sensible to go for this option which could help save costs in the long run.
Worst case we've spend around £4k more which is a lot but the thought is finally getting a BFP will make us forget and not worry about that!
Good luck

[waitingforourmiracle]

Hey @Natty2 it really is a rollercoaster isn't it!! The more I'm looking into prices I think Access Fertility is looking like the way to go! Even if we loose out on some money I think the peace of mind of having a few go's will be worth it! I did contemplate doing a fresh cycle and leaving my one in the freezer but as it was our NHS round thought I may as well give the transfer a try before forking out thousands of pounds 😔
Good luck with everything please let me know how you get on with your second cycle! X

[Natty2]

@waitingforourmiracle I know, we ended up loosing our nhs transfer in the end by opting for this but we felt like it was right for us to try and hopefully get abit more next time, to increase the chances of success 🤞
Really hope it all goes well with your FET.
I know how the last couple of weeks must have felt, so take some time to look after yourself!

[waitingforourmiracle]

Wishing you all the luck in the world!! @Natty2 xx

[Moonkittens]

We have used access fertility twice, both times we opted for the package that gave us 2 fresh cycles and unlimited frozen transfers as we felt that gave us a good shot at success. We'd used up our NHS funded rounds at this stage so also knew it wasn't necessarily going to be easy for us. The first time we had one fresh and one frozen which gave us our DD, which meant we pretty much broke even. The second time we had 1 fresh and 4 frozen transfers which gave us our second DD and definitely saved us money!

Interestingly the price hadn't changed in the 3 years between cycles even though the clinic's prices had gone up significantly in that time. It's a gamble but as IVF is likely to take a few goes it felt like good value. I also really liked having a set plan for a set number of cycles and not having to re-evaluate after each failed cycle / loss whether we should / could afford to try again, where would the money come from this time etc. One less thing to worry about!

[CherryBerryBoo]

hey!

we had a fresh round which ended in only 1 blast which failed. It was then we decided to use AF. We paid £10k for ICSI. We had to do a freeze all because of risk of OHSS but the 1st of 4 frozen embryos ended up with a pregnancy and live birth of DD. We felt so much reassurance knowing we had 4 more FETs if that one had failed. Although we paid more than what we would have of done, it was definitely worth it.

[waitingforourmiracle]

@Moonkittens so happy you got your 2 daughters 💛that's really helpful thank you!

@CherryBerryBoo I think AF is defo looking like the best option! Thank you for replying and so happy you got your daughter! 💛

[Natty2]

Hi @waitingforourmiracle how are you getting on with your FET plans?
I'm two days away from EC, I've responded well this time but now at risk of OHSS so fresh transfer has been cancelled again!
Pretty disappointed but I hope we have more than 1 embryo at least this time.

How long were you told to wait between EC and FET? my clinic suggest waiting until 3rd bleed, which seems longer than most clinics!

[waitingforourmiracle]

Hey @Natty2 good luck with your EC! I was so gutted when I was told ours would be a freeze all cycle! Fingers crossed for you!

I'm still waiting for my period to arrive, I have irregular cycles anyway so expected it to be little longer but I have read that alot of people seem to have a longer cycle after a egg collection 45+ long cycles! I got a positive ovulation test on Friday so hopefully only a couple more weeks to wait!

I did a mild IVF cycle so I could do my FET on my next cycle, 3 does sound a lot!!

[2mumlife]

@waitingforourmiracle Hi. We used Access Fertility after 4 failed medicated IUIs with donor sperm (same sex couple, no diagnosed fertility issue). Bit outdated, but we used Access Fertility in 2021. I was 31 at the time (age makes a difference to price as well). We paid just below £7k for a 2-cycle package with unlimited frozen transfers, no-refund option. I had a poor response from my first cycle (where we did 1 fresh and 1 frozen transfer) and a slightly better response from my second cycle. Second time we did a freeze-all round and we had 3 blasts to freeze. First FET resulted in my DD 😍

So overall £7k covered 2 egg collections, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frozen transfers (not including price of meds). Which worked out cheaper than if we'd paid the clinic as we went. Its like anything though its hard to predict what will work out cheaper, but it did take the stress off only having to cover meds as we went (which are still really expensive btw)

We transferred another embryo in January, and now 12 weeks pregnant, with 1 frostie still in the freezer.

Best of luck with your transfer :)

[waitingforourmiracle]

@2mumlife that is amazing news!! Congratulations!! Xx