Embryo banking (+low AMH) - recommendations

[CarlottaD27]

Hello,

I’m undergoing treatment because I have a luteal phase defect and low AMH (6.2 at age 33) and I’m about to move from on medicated cycles to IVF.

Given my low AMH, I plan to do a few embryo banking cycles + PGT-A testing before transfers.

I’m currently based on Surrey and my closest clinic is Care Woking. I have had a consultation here but I am also considering Lister and CRGH in London, as I think the commute will be worth it if they can genuinely offer better care and outcomes - but TBC if this is the case!

Does anybody have experience of these clinics (Care Woking, Lister, CRGH) that they are happy to PM me about?

Specifically, do they recommend / not recommend any Drs?

Did they have any particular approaches for low AMH which yielded good results?

Many thanks already to Habibi87 for sharing the details of her experience 🙂

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For more information about clinics take a look at hfea.gov.uk - Choose a fertility clinic for a clear , impartial view

Good luck for the future

Janet -Partner

[Giggy1989]

Hi there - I echo what Janet said. Deep dive into the detailed statistics link for each clinic on the HFEA website. It’s broken down by age and very specific. I suspect CARE Woking won’t perform nearly as well as the London clinics which are bigger and thereby have more data and knowledge to tailor cycles. CRGH is quite ahead of the Lister in terms of results too. I’m currently with CRGH, after switching from Create. CRGH are clinically excellent but their admin is pretty average (v hard to reach consultant or nurses on the phone). That said, I believe the consultants at CRGH are world class and they review everything thoroughly - even if you don’t get any airtime with them once treatment starts! They also have all the specialists in-house should any issues beyond your low AMH arise (i.e. they have genetic specialists to boost egg quality and immuno specialists to help with implantation failure) - I wouldn’t expect smaller clinics to have the same level of expertise as it truly is a minefield! All the best x

[CarlottaD27 in reply to Giggy1989]

Hello! Thank you very much for sharing that advice and your experiences, really appreciate it.

That does sound encouraging re CRGH as they seem to leave no stone unturned! Since it's my first cycle i'm not sure if I need so much specialist help, but equally don't want to end up taking a less experienced clinic and regretting it if I need further help!

Oddly the basic stats (e.g. BR per cycle or transfer) are coming up higher in my local clinic, but i think i'll need to go to some open evenings or pay for consultations because that's probably a chance for the clinics to share the additional protocols / what makes them different. It is difficult to unpick it all outside in and of course so such an unknown as to how you will personally respond anyway, irrespective of clinic! Thank you x

[RACMumm]

First cycles are always very much experimental as you can not truly predict how your body will respond. My bloods all came back great and we were dealing with male factor issues only and yet when I started my cycle on standard dose stimulation drugs, my body did not respond the way the clinic thought I would and my doses had to be hugely increased. I also took alot longer than average for my follicles to grow large enough for collection but once I knew that, it helped massively in the next cycles because I was prepared. I had treatment in The Chiltern in Great Missenden which was a BMI hospital and got success on my second collection. I then moved on to London Women's Clinic because I was doing an egg sharing cycle due to funds. I found both clinics excellent and had success with both (singleton with Chiltern, twins with LWC). I truly believe the only way to get answers is to cycle and genuinely not get your hopes up too high on the first one as often it is very experimental. I was told it is an average of 3 collections. Things have improved hugely since then as my eldest is now 13 but I think the logic certainly applies to that initial cycle. Best of luck and remember, the less stress you have the better and sometimes convenience and ease of travel is massively important for stress levels. Best of luck 👍

[CarlottaD27 in reply to RACMumm]

Hello! Thank you for sharing that and a lovely success story

That's a good reminder - i'm agonising over the choice of clinic when in reality the first cycle will be a learning experience that can be tweaked whichever clinic i'm at.

I'm now leaning towards a local clinic to minimse all the stress and travel time, plus feel a bit cloer to home and more comfortable. x

[DinaG1971]

Hello my AMH was low but my Inhibin B was 95, which means I had quality of eggs. This test was suggested by American doctor which is performed on the 3rd day of the cycle strictly. I was 39 years old and I manages naturally to have baby. You are 33 so you are lucky and you will manage to have a baby!!!!

[CarlottaD27 in reply to DinaG1971]

Thank you and congratulations on your baby - it goes to shows low AMH isn't necessarily a barrier even though it sounds like a scary diagnosis

[DinaG1971 in reply to CarlottaD27]

that's right!!!! Keep going forward and you will have the positive result sooner or later!!!