IVF Cost

Technorati Tags: IVF Cost, Welcome

Technorati Tags: IVF Worldwide Costs

Three days after sending my letter requesting the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure to the Kinderwunschzentrum Privatspital Goldenes Kreuz in Austria I received the reply below. Unfortunately my first six questions were not addressed in this reply and to date I have not received any additional information.

The approximate US$ equivalents are given in red.

If you wish to contact this clinic directly their email address is office@kinderwunschzentrum.at

The costs for IVF are 2600€ (approx. US$3,440), IVF with ICSI 3000€ (approx. US$3.970)

The costs for medicine are additional costs (about 1000€ (approx. US$1,323))

You pay less if the cycle has to be abandoned.

You have to arrange your flight and hotel.

You will get a prescription for the medicine or sometimes The Kinderwunschzentrum we can give you the medicine and you do not have to go to the pharmacy.

You have to stay about 2 weeks (after pre treatment) in Vienna.

The pre treatment you can make in your homecountry with your gynecologist.

If you have a problem during the treatment you can give us a call and speak with the doctor, or if you have an urgent problem you can go to a hospital.

The waiting time for the first consultation is 4 to 6 weeks. First we need a few medical records from both partners and then we arange an appointment.

During the first consultation the doctor will explain everything to you, also the case of overstimulation. You will have one hour time to discuss everything.

Kinderwunschzentrum is a private institution.

I will send you later more answers to questions 1 to 6!

Best regards,

Mag. Tanja Otte

Patientenbetreuung

Kinderwunschzentrum  

Goldenes Kreuz Privatklinik

A-1090 Wien, Lazarettgasse 16-18

Tel:  +43-(0)1 - 40 111 – 1400

Fax: +43-(0)1 - 40 111 – 1401                                 

www.kinderwunschzentrum.at

www.ferticent.com

office@kinderwunschzentrum.at

Technorati Tags: Austria

I received a very fast response to my letter requesting information on the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure from the Centro de Fertilidad del Prado in Tijuana, Mexico - the reply came the same day!

Their website can be found at http://www.clinicadelafertilidad.com/, however I could not find a button to translate it into English.

The information is direct, which is good, and prices were given in US$.

Hello Sue

 

1. What is the current success rate for your clinic? (preferably by age as I know that the success rate will be much lower for somebody of my age)

General succes is arpound 40-45

les than 35..50%

egg donor 50%

35-37……35%

38-40…..25-30%

more than 40..20% or less

 

1. How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic?

aroun 100 cycles

1. What is the maximum age that you treat?

45

1. Are there any fertility conditions that you will not treat?

no gestacional surrogacy, no homo sex

 

1. What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace

at one time?

1st attempt…..day 2-3…..3 embryos….day 5…. 2 embrios

Other depends on the clinical situation

 

2. What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment?

IVF and ICSI is same cost 4500 usd plus meds.

1. What additional costs would / could be incurred?

initgial consultations, initial lab workshop is arouind 600 USD

1. What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned?

we make acharge aroud 1000 usd

1. How long would I need to be in Mexico for?
   

   around 2 weeks

Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation?

People fligtj to san diego usa, we are located 20 minutes from the border

 

1. How is the pre-treatment carried out?

Normally by email que can order the tests that we need, as ultrasounds, hormones, semen analysis, infectious tests

 

1. How do I get medication?

we can send you an prescription, or if patient came to our clinic we can take for a less price, and we are using Gonal F or Puregon or follistin

1. How will I be monitored?

we make all monitorings in site

1. How will I know that I am not being under / over stimulated?

we check it personally

1. If I have a problem whilst in the UK who would I go to?

You have to have an Gynecologist with basic knowledge on Infertility

1. Is the clinic registered with any regulatory body?

Or course we are registered in the main sanitary regulations in the state of baja california and federal requiriments from Mexico

1. How long is the waiting list for IVF treatment?

depends on the tests, ir you are ready and we dond have compromises, you can go straigth

 

I apologise for the long list, the more I look into having IVF treatment the more complex it seems to get!

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Dr Ortega

Technorati Tags: Mexico

I became so excited when I received the reply from Dr. Alejandro Chavez-Badiola of the New Hope Fertility Centre in Mexico. I must admit that the feeling that I got was that I had found the place I want to go to! And I thought I had narrowed my choices down to two, one close to home in Hungary (Kaali Inst IVF Centre) and one on the continent I love, Africa (Nairobi IVF Centre) - but this has really put a spanner in the works!

A quick reply to my letter requesting the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure - the very next day, and a very thorough reply. Not only that but Dr. Chavez-Badiola is offering something that nobody else has mentioned - Mini-IVF - less drugs, less cost - what more could a gal want!!! I need to get on with the savings - but then again he has also pointed me in a direction where I may be able to make some money to be able to afford this!! I am buzzing!

This reply is a MUST READ, especially if, like me, age is not on your side.

Prices are already in US$. If you want to contact Dr. Chavez-Badiola the email address is a.chavez@badiolaconsultores.com. They don’t appear to have a website though.

I’ll stop rambling now and let you read this superb reply.

Dear Sue,

I will answer your questions ?on the go?. I visited your blog and I was deeply impressed. I found it very comprehensive and therefore I will make a couple of observations at the end of this letter.

Let me start by introducing myself.  My name is Alejandro Chavez-Badiola, I am a gynaecologist with training in reproductive medicine at the largest IVF centre in the UK (the Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine, at the Liverpool Women?s Hospital).  Following this two-year training I pursued further training in NY and Tokyo, where I learned my area of special interest: Minimal stimulation and Natural Cycle IVF.

Since you have done quite a lot of research I will use a more technical language, although feel free to ask for any clarifications if you feel the need. Now, to answer your questions:

1. What is the current success rate for your clinic? (preferably by age as I know that the success rate will be much lower for somebody of my age)

Pregnancy rate per started cycle is 46% (60% per embryo transfer) for traditional IVF and 32% for Minimal stimulation IVF.

Standard IVF pregnancy rates:
<35 yrs:  56%
35 to 38: 48%

38:      36%

Depending on your FSH levels, someone your age will probably have a poor response to stimulation drugs and, no matter how high the hormones? dose we use, you will probably end-up producing fewer eggs than the ?ideal? number (according to traditional IVF standards).  This is where Mini-IVF becomes your allied.

With Mini-IVF, you will be stimulated with oral medication and maybe with some injectable hormones (gonadotrophins), but usually no more than three injections overall.  This stimulation will allow your ovaries to produce only the best quality eggs your body can produce in that specific cycle.  In fewer words, I focus on egg quality rather than quantity.

2. How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic?

In Mexico only we perform around 500 cycles a year.

3. What is the maximum age that you treat?

As long as you still have regular periods we can offer you IVF with your eggs (no age limit).  As mentioned above, to focus on egg quality rather than total egg number, allow us to offer woman our ?one egg- one embryo- one baby? philosophy.

If willing (or in need) to undergo donor IVF, we have a donors? egg bank where women can choose from (there is no waiting list). For women over 50 years old, their particular cases would have to undergo internal ethics committee approval.

Donors? eggs are cryopreserved with the latest technology called vitrification (Cryotop method), which has shown egg survival rates >98% with fertilisation, implantation and pregnancy rates comparable to those from fresh eggs.  These results have been widely published in reputable journals and results are consistent throughout fertility centres in Italy, Spain, Japan, USA and Mexico.
This is our key to offer eggs from a large database  and without waiting.

4. Are there any fertility conditions that you will not treat?

At the moment we still don?t offer PGD (we will from summer 2009), and therefore gender selection.  We also avoid surrogacy.

5. What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace at one time?

A positive pregnancy test is not what I?m after, but for you to take home a HEALTHY baby.  This is:  to avoid twin pregnancies… triplets or higher order multiple pregnancies are out of the question and are considered by me as a treatment failure.

One of the reasons why IVF centres transfer so many embryos is because their cryopreserving (freezing) techniques are unreliable and they know that only half of those frozen embryos will survive thawing.   With our vitrification technology we know  frozen embryos will survive (>96%), which allow us to transfer fewer embryos but to offer more embryo transfers per started cycle, which at the end make no difference in live-birth rates but they do in multiple pregnancy rates and associated complications.

Having said all of the above, there are no regulations in Mexico regarding embryo transfer and after proper counselling couples decide on final number of embryos to be transferred.

6. What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment?

Based on today?s exchange rate:

- Standard IVF $3,ooo USD (plus medication and blood tests?around $1,ooo to 1,5oo USD)
- Mini-IVF     $2,2oo USD (plus medication and blood test?around $150 USD)
- 3- Month treatment package with Mini-IVF $5,ooo USD (plus medication and blood tests)

Cryopreservation is not included in costs (except in the 3-Month package), which is around 3oo USD

7. What additional costs would / could be incurred?

- Medications
- Initial consultation and tests (which can be performed at home?HIV, hep B&C, etc)
- Bloods during follow-up
- Cryopreservation
- Treatment/ management of IVF related complications (e.g. OHSS- hyperstimulation syndrome)

8. What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned?

You only pay for what you get; rest of money goes towards your next cycle.  As a very general guide you can divide treatment cost in this way:

- 1/3 for stimulation follow-up
- 1/3 for egg collection and lab expenses
- 1/3 for embryo transfer

So, for example, if a cycle is cancelled before egg collection you will have 2/3 of your money back towards your next IVF cycle. Costs related to drugs are not reimbursed in any situation.

9. How long would I need to be in Mexico for?

If you manage to get your own medication and to have a baseline ultrasound performed at home, then it?s a minimum of 10 days for standard IVF and Mini-IVF; and 6 days for natural cycles.

If you want to have initial consultation/ tests, baseline scan and drugs from us, then we?re talking about 12 to 15 days.

10.Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation?

We can help you to get very good deals for accommodation.  We can personally take care for airport-hotel-clinic transportation, but you will have to deal with flights and final reservations (hotel) yourselves.

11. How is the pre-treatment carried out?

Once you ask for treatment I will send you a list of tests you need to up-date (or have done with us if you rather to), and a basic medical history format to fill-out.  Once this is in place, you only have to let us know when you are planning for treatment and call with your menstrual period one month ahead of treatment. This, since depending on your age (probably not in your case), we?d like to prepare your ovaries with a short course of oral contraceptives.

If you?re having baseline scan and drugs at home let us know so we can find a friend doctor to help you out.  We?d like to be in touch with you both (your doctor and you), so we can let you know on the best time to come to us for further surveillance and time of egg collection.

12. How do I get medication?

If you decide to have all done over here, you can get it from us.  If not just let me know where you live and I can get a doctor to hand you a prescription after you have been properly scanned and appropriate dosage established.

13. How will I be monitored?

- Baseline transvaginal scan + day 3 FSH, LH, progesterone (P4), and oestradiol (E2)
- Day 8 follow-up scan + E2, FSH
- Day 10-11 scan + E2, LH, P4
- Day 12-13 scan + E2, LH, P4

More frequent or extended monitoring is required in some cases.

14. How will I know that I am not being under / over stimulated?

According to findings during monitoring, mainly ultrasound examinations and oestradiol levels and FSH levels on initial stimulation bloods.

15. If I have a problem whilst in the UK who would I go to?

- North West England and Wales:  Mr. Andrew Drakeley
- London:  Mr. Luciano Nardo
- Scotland (Aberdeen):  Prof. Mark Hamilton

If none of these are convenient for you I could recommend you some other doctors within these regions or maybe even closer to you.  Remember, I wa trained in the UK and I got to know a lot of very good and reliable IVF doctors over there.

16. Is the clinic registered with any regulatory body?

No for the moment, although we are working towards being eligible to send our data to the ASRM in the USA and to get an NY State certificate for our IVF lab.

17. How long is the waiting list for IVF treatment?

We have an overwhelming capacity, and since IVF is private medicine in Mexico, there is no waiting list for any of our treatments.

Finally, after so much research you have found that statistics are rather easy to manipulate and success rates, most of times only say an incomplete true.  Look for pregnancy rates per started cycle (HFEA statistics are very reliable), and most important to women your age:  pregnancy rates within a time frame… Mini-IVF will offer you the best chances of pregnancy within 6 months as well as the most cost-effective form of treatment.  For more detailed information visit www.newhopefertility.com

Costs in NY are higher than in Mexico, but you can get hold on a lot of info within our website (Mexican website is still on-going work).

Your blog should be sponsored by pharmaceutical companies (keep avoiding adverts from individual doctors or clinics), and if you want to I could get you in touch with a non profit organisation in Mexico called AMI (Mexican Association of Infertility), run by patients as yourself who would very much appreciate all of your hard work.

Congratulations, my best wishes on your enterprise of becoming a mom yourself.

Kind regards,

Dr. Alejandro Chavez-Badiola
Medical Director, New Hope Fertility Centre Mexico

Technorati Tags: Mexico, My IVF Shortlist

I have just stumbled across a site that is providing scholarships to those in need for IVF treatment in the USA - and the good news is that they have twice as many available this year!

Quoting from thier site:

The InterNational Council for Infertility Information Dissemination (INCIID — pronounced “inside”) has a program designed to help individuals and couples — From INCIID the Heart – It provides an  In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Scholarship to those in need.   

Nancy Hemenway, INCIID Founder and Executive Director says that “infertility care is sometimes portrayed as ‘wealthy couples creating designer babies.’  That’s because only about 10% of insurance carriers cover IVF.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  The From INCIID the Heart is an important step in helping to eliminate the barrier preventing many couples from having children.

There are at least five million infertile couples in the U.S., and of those, approximately
two million are unable to conceive without IVF treatment.  The majority have no insurance coverage for IVF and its associated medications, which can range in cost between $10,000 and $15,000 per couple.

INCIID has arranged for a number of respected IVF clinics in the U.S. to donate their expertise and state-of-the-art facilities so that patients who do not have the financial resources may have the opportunity to build a family. The program will cover most of the basic IVF expenses.

Couples with financial and medical need may be eligible for participation in the program. Final committee selections and decisions take cost-of-living in different regions of the country into account  Applicants will be required to provide copies of their most recent tax returns and paystubs and supply a letter from their doctor recommending IVF as medically necessary.  Those selected will also partner with INCIID and have a small fund raising requirement.

“Our goal,” says Hemenway, “is to give those without insurance coverage an opportunity to fulfill their dream of becoming parents.

Click here to go to the website and see if you qualify.

Best of luck!

Technorati Tags: USA

The same day as I sent my letter requesting information on the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure to the Sims International Fertility Clinic in Ireland I had a reply requesting my address so that they could send me an information pack. Shorty a very informative information pack arrived in the post.

Much of the information in the pack is also available on their website which can be found here. I must admit that I have spent quite some time going through the wealth of information that they have there - I also found that I liked their style of presenting much of the information, certainly worth a look.

The success rates for Sims can also be found on the website, I have reproduced them at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

The pack included a full price list for their treatments. Below are the prices, with approximate US$ equivalents in red, for the principal treatment procedures. Their treatment procedure charges include planning and co-ordination, ultrasound scans (carried out as part of the procedure), administration, anaesthesia, doctors / nursing fees and laboratory fees. Embryo freezing and storage for one year is also included if required. Medications, blood tests and counsellors fees are not included.

IVF                                          4,150 Euro (approx. US$5,654)

ICSI                                        4,450 Euro (approx. US$6,061)

IVF with Donor Sperm                4,720 Euro (approx. US$6,428) (inc. cost of donor sperm 550 Euro (approx. US$750) per cycle)

IVF with egg donation                8,400 Euro (approx. US$11,440) (includes donors; screening; counselling fees; consultation and compensation)

ICSI with egg donation              8,710 Euro (approx. US$11,863) (includes donors; screening; counselling fees; consultation and compensation)

Sims IVF Cycles using Fresh Embryos (Non-Donor Eggs)

Reference Group Comparison:

 * Based on the most recent IVF data reported from the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology, published in ‘Human Reproduction’ 2008; 23: 756-771, Oxford University Press.

Sims Cycles using Donor Eggs (Pregnancies per Transfer):

Reference Group Comparison:

* Based on the most recent IVF data reported from the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology, published in ‘Human Reproduction’ 2008; 23: 756-771, Oxford University Press.

** Sims Clinic is the only institution in Ireland offering published information on this service in Ireland, so no external reference group is available for comparison

Sims IUI’s (Intrauterine Inseminations):

Understanding Success Rates

IVF programmes do not always use the same criteria to report results. It is important to understand exactly what the numbers mean when looking at percentages. In our hands the following terms apply:

Biochemical Pregnancy: Positive home pregnancy (urine hCG) on Day 16

Clinical Pregnancy: An ultrasound confirmed pregnancy with a fetal heart beat detected.

Results are usually quoted per embryo transfer (ET) and on some occasions per cycle, where cycles refer to egg recoveries.

Rates quoted per embryo transfer and per cycle differ in that the later includes those patients who had egg recoveries but did not subsequently have an embryo transfer. This may have been due to a failed fertilisation, elective freeze or failure to reach the blastocyst stage in a blastocyst cycle.

Technorati Tags: Ireland

Nine days after I sent my letter requesting information on the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure to Sint-Lucas Hospital Gent in Belgium I received the reply below.

I have included the attachments and have added the approximate costs in US$ in red.

The English version of their website can be found here. Dr Tom Coetsier’s email address is Tom.Coetsier@azstlucas.be.

Answers to my questions:

1. What is the current success rate for your clinic? (preferably by age as I know that the success rate will be much lower for somebody of my age)  averge 35%/cycle, above 40 : 15 %/cycle 
2. How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic?  500 
3. What is the maximum age that you treat?  45 
4. Are there any fertility conditions that you will not treat?  HIV discordant couples  
5. What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace at one time?  above 40 at least 2 
6. What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment?  see attachment 
7. What additional costs would / could be incurred?  see attachment 
8. What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned?  refund 
9. How long would I need to be in Belgium for?  if folow-up stimulation performed in UK, only from pickup tll transfer (3 days)
10. Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation?  patient 
11. How is the pre-treatment carried out?  see attachment 
12. How do I get medication?  in UK 
13. How will I be monitored?  see attachment 
14. How will I know that I am not being under / over stimulated?  see attachment 
15. If I have a problem whilst in the UK who would I go to?  obs/gyn or gen practitioner 
16. Is the clinic registered with any regulatory body?  yes
    

Attachment 1:

Dear Mrs., Mr.,

Concerning :    FERTILITY TREATMENT FOR FOREIGN PATIENTS

in AZ Saint-Lucas Gent

It is an honour for me to offer you the opportunity to be treated in our centre with medically assisted reproductive techniques. These include the full range of possible treatment modalities, including ovulation induction, artificial insemination with own or donor semen, IVF, ICSI with or without MESA/TESE, assisted hatching, cryopreservation of gametes and/or embryos, preimplantation aneuploidy screening, …

As an introduction, I would like to situate our hospital and to illustrate the way IVF-treatment in our hospital is structured.

The Saint-Lucas Hospital is a large regional hospital near the city centre of Gent, the capital of East-Flanders. It has almost 900 beds, employing 15 gynaecologists, with 2600 deliveries a year (largest maternity in Flanders).

The Saint-Lucas Hospital has chosen to cooperate with the University Fertility Centre of Gent. The intake of infertile couples, the ovarian stimulation and the ultrasound monitoring are performed in the Saint-Lucas Hospital or in the Gynaecologic Center Gent (private practice). The ovum pick-up takes place in the Saint-Lucas Hospital and the laboratory procedures (in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer itself) are performed in the IVF-laboratory situated in the University Hospital in Gent after transport of the oocytes in a specifically designed transport-box (It has been shown that the oocyte transport does not influence the IVF-results). We perform about 500 pick-up’s per year, with an average pregnancy rate of about 30 to 35% per cycle (in Belgian patients,  we are not allowed to replace more than 1 embryo in a first attempt).

The advantage of a transport-setting is that we can personally follow each couple, still having the benefit of using a laboratory with maximal expertise. This is not possible within a large university hospital, where it is custom that ever changing doctors and assistants care for the same couple, since a university hospital primarily has a teaching function.

The University IVF-laboratory of Gent (second largest in Belgium with 1400 IVF-cycles per year) has established a wide transport-IVF network with collaborating centres in Flanders, as well as in the Netherlands 35% per ovum pick-up. The University IVF-

laboratory of Gent is performing active research to develop new techniques in IVF. Numerous publications originating from our team have been published in scientific journals.

In our center there is no waiting list, which means that patients can be treated whenever it suits you. The only exception is oocyte donation and PGD-AS, with a waiting list of respectively 1 year and more or less 6 months.

We enclose hereby some documents describing the ways cooperation could be implemented in practice, and leave these notes for your comments.

Of course, we are at your disposal to personally comment or discuss the different aspects.

Looking forward to a successful cooperation,

We remain, Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Coetsier                                 Dr Nele Van Renterghem

Attachment 2 - Costs

Hospital :                                                                                Private practice :

AZ Sint-Lucas Gent                                                             Gynaecologic Center Gent

Groenebriel 1                                                                             Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 142

9000 Gent                                                                                 9000 Gent

BELGIUM                                                                                  BELGIUM

www.azstlucas.be                                                                        www.gcgent.be

tel +32/9.224.63.92                                                                 tel +32/9.222.99.22

fax +32/9.385.43.66                                                                fax +32/9.235.07.47

For emergencies or if no answer on one of the above mentioned numbers, contact the centre on the tel nr : +32/92350746

PRICE LIST IVF-TREATMENT 01/08/2008 – 31/12/2008

Visits to the clinic for consultation or ultrasound scan :                                                                                         50,-  Euro (approx. US$68)

Sperm analysis :                                                                                                                                                 35,-  Euro (approx. US$47)

Blood analysis :                                                                                                                                   depends on the tests to be performed

Medication for 1 IVF/ICSI cycle (standard doses), if provided by our centre :                                          1000,- Euro (approx. US$1,357)                                                                                                 

Hospital admission for ovum pick-up or TESE / MESA procedure :                                                          800,- Euro * (approx. US$1,086)

TESE / MESA laboratory cost (identification of viable sperm cells, freezing of the tissue for 2 years)               350,- Euro (approx. US$475)

Extending conservation time till the maximum of 10 years (as determined by Belgian law)                      600,- Euro (approx. US$815)

Donorsemen for 1 IVF/ICSI cycle :                                                                                                                   150,- Euro (approx. US$204)

IVF or ICSI laboratory cost (IVF-laboratory University Hospital Gent), including                                                     2000,- Euro * (approx. US$2,713)

                oocyte identification, sperm preparation, micro-injection procedure,

                embryo culture, freezing for 2 years, thawing of embryos

Extending conservation time till the maximum of 5 years (as determined by Belgian law)                        300,- Euro (approx. US$407)

Laser assisted hatching                                                                                                                                    250,- Euro (approx. US$339)

Assisted oocyte activation                                                                                                                                 150,- Euro (approx. US$204)

PGD-AS (genetic screening of the embryos (aneuploidy-screening ,FISH))                                          1000,- Euro (approx. US$1,357)

(we do not perform gender selection for non-medical reasons)

Intra-uterine ultrasound-guided transfer of embryos :                                                                                 250,- Euro * (approx. US$339)

Oocyte donation (donor renumeration) :                                                                                                        600,- Euro (approx. US$815)

Coordination fee (incl tel contacts and e-mail correspondence) + administration                                                300,- Euro * (approx US$407)

Extra coordination fee in case of oocyte or embryo donation :                                                                   500,- Euro (approx. US$678)

These figures have to be added to obtain the total price. A typical IVF/ICSI-cycle with stimulation followed elsewhere costs * 800 + 2000 + 250 + 300 = 3350 Euros (approx. US$4,544)

P.S.

These prices do not include travel expenses nor costs for hotel accomodation.

 The hospital AZ Sint-Lucas is near the city centre of Gent and is only 10 to 15 minutes walking from most centrally located hotels.

The Gent tourism office can inform you about hotel accomodation :

Tel. +32 (9) 266 56 60

Fax +32 (9) 266 56 73

E-mail toerisme@gent.be

Website:                http://www.gent.be

Our staff speeks Dutch, English and French and understands German.

Attachment 3:

Route Description to the Gynaecologic Centre Gent

Coming from Antwerp (E17) take the exit “Gent Centrum”. Follow that
direction. At the second traffic lights the road makes a slight S-turn.
Follow the road for another 100 m or so untill you see theatre “Capitole” on
your right hand side. Keep left because at the next crossing you will have
to take the road between the “Zuid shopping center” on your left and the
“Eat @ Café” in front of you. The name of this road is Vlaanderenstraat (road
with tramrails). Once in the Vlaanderenstraat, take the very first road left
(Oudescheldestraat), passing the back of the shopping center. At the end of
this road, take left again (Kuiperskaai). At the first traffic lights, turn
right (Lammerstraat). At the next traffic lights, turn left : this is the
Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat. The “Gynaecologic Centre Gent” is at no.142 on the
right hand side : there is a private parking for patients accessible from the front.

The address :

Gynaecologic Centre Gent

Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 142

9000 Gent

BELGIUM

Tel. : +32/9.222.99.22

Fax.: +32/9.235.07.47

MAP : SEE WEBSITE : www.gcgent.be

Technorati Tags: Belgium

Two days after sending my letter requesting information on the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure to the EGV Clinic in Latvia I received the reply below.

I have added the approximate US$ costs in red.

Their website has a full list of costs on it and there is an English translation. Click here to see full price list.

The questions that I asked were:

1. What is the current success rate for your clinic? (preferably by age as I know that the success rate will be much lower for somebody of my age)
2. How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic?
3. What is the maximum age that you treat?
4. Are there any fertility conditions that you will not treat?
5. What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace at one time?
6. What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment?
7. What additional costs would / could be incurred?
8. What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned?
9. How long would I need to be in Latvia for?
10. Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation?
11. How is the pre-treatment carried out?
12. How do I get medication?
13. How will I be monitored?
14. How will I know that I am not being under / over stimulated?
15. If I have a problem whilst in the UK who would I go to?
16. Is the clinic registered with any regulatory body?

The response I got was:

Dear, Sue!
Thank You for choosing our clinic!
I will try to answer to Your questions, so:
1. Successfull rate last year was 39% with fresh embryo transfer procedure.
2. Our clinic make many IVF cycles, so our experience is quite big.
3. In Latvia there is no age limit for IVF procedures.
4. We can’t help to patients, who has HIV positive tests results, or any others body conditions, that don’t aloow to make possible procedure.
5. In Latvia is allowed to transfer 1-3 embryos per time.
6. Wright now IVF procedure costs 1700.00 Euros (approx. US$2,325) (in this price isn’t included Your investigation, treatment and ICSI).
7. In some cases if we will get many embryos for freezing - it will be additional price also for storage in freezer.
8. Half of price You will need to pay by bank money transfer before pick-up eggs procedure and the rest price for all procedures - You will need to pay on day of transfer.
9. In most of cases patients do treatment in their contry and came to Riga when they are ready for pick-up eggs procedure. Then stay in Riga for 4-5 days, and then go back home.
10. All things You have to manage by Yourself.
11.  All treatment I will manage for the distance, so You will have to go to Your doctor for some investigations, like blood tests and untrasound.
12. I can write a prescription for You on Latvian recipe. Then You will have to buy it in Your pharmacy.
13. Like I wrote before, You will have to go to the doctor who will make a ultrasounds, etc.
14. If everything will go good, it won’t happen. And it depends of doctors experience in ultrasound measurments.
15. You will have to go to Your doctor or call emergency.
16. Sorry, but I didn’t understood Your last question. Could You explane it?

Best regards, Maris Arajs, MD.

Technorati Tags: Latvia

Twelve days after I sent my letter requesting information on the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure at the Mediterranean Fertility Center & Genetic Services in Crete, Greece I received the reply below. This is great information with all of my questions addressed directly.

I have added the approximate US$ prices in red.

Their website is worth having a look at, there is some good general information on there as well as information about the clinic itself. Click here to go to their website. The full contact details for the clinic are:

Address:
Mediterranean Fertility Center & Genetic Services
Jacumakis Ioannis
24 Zimvrakakidon St.
Chania 73136 Crete,Greece

Telephone: +302821090955
Mobile: +306972247074
Fax: +302821090355
e-mail: ivflab@otenet.gr

The high rate of fertility together with the quality and devotion of our staff, combined with reasonable prices, attract patients both from Greece and from around the world.

We shall try to answer in a comprehensive way, to your questions:

    What is the current success rate for your clinic?

-         The clinical pregnancy  rate (fetal heart beat detected by ultrasound) we obtained last year (2007) for IVF – ET /ICSI with fresh oocytes/embryos, by age for each started cycle, is as follows: 

_ age range: 25 - 30  :  ……35 %……….

_ age range: 31 - 35  :  …29 %………….

_ age range: 36 - 40  :  ……26%……….

_ age range: over 40 :  ……16 %………. 

            The clinical pregnancy rate (fetal heart beat detected by ultrasound) we

obtained last year (2007) for OOCYTE  DONATION  with fresh oocytes/embryos for each ET is:……40 %………………

           How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic?

In 2007 we performed ……350………. oocyte pick-up procedures for standard IVF and…300………… oocyte donation procedures, with fresh embryos.

           What is the maximum age that you treat?

The law in Greece allows to treat female patients not older than 50.

-         Is there any fertility condition that you will not treat?

We treat almost all conditions, even those where egg / sperm donation are required. The law in Greece permits all these procedures.

What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace at     one time?

       The Greek laws allows the transfer of 2, 3 or 4 embryos at one time depending on the

       age of the  patient;  the policy we follow depends therefore on each single case: the doctor together

       with the embryologist and the patient will discuss the single case, according to the

       number of embryos available: sometimes, especially if there are many embryos it may be reasonable to develop the embryos to the blastocyst stage so

       that a  selection of the best embryos will have occurred and the number of embryos

       will have decreased through natural selection; if there are many embryos however we

       have the facility to freeze extra embryos.

-         What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment?

The basic cost of the IVF treatment is ………1,800 euro…(approx. US$2,451)…………………..

The cost of egg donation is …………5,800 euro (approx. US$7,927) including scan, consultation, blood test.

-         What additional costs would/could be included?

You have to add the costs of transportation from your country to Greece and the costs of accommodation for approx. 1 week.

In addition, you have to add the costs of medication (for ovarian stimulation) and the costs for supplementary procedures, if needed, such as ICSI-IMSI, freezing of embryos, PGD .

-         What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned?

The costs will be much lower if for some reason we do not reach the transfer stage: for example if the follicles rupture before presumed ovulation (which happens quite rarely especially with nowadays down regulation protocols) or if  fertilization or subsequent cleavage do not occur

-         How long would I need to be in Greece for?

Usually, our foreign patients stay for 10 days; they are followed by their doctor during the first days of the ovarian stimulation and come to Greece only when they are close to the ovulation day. This prevents patients to come with  no follicles and reduces costs. If patients prefer to come to  Greece right from the beginning of the stimulation we will be very happy to welcome them all the same. The medical costs will not increase.

-         Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation?

Usually patients deal with the flights and hotels, but we can help to find hotel at low cost, since the Island of Crete is a touristic place, there are many charter flights coming from all over Europe during spring, summer and early autumn; therefore we inform patients of these opportunities.

-         How is the pre-treatment carried out?

The results of the blood tests and of all required examinations is sent to us by the patients by e-mail or fax. If they have some difficulties in doing these tests at home, they will do them in Greece, once they arrive.

-         How do I get medication?

Usually medication is acquired by the patients in their own country, through their doctors.

           How will I be monitored?

Monitoring is performed by vaginal ultrasound examination and by  hormonal blood evaluation. Usually these are performed while the patient is still at home with their doctor and the case is discussed with one of our doctors here by phone. Monitoring is then completed here in Greece as soon as the patient arrives. Sometimes the patient arrives the day before ovum pick-up and therefore the whole monitoring has been performed at home.

           How will I know that I am not being under/over stimulated?

If it is the first stimulation, it is not very easy to predict the degree of stimulation, even though there are clues that may help; if a stimulation has already been performed in the past, it is easier to know and decide the right dose of drugs to be used. Anyhow, since the drugs are being administered while the patient is being monitored, we know before ovum pick-up what will be the response of the ovary (under/over stimulation).

-         If I have a problem whilst in my country, who would I go to?

We are on call round the clock and you can call us any time. Moreover, we   

 have connections with some doctors in many countries.

-         Is the Clinic registered with any regulatory body?

-         Yes under the Helenic Authority of Assisted Reproduction,

-         as the HFEA in England.

     I hope we have answered your questions.

Best regards

Monica Tsouroupaki ;  ivf director

Dr. Jannis Jacumakis  ; clinical director

Attachment with the couple investigation questionnaire:

FERTILITY CENTER CHANIA

Giannis Giakoumakis obs/gyne

M.Botsary 64 chania 76136

Crete Greece 

                                                     Please answer the questionnaire,

Fertility history

Female name——————————–                   Age ——————-

Male name —————————————-           Age ——————-

Phone ———————-cell phone ——————-Address……………………

Number and outcome of previous pregnancies——————-none——————–

Viable birth———–spontaneous abortion——————induced abortion———–

Ectopic———–molar————-

Duration of infertility—————–

Previous investigation and treatment of infertility, explain————————-

History of previous assisted reproductive attempts ICSI or IVF

Fertilization failure————–,premature embryo arrest——————–,

Pregnancy failure—————-,early abortion——————–

Explain in details;———————————–

Clinical assessment of female fertility

Menstrual bleeding normal————–,abnormal—————–

Menstrual cycle  regular menses————-, other describe———————

Uterine cavity ( by HSG or Hysteroscopy ) normal———-,other describe————–

Test of tubule patenty

Right side normal———————,other describe——————————

Left side normal——————,other describe————————-

History of diseases with possible adverse effect on fertility:

Endometriosis—————–, Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome——————–,diabetes—————,Thyroid  disease————————,other describe———————-

Laboratories Assessments

1-     andrology investigation

2-     spermogram ( semen analysis )                lab results———————————

ll- endocrinology investigation:

On the third day of period

FSH———–LH—————Estradiol————–

Prolactine level——————–

III- Genetic investigation prior IVF

Chromosome analysis female        no———-yes———–karyotype—————–

Chromosone analysis partner           no———-yes———–kariotype—————-

 Sperm apoptosis            no————-yes————–apoptosic index———%

Aneuploidy test in sparm by FISH    no———–yes—————-

( name which chromosomes were study ———————— result—————–

 microdiletion of chromosome Y test no—————yes————-genotype———-

       cystic fibrosis test of partner  no———- yes—————– genotype

IV-  microbiology  assessments

CMV  no———- yes————

Chlamydia-            -no—————-yes—————

Tuberculosis      no——————-yes—————-

Other describe       ————————-

V  - immunology assessments

Antisperm antibody testing ———————

Describe results —————————

Autoimmune female disorder ——————–

 Describe results————————-

Technorati Tags: Greece, My IVF Shortlist