I became so excited when I received the reply from Dr. Alejandro Chavez-Badiola of the New Hope Fertility Centre in Mexico. I must admit that the feeling that I got was that I had found the place I want to go to! And I thought I had narrowed my choices down to two, one close to home in Hungary (Kaali Inst IVF Centre) and one on the continent I love, Africa (Nairobi IVF Centre) - but this has really put a spanner in the works!
A quick reply to my letter requesting the IVF cost, IVF success rate and IVF procedure - the very next day, and a very thorough reply. Not only that but Dr. Chavez-Badiola is offering something that nobody else has mentioned - Mini-IVF - less drugs, less cost - what more could a gal want!!! I need to get on with the savings - but then again he has also pointed me in a direction where I may be able to make some money to be able to afford this!! I am buzzing!
This reply is a MUST READ, especially if, like me, age is not on your side.
Prices are already in US$. If you want to contact Dr. Chavez-Badiola the email address is a.chavez@badiolaconsultores.com. They don’t appear to have a website though.
I’ll stop rambling now and let you read this superb reply.
Dear Sue,
I will answer your questions ?on the go?. I visited your blog and I was deeply impressed. I found it very comprehensive and therefore I will make a couple of observations at the end of this letter.
Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Alejandro Chavez-Badiola, I am a gynaecologist with training in reproductive medicine at the largest IVF centre in the UK (the Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine, at the Liverpool Women?s Hospital). Following this two-year training I pursued further training in NY and Tokyo, where I learned my area of special interest: Minimal stimulation and Natural Cycle IVF.
Since you have done quite a lot of research I will use a more technical language, although feel free to ask for any clarifications if you feel the need. Now, to answer your questions:
1. What is the current success rate for your clinic? (preferably by age as I know that the success rate will be much lower for somebody of my age)
Pregnancy rate per started cycle is 46% (60% per embryo transfer) for traditional IVF and 32% for Minimal stimulation IVF.
Standard IVF pregnancy rates:
<35 yrs: 56%
35 to 38: 48%
38: 36%
Depending on your FSH levels, someone your age will probably have a poor response to stimulation drugs and, no matter how high the hormones? dose we use, you will probably end-up producing fewer eggs than the ?ideal? number (according to traditional IVF standards). This is where Mini-IVF becomes your allied.
With Mini-IVF, you will be stimulated with oral medication and maybe with some injectable hormones (gonadotrophins), but usually no more than three injections overall. This stimulation will allow your ovaries to produce only the best quality eggs your body can produce in that specific cycle. In fewer words, I focus on egg quality rather than quantity.
2. How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic?
In Mexico only we perform around 500 cycles a year.
3. What is the maximum age that you treat?
As long as you still have regular periods we can offer you IVF with your eggs (no age limit). As mentioned above, to focus on egg quality rather than total egg number, allow us to offer woman our ?one egg- one embryo- one baby? philosophy.
If willing (or in need) to undergo donor IVF, we have a donors? egg bank where women can choose from (there is no waiting list). For women over 50 years old, their particular cases would have to undergo internal ethics committee approval.
Donors? eggs are cryopreserved with the latest technology called vitrification (Cryotop method), which has shown egg survival rates >98% with fertilisation, implantation and pregnancy rates comparable to those from fresh eggs. These results have been widely published in reputable journals and results are consistent throughout fertility centres in Italy, Spain, Japan, USA and Mexico.
This is our key to offer eggs from a large database and without waiting.
4. Are there any fertility conditions that you will not treat?
At the moment we still don?t offer PGD (we will from summer 2009), and therefore gender selection. We also avoid surrogacy.
5. What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace at one time?
A positive pregnancy test is not what I?m after, but for you to take home a HEALTHY baby. This is: to avoid twin pregnancies… triplets or higher order multiple pregnancies are out of the question and are considered by me as a treatment failure.
One of the reasons why IVF centres transfer so many embryos is because their cryopreserving (freezing) techniques are unreliable and they know that only half of those frozen embryos will survive thawing. With our vitrification technology we know frozen embryos will survive (>96%), which allow us to transfer fewer embryos but to offer more embryo transfers per started cycle, which at the end make no difference in live-birth rates but they do in multiple pregnancy rates and associated complications.
Having said all of the above, there are no regulations in Mexico regarding embryo transfer and after proper counselling couples decide on final number of embryos to be transferred.
6. What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment?
Based on today?s exchange rate:
- Standard IVF $3,ooo USD (plus medication and blood tests?around $1,ooo to 1,5oo USD)
- Mini-IVF $2,2oo USD (plus medication and blood test?around $150 USD)
- 3- Month treatment package with Mini-IVF $5,ooo USD (plus medication and blood tests)
Cryopreservation is not included in costs (except in the 3-Month package), which is around 3oo USD
7. What additional costs would / could be incurred?
- Medications
- Initial consultation and tests (which can be performed at home?HIV, hep B&C, etc)
- Bloods during follow-up
- Cryopreservation
- Treatment/ management of IVF related complications (e.g. OHSS- hyperstimulation syndrome)
8. What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned?
You only pay for what you get; rest of money goes towards your next cycle. As a very general guide you can divide treatment cost in this way:
- 1/3 for stimulation follow-up
- 1/3 for egg collection and lab expenses
- 1/3 for embryo transfer
So, for example, if a cycle is cancelled before egg collection you will have 2/3 of your money back towards your next IVF cycle. Costs related to drugs are not reimbursed in any situation.
9. How long would I need to be in Mexico for?
If you manage to get your own medication and to have a baseline ultrasound performed at home, then it?s a minimum of 10 days for standard IVF and Mini-IVF; and 6 days for natural cycles.
If you want to have initial consultation/ tests, baseline scan and drugs from us, then we?re talking about 12 to 15 days.
10.Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation?
We can help you to get very good deals for accommodation. We can personally take care for airport-hotel-clinic transportation, but you will have to deal with flights and final reservations (hotel) yourselves.
11. How is the pre-treatment carried out?
Once you ask for treatment I will send you a list of tests you need to up-date (or have done with us if you rather to), and a basic medical history format to fill-out. Once this is in place, you only have to let us know when you are planning for treatment and call with your menstrual period one month ahead of treatment. This, since depending on your age (probably not in your case), we?d like to prepare your ovaries with a short course of oral contraceptives.
If you?re having baseline scan and drugs at home let us know so we can find a friend doctor to help you out. We?d like to be in touch with you both (your doctor and you), so we can let you know on the best time to come to us for further surveillance and time of egg collection.
12. How do I get medication?
If you decide to have all done over here, you can get it from us. If not just let me know where you live and I can get a doctor to hand you a prescription after you have been properly scanned and appropriate dosage established.
13. How will I be monitored?
- Baseline transvaginal scan + day 3 FSH, LH, progesterone (P4), and oestradiol (E2)
- Day 8 follow-up scan + E2, FSH
- Day 10-11 scan + E2, LH, P4
- Day 12-13 scan + E2, LH, P4
More frequent or extended monitoring is required in some cases.
14. How will I know that I am not being under / over stimulated?
According to findings during monitoring, mainly ultrasound examinations and oestradiol levels and FSH levels on initial stimulation bloods.
15. If I have a problem whilst in the UK who would I go to?
- North West England and Wales: Mr. Andrew Drakeley
- London: Mr. Luciano Nardo
- Scotland (Aberdeen): Prof. Mark Hamilton
If none of these are convenient for you I could recommend you some other doctors within these regions or maybe even closer to you. Remember, I wa trained in the UK and I got to know a lot of very good and reliable IVF doctors over there.
16. Is the clinic registered with any regulatory body?
No for the moment, although we are working towards being eligible to send our data to the ASRM in the USA and to get an NY State certificate for our IVF lab.
17. How long is the waiting list for IVF treatment?
We have an overwhelming capacity, and since IVF is private medicine in Mexico, there is no waiting list for any of our treatments.
Finally, after so much research you have found that statistics are rather easy to manipulate and success rates, most of times only say an incomplete true. Look for pregnancy rates per started cycle (HFEA statistics are very reliable), and most important to women your age: pregnancy rates within a time frame… Mini-IVF will offer you the best chances of pregnancy within 6 months as well as the most cost-effective form of treatment. For more detailed information visit www.newhopefertility.com
Costs in NY are higher than in Mexico, but you can get hold on a lot of info within our website (Mexican website is still on-going work).
Your blog should be sponsored by pharmaceutical companies (keep avoiding adverts from individual doctors or clinics), and if you want to I could get you in touch with a non profit organisation in Mexico called AMI (Mexican Association of Infertility), run by patients as yourself who would very much appreciate all of your hard work.
Congratulations, my best wishes on your enterprise of becoming a mom yourself.
Kind regards,
Dr. Alejandro Chavez-Badiola
Medical Director, New Hope Fertility Centre Mexico
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