Fertility Treatment Abroad

stickybean

Hi guys,

Was thinking as a few of us are considering looking into treatment abroad we could have a thread to share on. We are planning on having another full round of treatment in Ireland, but are making plans in case it is not successful.

We are currently looking at Brno in the Czech Republic. So far we have just emailed a couple of clinics and are doing some research. The price difference is astounding (less than half). Our specialist in Ireland feels that given our age and diagnoses its a case of giving IVF / ICSI a few shots... so with going abroad it looks like we can have more tries...

If anyone had any information or experiences I would be grateful if you could share.

Thanks

Neyite

I know someone who did the rounds of the Irish Clinics and then went to Athens, and basically told me that if I was nearing IVF territory, to go straight abroad.

She felt that the clinic she went to was far more advanced than the Irish ones, better testing, better technology, better methodology, and overall just... superior. And about half the price.

Lucyfur

Gennet in Prague is our clinic of choice abroad if this round in Ireland isn't successful.

stickybean

Lucyfur wrote: »

Gennet in Prague is our clinic of choice abroad if this round in Ireland isn't successful.

Thanks Lucyfur, how have you found them so far? Do the satellite with any Irish clinics?

Lucyfur

stickybean wrote: »

Thanks Lucyfur, how have you found them so far? Do the satellite with any Irish clinics?

Acceptional, tbh. Them and galway combined. I've spoken to our nurse in Galway at length about how it works. She said it's quite common to have all your bloods and scans done in GFU and sent over to Gennet. The staff in Gennet are brilliant. You're assigned a contact person long before you pay money. I made it very clear that we would be having a round in Ireland and then saving for a round abroad. It was never an issue that we weren't going to them immediately. They also recommend accommodation, provide transport to the accommodation from the airport, recommended eateries and things to see! On paper, their success rates are very similar to GFU....but I know a few couples who have conceived in their first round there!

But, by the time you pay for everything, from flights to scans, it's not a whole pile cheaper. Maybe €1000. (I know 1000 is a lot of money but if you are a stressed out traveller or anxious about going abroad it might be best to stay home and pay the extra, if that makes sense).

iba

Hi,

Just wondering what are the prices in Czech Republic, Poland etc compared to the price in Ireland?

Thanks

stickybean

iba wrote: »

Hi,

Just wondering what are the prices in Czech Republic, Poland etc compared to the price in Ireland?

Thanks

Hi Iba,

Not sure if we are allowed to discuss prices on here, but I did find this link:

http://www.fertilityclinicsabroad.com/ivf-abroad/

It lists most EU countries that supply IVF and the average price per country. From my research (which is very limited) it cost me €7k in Ireland for one full fund of IVF (using ICSI), I priced the same in Czech Republic and it was €2,800 (this is without flights / accommodation / transport)

Neyite

Lucyfur wrote: »

But, by the time you pay for everything, from flights to scans, it's not a whole pile cheaper. Maybe €1000. (I know 1000 is a lot of money but if you are a stressed out traveller or anxious about going abroad it might be best to stay home and pay the extra, if that makes sense).

The other concern to factor in as well is time off work. Travelling abroad can be awkward when you've to factor in time off work, or even travel time to get to the airport here and at the other side.

For example, Serum in Athens is reputed to be excellent, but from Oct -April flights to there require a couple of flights and transfers - there is no Ryanair flight. And they close for August too I think. At least with Gennet, you've no shortage of flight options to Prague.

As far as I can gather, you'd generally go for 5 days - egg retrieval on the day of arrival, then you'd get a transfer on day 3 or 5 depending and go home then. Most couples explain the trips away as a long weekend city break.

Price-wise, most of the off-shore clinics have a price list on their websites - fertility clinics are very transparent about their costs which is great but obviously the end price depends on what tests they need to run, what treatment you are availing of, and the accommodation /flights /meals cost.

xband

You're also tied into a lot of constitutional and other legal and ethical knots in Ireland because it's so religiously conservative.

Anything reproductive here ultimately comes down to that.

Neyite

xband wrote: »

You're also tied into a lot of constitutional and other legal and ethical knots in Ireland because it's so religiously conservative.

Anything reproductive here ultimately comes down to that.

There's no doubt that our laws and the legal constraints surrounding Assisted Reproduction are an impairment. But also some of those laws are to do with us being a tiny country - sperm donations for example - these come from Denmark if you want that in Ireland. If you need egg donation, even if you have a willing donor in Ireland, you still have to travel abroad for the procedure.

I know that its in legislation here that clinics cant transfer more than 3 embryos in a cycle (no Irish Octomoms allowed!) and that embryo gender selection is not permitted (I'm kinda ok with this one, as I think that preferred gender is a minefield though I do feel conflicted for couples who have a genetic issue that presents in one gender who may have a very valid reason for gender selection) Not sure about genetic screening of embryos either.

Oddly enough I came across some information on the HSE website the other day which stated that: "In practice, Irish clinics generally refuse to make assisted reproduction available to cohabiting same-sex couples." But however this is not true whatsoever because I googled the main ones in Ireland - Sims, Cork, Galway and they all stated that they do treat same sex couples. Reading the HSE website, I thought it was the 80's again!

Lucyfur

American Airlines fly to Greece all year I did a lot of homework on serum. It looks to be an excellent clinic

Neyite

Lucyfur wrote: »

American Airlines fly to Greece all year I did a lot of homework on serum. It looks to be an excellent clinic

That's new then? From Dublin? When I was googling a year or so ago, there were no direct flights, so I'm delighted that there are now.

Lucyfur

Neyite wrote: »

That's new then? From Dublin? When I was googling a year or so ago, there were no direct flights, so I'm delighted that there are now.

Less than a year since I looked. And I was looking to go at this time of year you've to do a bit of digging and stay away from the likes of sky scanners. I thing air France might go all year too!

Neyite

That's where I was looking - skyscanner

I see though that prague flights are available from about €50. Not bad at all!

Lucyfur

Neyite wrote: »

That's where I was looking - skyscanner

I see though that prague flights are available from about €50. Not bad at all!

Especially at this time of year! If it comes to going abroad for us, it'll be Jan - March when everything else is cheaper!

lashes34

Im definitely interested in this too. I emailed Gennet before, looked back at my emails and it was 2.5 years ago. How time flies.

They quoted me €1900 at the time;

1.Travelling involved

a) Initial consultation – preferably both partners. Initial consultation in our clinic will take approximately one hour.
b) Oocyte retrieval – arrival preferably the night before, as OPU takes place very early in the morning
c) Embryo transfer

2.Succes rates
Success rates are now approximately 40% across all age groups.

3. IVF/ICSI package:
The fee for an IVF/ ICSI package is EUR 1900 and includes

- Consultation and ultrasounds during treatment cycle
- Tests for HIV, Hep B, C and Syphilis for both partners at the time of egg collection
- Egg retrieval under general anesthesia
- Sperm analyses and sperm freezing of male partner
- Fertilization ICSI, cultivation up to blastocyst, ev. assisted hatching
- Embryotransfer
- Cryopreservation of all remaining embryos ( classic slow freezing )
- Storage of cryopreserved embryos/eggs for 1 year

lashes34

Something I have been wondering lately, if we do go ahead with treatment abroad, is it last minute booking of flights as I wont know for def when I will be ready for EC etc? With my cycles of OI, I went way over the number of injections they thought I would need so if flights had been booked early they would have been wasted.

Anyone know? Thanks.

Neyite

Lashes, I think (not sure) but that you get your prescription for all the meds, then get blood test monitoring here with a quick turnaround on results so that they can adjust your meds as necessary. Possibly scans as well.