Egg freezing at CRGH, Evewell or Lister? and protocol advice

[sophstartingout]

Hi everyone,

I'm 36 and about to freeze my eggs, and am out of my mind stressed trying to choose a clinic! I've finally narrowed it down to 4:

1. CRGH (at Portland St)

2. Evewell Harley St

3. Evewell West London

4. Lister (at Lister Hospital)

Has anyone used any and had a good or bad experience?

I've had consultations at the Lister with Dr Nandi and the Evewell West London with Dr Montse (I'm hoping to freeze my eggs at my next cycle and they had sooner availability than Harley St) and have booked one at CRGH (Dr Ozturk) for next week though I feel like I'm burning money 🤦‍♀️

I chose them all based on their success rates, reputations and doing egg collection 7 days a week, but it's so hard to know what truly makes a clinic good.

Out of the two consults I've had, I think I preferred the Evewell - though I'm wondering if the Harley St branch would be a better choice? As they're more established, and it turns out they do double the egg freezings a year (100 compared to 200 - though I'm not sure how much that matters?) The idea of more personalised care at the Evewell appeals to me. But again, I don't know if that actually matters given fertility drs are all well qualified... it's so hard to know what clinic is best!

Also, the two clinics suggested different protocols so I wondered if anyone could weigh in on what might work better, or should I trust that either is good? I only know the vague details below. (Context is AFC of 21 and AMH of 33.9):

- Protocol 1: Ovaleap 150 / 225 on alternate days, agonist trigger

- Protocol 2: Gonal F then Pergoveris; higher dosage at start to recruit more follicles, then reduce

Does one sound better than the other?

I know nothing about protocols so grateful for any advice, and if anyone has any experience with CRGH, Evewell or Lister and could weigh in, I'd be SO SO GRATEFUL! I truly can't remember the last time I was this stressed 😱

Thanks so much,

Soph

ps will report back once egg freezing is done!

[Jmfl]

Hi,

I’ve done some research myself but for IVF, I was about to go with Evewell West because they had more capacity but decided to go with London’s women clinic instead because of their success rates. I’ve already completed one round of egg collection and then realized it’s quite important to feel understood by your consultant and nurse. My advice is to go with the least busy clinic and choose a consultant that you vibe with the most.

I’m 35 turning 36 and my AMH and AFC are identical to yours. My last retrieval I was on Gonal F 150 for 7 days and then reduced to 75 for 3 days with Decapeptyl trigger. I had 26 follicles but only 8 were mature. It was just unfortunate that my eggs didn’t cluster better. My second round protocol will be 225 Bemfola and then adjust based on scans.

Keep in mind that everyone is different and will react differently to medication. Hope this helps! Xx

[Clare_17]

HiEveryone's experience is different. I originally went with Lister. I am older than you and it was a last ditch attempt with my own eggs.

I found Lister dismissive about Stress and impact on egg quality. They did not give the guidance I feel would have helped. Might have been down to age but felt a little like the consultant did not take account of stress and exercise.

I am now with London egg bank using DE part of women's clinic. Have found them so much more understanding especially dealing with my emotions of working through using DE.

Good luck. Everyone's experience will be different. Choose where you feel comfortable and can relax.

All the best L

[LRed]

I will send you a DM about CRGH x

[Spicycurry]

CRGH Portland for creating embryos. They are very thorough.

[leo1980]

hi! We used the lister. Only saw Dr Nandi when she was on scan duty. Dr Khalil was our doctor - our little girl is 8 weeks old today:). I chose the lister as we lived in the area so getting to Chelsea bridge road was easy. I just walked to appointments and it was easy to walk to Sloane Square to get my tube to work!

Best of luck

[Marmar68]

Hi

I was actually on exact same boat in Nov trying to chose from your list of clinics to start in December.

It looks like you have definitely done a good job shortlisting, I had the exact dilemma with Evewell west London or Harley street and had the same thing with having better availability with west London, but the dilemma of Harley street probably being better due to its popularity although I didn’t do egg freezing we are banking embryos.

I am 35 and I have low AMH for my age but AFC is okay so I can’t comment on the protocol as we will be different.

I did one cycle with west London and had a dilemma trying to chose between west London snd Harley street but eventually I went with west London due to its location being more convenient at the time. I had good number of eggs to start with but wasn’t too delighted with how smooth the process went they gave me couple of stressful situations due to lack of communication and that’s the last thing you want when going through something like this. Also they were very proud about offering a full service during Christmas and advertising it that they understand your fertility can’t be paused but didn’t seem like they were very clear in fulfilling their obligations and I had to push couple of times for things to move forward. Again this just could be due to Christmas period not being very organised but I wasn’t impressed couple of times and won’t want to experience the same thing again!

Having said that I am going to do a second cycle with Harley street clinic just to see the difference as the majority of success stories I hear from people I know m, are from Harley street clinic but in general I do believe Evewell is a very good clinic and have competent embryologists and lab team etc.

[Drusilla242]

CRGH. I had previously used 3 other clinics (one in Canada). Have 2 year old son from IVF at CRGH, after many failed cycles elsewhere.

As for protocols I would go with what they suggest rather than what non IVF doctors advise on internet. They are the experts and will suggest what they think based on your circumstances. Others will tell you whatever worked for them and won’t know what has the best chance of working for you. Good luck!