Starting Your Family in 2017? Choosing the Right Clinic for You

28th December 2016 in IVF

This information was correct at the time of publishing. It may not reflect our current practices, prices or regulations.

Are you hoping to have a baby in 2017 through IVF or other fertility treatment?

There are now more private fertility clinics than ever, particularly in the North in Manchester, Cheshire and Liverpool, but as many of our patients have discovered before coming to us, although the treatment process itself may be similar, the experience, care and choice of treatments isn’t the same.

Choosing your fertility clinic is one of the biggest decisions you can make. You’re putting your hopes of a baby, and all your trust, faith, energy and indeed finances, into a team of people to make that happen.

And if it doesn’t, it can affect you not just financially, but emotionally as well – as we see from the many patients we welcome who’ve had failed cycles elsewhere.

Here’s our advice on what you should consider when planning your fertility treatment in 2017 and choosing a clinic, to give yourself the best chance of a baby:

Bespoke care, or one-size-fits-all

Does the clinic focus on tailored treatment based around you and your circumstances? At Manchester Fertility there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ treatment cycle. All treatment we offer – from IVF and ICSI to donor sperm insemination - is bespoke to the patient, personalised and planned to maximise the chances of success taking into account many different factors.

Treatment range

Does the clinic offer a wide range of fertility treatments and have expertise in each, so the right solution can be offered to you? At Manchester Fertility we don’t just offer IVF and ICSI but also treatments including Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), surrogacy guidance and treatments with donor sperm and donor eggs from our exclusive donor sperm bank and donor egg bank, with no waiting list.

Initial investigations

How does the clinic decide which treatment is right for you? Thorough investigations are crucial to planning treatment. Does the clinic offer just ‘routine’ tests or are there more advanced tests that could reveal a hidden cause of infertility? Our initial fertility tests include hormone levels, ultrasound scan, semen analysis and ovarian reserve. And if your Manchester Fertility consultant recommends it, we can also analyse sperm DNA damage in each single sperm in a sample.

Sperm or egg donor availability

If you need donor sperm or donor eggs, does your clinic have donors available, and are they from the UK? Many clinics don’t have the resource to recruit their own sperm and egg donors, and so rely on imported sperm and foreign egg donors. But at Manchester Fertility, our own successful sperm and egg donor programmes mean we can offer our patients our own UK-based, traceable and identifiable sperm and egg donors with no waiting list, for donor sperm insemination or IVF with donor eggs.

Clear and transparent approach

Is the clinic transparent and clear when explaining your treatment options to you, including if they offer you any ‘add-on’ treatments? Do they provide fully-costed treatment plans with no hidden costs? And are they open in their publication of success rates?

At Manchester Fertility, our open and honest approach underpins everything we do. Treatment costs and recommendations are outlined at the outset, including any additional procedures, with a clear explanation of why they’re being offered and likely benefit to your personal outcome. All our success rates are published transparently, for all age groups and treatments, using only clinical confirmed pregnancy results.

Expertise and empathy

Does the clinic have the right expertise to help you? Our consultant team specialises in many different causes of infertility and how to overcome them, from male fertility issues needing surgical sperm retrieval techniques to repeated miscarriage and ovulatory disorders. Our team approach to your care gives you the benefit of our collective expertise, to maximise your chances of success.

Funding choices

Does the clinic have any funding options to help minimise the financial stress of private fertility treatment and worry of funding further cycles? Manchester Fertility was the first clinic in the UK to launch pre-paid, discounted IVF plans – including with donor eggs - designed to give our patients financial peace of mind that they have multiple cycles paid for in advance, and even a refund if treatment isn’t successful. We are also the only clinic in our region to offer a discounted donor sperm insemination package, developed by our consultants to help the many people who come to us for this treatment including same-sex couples and single women.

Discover the Manchester Fertility difference for yourself – it’s why we’ve been at the forefront of fertility treatment and care in the North West for over 30 years.

Come and see one of our Patient Advisors for a free one-to-one at our clinic, or start your treatment journey by applying online. You can also request a copy of our brochure, or call us on 0161 300 2737.

 

Last updated: 18th December 2020