# london or abroad?



## Freya L (Sep 18, 2009)

My girlfriend and I have been trying to conceive using a known donor and home insem for 2 years now without any sucess and have finally decided we need to get help from a clinic.  I have just turned 40 and feel like we just need to get on with it if it is ever going to happen.  Our known donor is no longer an option for various reasons - so we have been looking at other options - there seems to be such a shortage of donor sperm in the UK so we have been looking seriously at going to Eugin clinic in Barcelona... but I worry about having a totally anonymous donor and how that will feel to our child should we be sucessful (the reason we went for a known donor in the first place was to get rid of any mystery about biological roots).  My other worry about going abroad is a practical one - we are London based and I work, I've heard of people needing to go for daily blood-tests during treatment... how will that work if our clinic is in Spain?  Yeesh - it all seems such a mine-field!  I've been to my GP who is supportive and has arranged a batch of blood tests and a pelvic scan - I've asked for details from LWC, Guys and the Bridge Clinic which are all closer to home.... it seems so hard to know which s the best route to go down.

Any advice from someone who has navigated through this complicated process would be so welcome.  It feels so difficult right now...  And I just heard that my younger brother who is straight is now expecting his first child - I am so happy for him, but also can't help thinking how lucky he is to not have to jump through all these hoops on the way to making a family!


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## Mesenet (Oct 23, 2008)

Hi Freya,

I don't have first hand experience of clinics abroad, but have heard that the Eugin clinic in Barcelona "specialise" in treating people from abroad, requiring only 2 trips to Barcelona per treatment, perhaps worth checking them out?

If you are thinking of having treatment in London, I would definitely avoid LWC, particularly given your age (sorry, don't mean to be rude here); they seem to have only one approach and not much of a clue of how to treat patients with high FSH/older women.  In fact they dont seem to have much of a clue, period!  This comment IS from first hand experience! 

I would say the Bridge is an excellent choice.  They have some of the best success rates.  A couple friends of mine are having treatment there currently and rate them highly.

All the best in your treatment.


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## Damelottie (Jul 26, 2005)

Hello Freya

I had treatment at Reprofit in Czech Republic. Any scans/blood tests that are needed can be done in this country. There are companies/private hospitals etc that will do them (sometimes they need a letter from the consultant abroad). It was a very straightforward process for me. I had a frozen egg transfer using donor embryos. But yes, the donors are anonymous and the information about them is limited.

Good luck   

LL


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## welshginge (Jul 12, 2009)

Hey Freya. I'm in Leicester using The Leicester Fertility Clinic & they have lots of sperm. Despite being CMV negative (hope I got that right - it's a virus most people are exposed to) we still had a choice of 4 or 5. The only drawback is that they don't open on weekends.


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## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

I did two cycles at the bridge and they don't do an individualised protocol my friend praised lwc, what about the other same sex friendly clinics lister with good results some ffers have been to guys n the Homerton . I have also had de cycle in Barcelona IvI not eugin and basically flew overon 3 occassions just for scans! Never got to ET there so worked out v expensive.
l


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## Pinktink (Dec 17, 2008)

I kinda feel the LWC takes a lot of flack on here  - their results are in line with every other clinic - they are very lesbian friendly and we are happy with their care. 

It's difficult to go by other peoples experiences as you will always find people who love their clinics and others at the same clinic who hate it - my advice would be to go to open days or speak to the staff at the clinic and go on how you feel about them. 

might be worth noting that the LWC has one of the largest sperm banks if you are thinking about using clinic sperm although it is fairly simple to import from what i understand.

good luck.


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## Steph29 (Apr 28, 2009)

Hi Freya,

I second that we are having TX at the LWC and are at ET stage and have had a really good experience there and the care is great.


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## cutelittlepumpkin (Nov 1, 2007)

My boys are a product of LWC and we are going back to TTC#3 in Dec! Have used them over a period of 5 years and have always been very happy!!

CLP


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

We're using the Esperance in Eastbourne... So far we have found them super apart from the nasty counciller lady...

We looked at using lots of other clinics in the UK and decided on the Esperance because it was the most local clinic to us that didnt have a wait for donor sperm (hour and a half drive), didnt mean DP had to drive in London which she hates, was quite reasonably priced and had heard some good things on here about them.

As pinktink says go for some open days... most of the clinics do them... get a feel for them yourself as everyone has different experiences of clinic.. also bear in mind someone who has done one cycle with a clinic and got a BFP straight away will think that clinic is amazing compared to someone else who's had 5 cycles at the same clinic and got 5 BFN's who may think there rubbish... 

Good luck whatever you decide to do  

Em x


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## Mesenet (Oct 23, 2008)

Yes, LWC are great in that they are very friendly and they do get good results IN WOMEN WITH NO KNOWN FERTILITY PROBLEMS, i.e., women in their 20s/early 30s with good ovarian reserve that are in a same-sex relationship and who use a clinic simply because they need to get the sperm from somewhere and would rather go down the medical route than have to find a donor. 
But let's not forget that Friya, the lady who started this post, is 40. Notice how all the ladies posting here who are happy with LWC are all young. You can't compare apples with pears. The LWC is *NOT* a good place to go for Friya'a age group.

One plus point about LWC is that they do have a good supply of sperm. That said, that shouldn't be the only reason for using them. Sperm is fairly simple (and often cheaper) to import from the US and the Scandinavian countries.

Open days are great, but you are only going to hear the good things there, and stats are just stats: everyone massages them to their advantage. Wherever clinic you visit, do grill them on the results per age group (yours) and ask after average number of eggs per cycle obtained from women your age, and the % of success rate (defined as take-home-baby, rather than just pregnancy) per number of eggs in women your age.


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## cutelittlepumpkin (Nov 1, 2007)

Um just like to point out that I have PCOS and Hughes Sydrome!! And LWC got me PG and addressed my immune issues!

CLP


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

CLP what is hughes sydrome if you dont mind me asking  not heard of it before


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## Freya L (Sep 18, 2009)

thanks guys - such a minefield the whole thing!  great to have a source of wisdom and experience! much appreciated  
Fx


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## cutelittlepumpkin (Nov 1, 2007)

Hughes Syndrome, also known as antiphospholipid syndrome. This is a condition where its sufferers have an increased tendency to form clots in blood vessels.

Hughes Syndrome is the most common treatable cause of recurrent miscarriage, late pregnancy loss has a very strongly associated with Hughes Syndrome as is pre-eclampsia, placental abruption and intra-uterine growth restriction.

Hughes also causes other clotting events such as stroke and DVT, but is most commonly diagnosed in women of child bearing age, when a history of recurrent miscarriage is noted. The clots usually cause problems with placental blood flow and can occur at any time in a pregnancy, treatment is ongoing anticoagulation throughout pregnancy and TTC, such as Aspirin and/or clexane, etc.

CLP


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

Thanks CLP sounds really nasty... Just read your signature again all makes sense now... god you've had it tough before your boys... LWC did you proud i see!


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## Magic3s (Oct 5, 2009)

Hello Freya,

We are in a similar situation to yours. We had treatment in London before but to save on the costs we have decided now to go abroad, because is much cheaper and we don’t have to choose between a holiday and IUI.  Only problem we have is that the clinic’s sperm bank in Hungary has only anonym donors and we really would like to have ID released donor for the same reasons as you. I posted on the donor sperm section if anyone knows of a donor bank in Europe that is cheap and has ID released donors so that we could ship the sperm to Hungary. But I don’t think we will find as cheap as the one in hungary (£125 for one insem).  
Have you decided yet where to have your treatment?

Bimbo


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## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

Bimbo I know some of the single girls import their sperm to Czech from European Sperm Bank in Denmark for ID release and they choose the donor.  I am not sure of the cost but maybe ask on the thread.

Good Luck


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

I looked at the ESB and thought it was expensive


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## Magic3s (Oct 5, 2009)

Thanks for the replies! I checked the european sperm bank and it sounds great but a bit too pricey.   We will have to keep looking!

Bimbo


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