Anyone done IVF abroad while using UK clinics/NHS for monitoring?

[konyaga]

Hi all - looking for some tips and stories from someone who has done IVF abroad about the kinds of support you had from local NHS and private clinics.

I'm a little worried if the clinic of your choice does't have a partner/satellite clinic in the UK, that could affect the quality of support you get and therefore impact the outcome of the treatment.

Is it worth including "has UK connection" as part of the selection criteria when choosing fertility clinics?

In other words, would choosing to do IVF overseas mean you will get no or little support from local medical services when you're back in the UK?

Or would it be better to plan for an extended stay so the clinic can keep monitoring my hormone levels, can do pre-implantation exams etc to help increase the success rate?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Tnthketnf]

HiI think a clinic with a UK connection will mean a lot less stress. You will not have to source anything yourself.

I don't think you can expect the slightest from NHS for treatment abroad.

I don't know if a private fertility clinic will do it. It's worth a try. They might be busy with their own patients and hard to slot you in last minute when it can't be precisely booked in advance.

I am in Scotland, in Glasgow . For ultrasounds there are the baby scan places here however they don't have much availability. For fertility scans they usually have one or two specific days per week. Which might not cover the days you need. They are usually a chain and have a few places around the central belt. So you have to check all of them to find one for the day you need and travel. And again you more likely won't be able to precisely plan in advance.

Maybe the area you are in makes it easier, if you are for example in London then you'll probably be able to have an ultrasound a lot easier as there will be more places.

[konyaga in reply to Tnthketnf]

Thanks for the information, it does appear that there are labs and ultrasound facilities around where I live where I can book scans and blood tests without being a registered patient, unlike IVF clinics - a big relief!

[Dinfertilitylady]

No personal experience but I have been looking in to going abroad for a while now so have been hanging around on the abroad Facebook groups (there’s loads for different countries etc so maybe join one of those?) It seems to me that everyone finds it perfectly easy to arrange. Sure it’s a bit more fiddly than UK treatment but they seem to have no problem having scans at either a private clinic close to them or places like Ultrasound Direct. People tend to have their 1st stims scan in the UK then fly out in time for the 2nd scan, EC & transfer, meaning they’re out there for about 10 days.

[konyaga in reply to Dinfertilitylady]

Thanks for the valuable information as I don't have a Facebook account. I only learnt about Ultrasound Direct today, a clinic abroad actually suggested it and even sent me a referral letter, quite impressed (with the clinic)!

[Boo718]

hello I did ivf in Spain. The nhs/ local gp at home were absolutely awful. They didn’t help at all with any of it. They simply said that they couldn’t help as we had chosen to go abroad and they didn’t even point us in the direction of someone who could help.

However I found a local private clinic that did blood tests scans and injections they were fab.

If you are organised it’s no bother doing ivf abroad and to be honest the care we had was 100 x better than we have ever had at home. If we do it again I would definately go back abroad xxx

We stayed in Spain for a month and had all tests and monitoring done at the clinic. Xxx

[Boo718 in reply to Boo718]

I’d also add it was just a private clinic not a private fertility clinic if that makes sense xxx I’m in Aberdeenshire

[konyaga in reply to Boo718]

Thanks for sharing your experience, was it successful, and which clinic in Spain did you go - if you don't mind PMing me - thanks

[nT455]

Hi Konyaga, I'm currently doing IVf abroad but I should emphasise that I am doing egg donation so I don't need to do as many scans as others. For scans I've been using one private facility that just does scan and they have a lot of availability in London. I then send all the pictures to my facility abroad and they tell me pretty quickly what I should do. The scan is pricey though so would add up if I were to need more. But then you should also factor in that it's usually cheaper to do IVf abroad so might still be cost-efficient. My local GP was amazing in terms of doing some of the tests such as infectious diseases ones. In terms of getting the medication Asda has always been really good. Good luck in your search for a clinic!

[konyaga in reply to nT455]

Wow, I didn't even imagine buying meds from Asda🤯 What stage are you, and how are you organising ETs - like you take meds and send scans from the local private facility then plan a trip to the clinic abroad?