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Frequently asked questions
Fertility treatment can be overwhelming. The factors to bear in mind when choosing a clinic particularly if you are self-funding treatment should be:
Location: You will need to commit to visiting the clinic numerous times so if it is closer to home or work this will limit the time needed to travel to and from the clinic and make it less stressful.
Treatments offered: Not all clinics offer all the services or choices you might want to consider so it is worth checking this before you make an appointment.
Cost: Some clinics may be more expensive than others, but also be wary of clinics which seem to offer very reduced cost fertility treatment as it is possible the treatment they can provide is limited.
Clinic ratings: Read reviews or better still speak with people who may have had treatment there and get a recommendation. The HFEA website is an excellent portal for this as it not only provides you with the latest inspection rating but also how patients have rated it on a variety of aspects.
Success rates: This is fundamental. A good clinic will have a reputation for providing good success rates which is imperative for patients to know. This means patients are taken care by doctors who recommend protocols according to their need, are well taken care of during the treatment cycle and they have good embryologists in a good laboratory in order for them to achieve the best outcome.
Once cycle takes roughly 10-14 days from the start of ovarian stimulation to the egg retrieval. We recommend you freeze 10-20 eggs if you are under the age of 35 to achieve a 75-90% chance of achieving a live birth with frozen eggs. The number of eggs you can achieve will depend on your egg reserve which can vary from person to person. If you have a good reserve you may be able to achieve a good number of eggs from one cycle, if not then you may need multiple cycles to achieve this.
The cycle (or round) of fertility treatment starts with the period of ovarian stimulation with regular monitoring followed by the egg retrieval and ends with the embryo transfer. There is then a short wait before testing for pregnancy (14 days after the egg retrieval). A cycle of egg freezing ends with the egg retrieval and the period (again roughly 14 days after the egg retrieval).
You can start investigating your fertility at any time, if you are simply interested, or you have just started trying or have been trying for a while. We generally say if you are under 35 if you have been trying actively for 12 months or more and if you are over 35 it should be 6 months. If you are over 40 then it is useful to have some tests in advance of trying to ensure you do not lose any precious time. Be wary however of having fertility tests when it is not indicated as it may flag up issues which are not in themselves necessarily causes of infertility and may cause a lot of avoidable angst.
No, we do not recommend starting treatment in one clinic and moving to another however if you are unhappy with your current clinic then of course it makes sense to move. We sometimes have patients who feel the need after multiple attempts to move elsewhere as having failed cycles can be triggering and some patients need to move on and try elsewhere. We fully understand this, equally we have a number of patients who come to us having tried treatment in other clinics, sometimes multiple other clinics. We find it very useful if these patients have copies of their notes and summaries of their protocols used and the outcomes of their cycles. This helps us to better understand their case and make a decision on how to move forward.
Filter for this option in our clinic search menu. Reach out if you want to know about a specific clinic and we will come back to you promptly.