I was wondering if any of you has any experience with IVF abroad. I have just gone through my first failed ivf cycle here in the UK and I want to start planning for next cycle abroad.
Spain seems to be a good option according to the internet. Can anyone advice me on how much time off you will need for treatment abroad (I will have to start again from scratch as I don’t have any frozen embryos). Also how much it costs and any personal recommendation?
Thank you all 🙏
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HopeNeverDies
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In all these costings you need to add pre treatment tests and also medication costs which are not usually explicitly listed as they can be different depending on your protocol etc.
The pre treatment tests can be very expensive in uk so it might be worth going abroad for these for a brief trip before the actual treatment. Believe me it might be cheaper to pay for hotels and flights than pay private health tests in UK. And if you live somewhere like Scotland there are limited to zero options for private tests.
In regards to the time off it would really depend on your specific circumstances but the idea is that you start stimulation and monitoring in your country and fly over to be there around day 7 the latest I think. So with a short protocol you expect to be there about a week-10 days minimum if you are having a fresh transfer. If you aren't having a fresh transfer then you can go home sooner.
We went to Greece. We were happy although it failed. But many people in here had success in the same clinic.
I think, just going by the posts in here, most people go to Spain and Greece. Czech and North Cyprus are mentioned too but slightly less often.
I also wanted to add that flights are booked last minute. It's worth considering availability of flights as well. So for example for Spain there are loads of flights especially in the summer.
We were thinking of going abroad when our current cycle fails (I’ve accepted it already will), but with flights being cancelled left right and centre this year, we decided against it. Maybe next year it will be better, but for now we are paying the extra to stay in the uk to save the stress and hassle x
We were thinking of Prague, but when I was at the airport in June for a weekend away, the Prague flight later that day was cancelled just hours before it was meant to depart, along with so many others. All I could think about was if I was on that flight for IVF and I know I couldn’t cope with the anxiety of it. Unless the situation with all airlines and airports vastly improves in the near future, I can’t see myself personally taking the risk. 9 times out of 10 it would probably work out, but I know I’m not that lucky!
Jesus that really would be a nightmare… Perhaps I would plan going a couple of days before so if they cancel a flight hopefully they’ll put you on the next? It’s definitely food for thought thank you!
It’s definitely doable but you’ll want some sort of back up/ contingency plan. I’d check to see if there are other flights to the same airport around the same time, things like that. For me living in South Wales, if the Bristol flight was cancelled I’d have to go to Gatwick, and the cost would start spiralling. In normal times of cheap and consistent flights I wouldn’t have given it much thought. If you’re better served by airports it might be easier!
You definitely have more choice in London. For me I didn’t see the point in saving £500 by going abroad to then run the risk of paying £500 for another flight!
Take a look at hfea.gov.uk [ UK fertility regulator ] website click treatment and scroll to Things to consider and select Treatment abroad for more information .Good luck for the future
i'm going to cyprus as well and have found it very easy and calming so far. the clinic i'm going to has really taken off the pressure of going abroad. I'd suggest it!
I’m with Spain ivf and just had my first bfp after secondary infertility for 6 years trying , they are very particular and check everything out to give you the best possible chance of pregnancy
That’s so great to hear!! Which clinic did you go to? Xx
Spain ivf in Alicante , they do a lot of testing that I didn’t get in uk before starting and I found it to be cheaper medication wise and testing ,although getting there can be expensive flights hotels etc ,, I did get a few small procedures done on top of treatment that I wouldn’t have gotten here, which I think done the trick , I would definitely set up a consultation if you are thinking of going abroad but look at different clinics to and you will just know the one that is for you , I looked at a few different ones and rounded it down to 3 and then knew which one I felt best with after speaking with the initial advisor , I wish you all the luck 🍀🍀
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