Page 3 | IVF clinics in Greece Athens

Gkb90 · 2024-07-13T09:57:56+00:00

Hello all, just wondering if anyone has used or been in touch with any IVF clinics in Greece? I am in between Serum and Ark if any one has used these clinics before and could share their experiences thank you

Laura2345cc · 07/04/2025 21:20

yassos · 07/04/2025 20:27

I’m 41. Happy to DM?

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yes. Happy to DM

Laura2345cc · 07/04/2025 22:17

JoyIsTheKey · 14/02/2025 21:25

Avoid Serum. My experience is very recent. Serum does not personalise either and is full of unnecessary surprises . I have had eggs collections elsewhere in Europe and Asia as comparison.

Serum has a good administration team. However, I have no confidence to say the same for their medical team. For my experience it feels like blind leading the blind.

Serum is very friendly and making you feel well . If you are after getting feeling well and not the final results then they are the right team

On comparison with other experiences in other countries I noticed the differences as follows in Serum

Excessive prescription of drugs including ones you don't need or ask you to start early without any supported evidence for your case

Unable to provide or even explain effectiveness for other advance tests and only offer Ovarian RPR which has no proven benefits. You can see other threads on this that are commented by others on Serum's approach

doesn't explain all potential risks until it happens or doesn't not explain result or reasoning for changes

If I choose again , I would stay in the jurisdiction where I live . I didn't go to Greece for the cost but someone who has used them 10 years ago with the founder of Serum mentioned it is good. I don't believe this clinic is the same anymore .

People should really only recommend a clinic if they have experienced successful live birth in the clinic. Afterall it is an emotional journey for all. It was very sad to see other ladies emotionally praying at the reception during my visits.

I agree with everything in your post. I feel they are able to manipulate you, to make you trust them in the first phase. I also fell for "the feel good factor"
We all want the "feel good factor" as this is such a lonely and painful road.
It seems that people who have success with Serum seems to be the young ones, usually below the age of 40.

May I ask if you have any updates since serum? Have you moved to another clinic?

JoyIsTheKey · 08/04/2025 09:14

@Laura2345cc

I decided not to waste more time with Serum. The last contact I have was a few weeks ago.

As for your separate questions on how many survived day 3 and 5 out of 18 - only 5 and 2 respectively. Based on the experience and results that's why I believe that Serum's standard protocol (golden rule) of excessive drug use without specific reasons caused lower quality eggs. Also the technology used not on par with the world is probably not best for beyond Day 3 .

I had my eggs frozen at much younger age with clinic abroad and they collected 13. 18 clearly was excessive after 10 years and using double the drugs.

Unless you are in a city that do not have many clinics, I would stay local and find the one with a doctor that has many years of own experience rather than relying on text book and others research. It matters.

i also haven't used my younger eggs so my next experience likely would not help you.

Mikela42 · 12/04/2025 22:34

Hi all , i researched ark and is not an ivf clinic! They work with institute of life an ivf clinic inside a big hospital. Reviews speaking for a chaotic place with a hospitalize feeling and treat from all the staff ! I didn’t get to ark or institute of life but i researched them because of all the posts speaking good for ark!
I got to serum for first appointment 10 February and they rush to make all happened ( hysto , prp-gf ) . When i left serum i felt that i spend more money and i did no ivf … I am now pregnant natural at 39 after 4 years and 6 ivf in london and spain!
I believe that ark makes a terrible marketing via forums and manipulates costumers ! I don’t really know it but i feel it after reading all available forums mostly reddit and here!
Serum saved the game for me and many many others who shares their stories and recommending serum from all over the world!
Do not lose hope and wishing you all good luck!

yassos · 13/04/2025 00:31

Mikela42 · 12/04/2025 22:34

Hi all , i researched ark and is not an ivf clinic! They work with institute of life an ivf clinic inside a big hospital. Reviews speaking for a chaotic place with a hospitalize feeling and treat from all the staff ! I didn’t get to ark or institute of life but i researched them because of all the posts speaking good for ark!
I got to serum for first appointment 10 February and they rush to make all happened ( hysto , prp-gf ) . When i left serum i felt that i spend more money and i did no ivf … I am now pregnant natural at 39 after 4 years and 6 ivf in london and spain!
I believe that ark makes a terrible marketing via forums and manipulates costumers ! I don’t really know it but i feel it after reading all available forums mostly reddit and here!
Serum saved the game for me and many many others who shares their stories and recommending serum from all over the world!
Do not lose hope and wishing you all good luck!

Many clinics work out of IOL – it’s a big hospital with an excellent lab (big labs work with higher volumes of embryos, have more experienced embryologists and are less impacted by individual staff turnover). Working with a big lab like that is a strength not a drawback.

I was there recently for my egg collection in Feb and it was busy (it’s a popular lab) but not chaotic at all. The experience was far better than that in the UK at an NHS hospital last year – and far, far more organised. The results we got were also better by many orders of magnitude.

Our clinic (not Ark) and the lab there did a great job for us.

It sounds like you haven’t even had an experience with Ark? Why are you convinced it’s so bad?

Edit: typo

Mikela42 · 13/04/2025 00:48

yassos · 13/04/2025 00:31

Many clinics work out of IOL – it’s a big hospital with an excellent lab (big labs work with higher volumes of embryos, have more experienced embryologists and are less impacted by individual staff turnover). Working with a big lab like that is a strength not a drawback.

I was there recently for my egg collection in Feb and it was busy (it’s a popular lab) but not chaotic at all. The experience was far better than that in the UK at an NHS hospital last year – and far, far more organised. The results we got were also better by many orders of magnitude.

Our clinic (not Ark) and the lab there did a great job for us.

It sounds like you haven’t even had an experience with Ark? Why are you convinced it’s so bad?

Edit: typo

Edited

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i made clear that i never used their services … hopefully there was plenty of reviews on that specific hospital ivf on google for me to avoid it!
But yes i also agree that if you compare it to nhs it will be heaven on earth!!!
I compare Serum with world class clinics i went like Alicante and Care…

Laura2345cc · 13/04/2025 00:52

yassos · 13/04/2025 00:31

Many clinics work out of IOL – it’s a big hospital with an excellent lab (big labs work with higher volumes of embryos, have more experienced embryologists and are less impacted by individual staff turnover). Working with a big lab like that is a strength not a drawback.

I was there recently for my egg collection in Feb and it was busy (it’s a popular lab) but not chaotic at all. The experience was far better than that in the UK at an NHS hospital last year – and far, far more organised. The results we got were also better by many orders of magnitude.

Our clinic (not Ark) and the lab there did a great job for us.

It sounds like you haven’t even had an experience with Ark? Why are you convinced it’s so bad?

Edit: typo

Edited

Show quote history

Exactly, Yassos. It's odd how someone that never been there, attempts so hard to say they are no good,without having had any previous interactions with the clinic.
Then goes on saying "ark makes a terrible marketing via forums and manipulates". How do you know? If you have never had anything to do with the clinic, why are you making such accusations? Then, goes on saying about serum that "many shares their stories and recommending serum from all over the world" Therefore, all the stories coming out of serum are authentic, but stories coming out of Ark are not. This actually sounds like marketing to me. Because there is no justification in attacking Ark, without having had any experience with them.

yassos · 13/04/2025 00:52

Mikela42 · 13/04/2025 00:48

i made clear that i never used their services … hopefully there was plenty of reviews on that specific hospital ivf on google for me to avoid it!
But yes i also agree that if you compare it to nhs it will be heaven on earth!!!
I compare Serum with world class clinics i went like Alicante and Care…

Show quote history

Sorry, but how rude.

You’re suggesting that I had a good experience there because I simply don’t know any better, because I’m British?

You sound like a shill for Serum tbh.

yassos · 13/04/2025 00:55

Mikela42 · 13/04/2025 00:48

i made clear that i never used their services … hopefully there was plenty of reviews on that specific hospital ivf on google for me to avoid it!
But yes i also agree that if you compare it to nhs it will be heaven on earth!!!
I compare Serum with world class clinics i went like Alicante and Care…

Show quote history

And if the other clinics you went to were so good, why did you change clinic 3 times.

Laura2345cc · 13/04/2025 01:11

yassos · 13/04/2025 00:55

And if the other clinics you went to were so good, why did you change clinic 3 times.

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It seems that she went to "world class clinics" first. Failed with two world class clinics. Then she goes to the third one. She has success. And then compares the clinic she had success with the clinics she failed, saying "I compare Serum with world class clinics I went like Alicante and Care".
If a clinic offered you a child, how can you speak in such a tone with regards the clinic... saying they are just "as good as" others. So odd.

44TQT · 26/06/2025 22:12

Hi Everyone! Just joined and had my first consult with Serum today too. It was a long one. Has anyone had success with them? They were very thorough and nice but felt like they were suggesting a lot of different medical treatments without having a full medical history on me! 😵‍💫

A sample of below:
Consultation: 150 €
Pelvic scan and treatment planning: free of charge
Microbiota test: 300 €
Aqua scan/endometrial scratch: 200 €
Ovarian PRP: 1.800 €
IVF Cycle: 3.600 € (blood tests and medication is not included)

Seems a bit overkill with the tests if I’m honest!!

They even suggested that my partner get on antibiotics for oxidative stress due to his morphology?! I’m not a doctor but I’ve studied a bit at University in Biology and know that you don’t prescribe antibiotics for that!

Good luck everyone on your journey and make sure you ask questions! I’m glad I did!

Mandulaa · 26/06/2025 23:16

@44TQT- I am 36 years old, and currently 14 weeks pregnant after first transfer in Serum and we have still 6 embryos in the freezer.
My partner had some semen issues (NHS recommended ICSI), he is also diabetic, they offered him 40 days antibiotics treatment and his results became better and there was no need for ICSI, only PICSI. I do not know if the two connecting but for us it was working out.
I also had the histeroscopy with the microbioma test, and my Lactobacilli % was way under the normal and ended up on an antibiotics treatment. They recommended to try naturally after this for couple of months as that could cause the infertility and my partners number also reached a level when it supposed to work without help but unfortunately I did not get pregnant naturally.
We were really pleased with the work of the midwifes, coordinators and embryologists, but did not like the communication of our doctor as he was not providing detailed enough answers for our questions about reasons behind treatments, but by the end he did the job well.
The medication protocol for the FET seemed to be an overkill, they put me on Bondi protocol (clexane-13 weeks, and prednisolone-11 weeks), but by the end it worth it. Especially we could not believe it happened for first transfer, as all of our friends who did it in the UK had 4-5 transfer (and more than 1 eggretrieval) until the successful pregnancy. I am not sure this was only luck or what would happen if we use different clinic, just my own experience after tests and a complete IVF cycle by them.

44TQT · 26/06/2025 23:36

Mandulaa · 26/06/2025 23:16

@44TQT- I am 36 years old, and currently 14 weeks pregnant after first transfer in Serum and we have still 6 embryos in the freezer.
My partner had some semen issues (NHS recommended ICSI), he is also diabetic, they offered him 40 days antibiotics treatment and his results became better and there was no need for ICSI, only PICSI. I do not know if the two connecting but for us it was working out.
I also had the histeroscopy with the microbioma test, and my Lactobacilli % was way under the normal and ended up on an antibiotics treatment. They recommended to try naturally after this for couple of months as that could cause the infertility and my partners number also reached a level when it supposed to work without help but unfortunately I did not get pregnant naturally.
We were really pleased with the work of the midwifes, coordinators and embryologists, but did not like the communication of our doctor as he was not providing detailed enough answers for our questions about reasons behind treatments, but by the end he did the job well.
The medication protocol for the FET seemed to be an overkill, they put me on Bondi protocol (clexane-13 weeks, and prednisolone-11 weeks), but by the end it worth it. Especially we could not believe it happened for first transfer, as all of our friends who did it in the UK had 4-5 transfer (and more than 1 eggretrieval) until the successful pregnancy. I am not sure this was only luck or what would happen if we use different clinic, just my own experience after tests and a complete IVF cycle by them.

@Mandulaa Glad to hear you were successful with them and you’re 14 weeks along now. Seems their treatment plan worked for you but I’ve personally been told not to take antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. It kills your gut health and the good bacteria in the body. I don’t want to cause any more oxidative stress and inflammation. I’ve also had some really bad allergic reactions to certain antibiotics so I’m a bit cautious about taking them unless I have an actual bacterial infection. I’d rather take a more holistic approach to IVF as opposed to an aggressive one. I’ll get my AFC and see where it goes from there. Good luck with your journey!

JoyIsTheKey · 29/06/2025 18:29

@44TQT you may have read many posts already related to other clinics. Ovarian RPR - no clinical evidence making any difference to pregnancy success. Any ethical clinics would not have recommended this.

Serum works for most people in their 30s who in general have very high chance of pregnancy. Any clinic would give you the same success rates.

Serum doesn't do case by case. They treat you all the same without thinking about what works for you. Don't be afraid to ask them questions. Then you will find out what they are like when you ask critical questions.

JoyIsTheKey · 29/06/2025 18:35

@44TQT below two are worth doing and getting the report if do find difficulty getting pregnant and you have not a had done done it before to know your vagina health. However I remember the consultation was free and one of the below is call Chicago test.

Microbiota test: 300 €
Aqua scan/endometrial scratch: 200 €

Clocloxx · 01/07/2025 21:55

JoyIsTheKey · 29/06/2025 18:29

@44TQT you may have read many posts already related to other clinics. Ovarian RPR - no clinical evidence making any difference to pregnancy success. Any ethical clinics would not have recommended this.

Serum works for most people in their 30s who in general have very high chance of pregnancy. Any clinic would give you the same success rates.

Serum doesn't do case by case. They treat you all the same without thinking about what works for you. Don't be afraid to ask them questions. Then you will find out what they are like when you ask critical questions.

Ovarian PRP worked for me, I had 2 other rounds of ivf with terrible egg quality never getting past day 4 if fertilized, sometimes my eggs would just fall apart after been collected. Never collected more then 4 eggs either, Moved to serum had Ovarian PRP 8 weeks before collection, collected 8 mature eggs, currently 32 weeks pregnant and 2 blastocysts on ice.
Plenty of women had success with Ovarian prp

JoyIsTheKey · 02/07/2025 12:34

Congratulations.

I do not know if many women had success with PRP. I can only base my comment on the direct inquiries with fertility doctors in 7 clinics in London and 1 in Greece.

44TQT · 03/07/2025 07:33

JoyIsTheKey · 29/06/2025 18:35

@44TQT below two are worth doing and getting the report if do find difficulty getting pregnant and you have not a had done done it before to know your vagina health. However I remember the consultation was free and one of the below is call Chicago test.

Microbiota test: 300 €
Aqua scan/endometrial scratch: 200 €

@JoyIsTheKey Thanks for your suggestions. I have asked them critical questions and that’s what prompted my concern about their approach. They also suggested these tests. I might go to a private fertility doctor in Greece rather than a clinic which usually puts profits over patients. I’m not ruling any of these tests out but for a clinic to just prescribe a bunch of tests to all patients who enquire is a bit concerning. Healthcare and treatments should never be a one size fits all approach. Thanks again!