# Is anyone used/using CARE fertility in Machester



## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

Hi all,
We are a same sex couple at the start of our journey towards parenthood. We have a lot to learn about the processed etc and hope to gain valuable knowledge from the members here.

So far we have been to the NHS Hospital and had blood tests and the initial invetigation to check that all seems ok with my partner tubes(ultrasound machine with a camera on the end). All seems ok as expected. 

We go back next week to see the Dr and to make the appointment for the next invistigation with the dye and xray.(HSG lap and dye).

We have also been told we need to see a counsellor - is this optional ? What is this usually about ? Is it just a one off meeting ? 

We then have a meeting with our contact at the NHS hospital (not sure of she is a nurse) who will go through our journey with. So far we dont know when we will get to meet her and talk though things with her.

So basically this is where we are. The women at the Hosptal suggested we use the CARE fertility in Machester as our client. So we are excited to here from anyone who has used them and can pass on any handy tips etc.  

We were also told that CARE fertility in Machester may not have any sperm so we could use the European Sperm Bank. Any experience of people who used this or recommendation of a better place to use all welcome.

As we are a same sex couple (apparenly a life style choice) we have to play for our treatment and so far have not managed to work out all the cost involved.


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## anicca79 (Sep 29, 2012)

Hi Surething,

Welcome. I hope you find this forum useful. Some of the answers to your questions will be found on the 'new here with questions' recent posting which I put up and people were very helpful with. They certainly reassured me that the counselling thing was nothing to worry about. 

I don't know much about CARE but as one of the main clinics in Manchester I'm sure others will have some knowledge of this.

We also have to pay for our treatment in Chester and unfortunately this appears to be the case of the majority of same sex couples across the country. Help is only for those classed as 'infertile' but I would argue that all same sex couples are infertile by definition!

There is little information out there on the process but this board is great so I hope you find some answers.

Best wishes,

Emma


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## welshginge (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi Surething.

I conceived my little boy at Care Nottingham & they were great (hoping Manchester is the same), they had plenty of sperm at the time (summer 2010) which I was glad about as I wanted to make it as easy as possible for my child to find out who his donor is if he wants to. The ESB may be cheaper though & sometimes you can 'piggybank' delivery to the clinic if there is anyone else doing the same thing (no experience with this though, maybe check with the clinic) I had the HSG & it was fine, felt like mild period pains but I did take paracetomol about half hour before as someone had recommended it, don't know if it helped.

As for the councelling, it is mandatory (1 session) for anyone having donor sperm or eggs. They talk to you about how you feel about it, whether you plan to tell the child & give you tips on how to do it. A few of us have made books for our kids - mine even has a photograph of S as a embryo!!

Hope this helps & best of luck x


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## sophia_snail (Nov 7, 2010)

We are at MFS in manchester and they provide a first class service and have lots of sperm. I don't know if they might be more expensive though...


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## Ruby998 (Feb 6, 2012)

Sure thing- I'm with MFS in Manchester who are fab!! And I actually think they are a little cheaper than care. You may have already considered this but they offer an egg sharing scheme where if you are happy to donate half your eggs to another lady then I get your treatment at a reduced cost (£950 ish) I don't know how much donated sperm is though. 

xxx


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## incywincy (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi Surething,

I'm just applying to Care Manchester for egg sharing now.  Care do have sperm available and it costs about £800 I believe.  I have no idea how much European Sperm Bank costs, I'm going to be looking into that soon myself.  Egg sharing costs around £985 at Care then the sperm on top.  If you have embryos left over they freeze them for £500 for 3 years so you can have FET if first egg share isn't successful. 

MFS is very much the same price for egg sharing but their embryo freezing is cheaper at £360 for 3 years and sperm is £670, so it works out a touch cheaper overall.  Also to consider - if the donor sperm needs ICSI, MFS do it for free within the egg sharing scheme.  Care charge an extra £900.


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## anicca79 (Sep 29, 2012)

Hi Surething, thanks very much for this breakdown of costs. It's extremely helpful for us as we're making a comparison between Manchester clinics. Can I ask what ICSI means please? I'm still learning what the abbreviations are thanks  In fact is there a list on here somewhere of common abbreviations on the forum? I'm starting to get my head around it mostly, but I see we have a lot of newcomers here. Cheers, hope everyone is enjoying the weekend xx


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## incywincy (Nov 13, 2011)

ICSI is where the sperm isn't as likely to fertilise the egg itself in IVF so the clinic selects one sperm to inject into the egg to force fertilisation. Pro is that the egg is much more likely to fertilise. A con that I have read is that it means that sperm isn't self selecting by the premise of survival of the fittest, so it might not be the best quality sperm going in there. I don't know how significant this is to success rates though.

There was a list of abbreviations somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

ETA: Here! http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=190482.0 (Though ICSI is not on here and I don't know what the letters stand for.)


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## anicca79 (Sep 29, 2012)

Thanks incywincy, that's a great help  x


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## Mish3434 (Dec 14, 2004)

Hi

ICSI stands for Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, it's where they inject a single sperm directly into the egg

Shelley xx


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## jenjifier (Oct 15, 2012)

Hi,
I'm new to fertility friends.
We are just about to undergo our second cycle of treatment at Manchester Care. 
We has success the first time with IVF (egg shared to minimise costs), but unfortunately we lost our little girl at 22 weeks+2days, no known cause.
We haven't hesitated to go back to Care though. 
Any queries, can try and help you out.
Jen


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## Lucky1968 (Jul 12, 2007)

Hi we used CARE Manchester 3 times and they got us pregnant on all three occasions (although one sadly miscarried).  On the last occassion 2010 (baby born 2011) CARE had their own sperm bank and we were given a choice of three potential donors.  We found them friendly, helpful and, given their success rate with us, very competant.  Our same sex status was completely irrelevant.

On the negative side my brother-in-law and his wife who do have fertility issues found them indifferent and a bit lacklustre when they had fertility treatment there in 2011, but the fact it didn't work for them might have something to do with it.


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

Hi all,
Thanks for all your comment. I am I am sure like others still trying to get my head around all the acronyms and processes.

Sorry they have not told us about another option in Manchester what is MFS in Manchester ? 

We have just been back to the Hospital to meet the consultant who will do the HSG(expect that to be in Mid November). He didn't say anything more about the counselling so will just play that by ear. 

My understanding is if the sperm is from the UK then the child has the option to track down the donor but if it is from the ESB(European Sperm Bank) or USA then that is not an option.


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

welshginge said:


> Hi Surething.
> 
> I conceived my little boy at Care Nottingham & they were great (hoping Manchester is the same), they had plenty of sperm at the time (summer 2010) which I was glad about as I wanted to make it as easy as possible for my child to find out who his donor is if he wants to. The ESB may be cheaper though & sometimes you can 'piggybank' delivery to the clinic if there is anyone else doing the same thing (no experience with this though, maybe check with the clinic) I had the HSG & it was fine, felt like mild period pains but I did take paracetamol about half hour before as someone had recommended it, don't know if it helped.
> 
> ...


Hi welshginge,
Glad to here it all worked out for you and your little boy.

good to know you might be able to "sometimes you can 'piggybank' delivery to the clinic" not sure if that Will be an option for us as yet as we are not with any clinic as yet so not sure where our sperm will come from.

I will tell my partner about taking paracetamol about half hour before as someone had recommended before her HSG. The consultant has also prescribed two lots of antibiotics for her to take.

Wow you have made books...we are not sure when the counselling session will be but as yet we dont have a set idea of what is the best approach for the child. So " tips on how to do it" would be very helpful. Maybe there is a thread on here where people have discussed it.


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

Ruby998 said:


> Sure thing- I'm with MFS in Manchester who are fab!! And I actually think they are a little cheaper than care. You may have already considered this but they offer an egg sharing scheme where if you are happy to donate half your eggs to another lady then I get your treatment at a reduced cost (£950 ish) I don't know how much donated sperm is though.
> 
> xxx
> [/quote
> ...


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

incywincy said:


> Hi Surething,
> 
> I'm just applying to Care Manchester for egg sharing now. Care do have sperm available and it costs about £800 I believe. I have no idea how much European Sperm Bank costs, I'm going to be looking into that soon myself. Egg sharing costs around £985 at Care then the sperm on top. If you have embryos left over they freeze them for £500 for 3 years so you can have FET if first egg share isn't successful.
> 
> MFS is very much the same price for egg sharing but their embryo freezing is cheaper at £360 for 3 years and sperm is £670, so it works out a touch cheaper overall. Also to consider - if the donor sperm needs ICSI, MFS do it for free within the egg sharing scheme. Care charge an extra £900.


Hi incywincy,
Maybe I have mis-understood about Egg Sharing I thought it was giving some eggs to the clinic in exchange for a lower costs for the treatment we want so I didnt think you had to pay for it..not £985. I guess we are so early in the process that no one has talked to us about this.

Just googled so MFS is Manchester Fertility Services the NHS did not mention this one to us just CARE in Manchester and one in Leeds but they were definately steering us to the CARE one.

Thanks for the informtion good to know sperm about £800... is there some kind of method for deciding how much sperm you need to buy/store ?


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

incywincy said:


> ICSI is where the sperm isn't as likely to fertilise the egg itself in IVF so the clinic selects one sperm to inject into the egg to force fertilisation. Pro is that the egg is much more likely to fertilise. A con that I have read is that it means that sperm isn't self selecting by the premise of survival of the fittest, so it might not be the best quality sperm going in there. I don't know how significant this is to success rates though.
> 
> There was a list of abbreviations somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.
> 
> ETA: Here! http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=190482.0 (Though ICSI is not on here and I don't know what the letters stand for.)


Thanks for the link to abbreviations I have been wondering what TTC was and now I know = Trying To Conceive


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

jenjifier said:


> Hi,
> I'm new to fertility friends.
> We are just about to undergo our second cycle of treatment at Manchester Care.
> We has success the first time with IVF (egg shared to minimise costs), but unfortunately we lost our little girl at 22 weeks+2days, no known cause.
> ...


Hi Jen,
It sounds like we are going to be going through the same processes as you. I am sorry to hear about your loss and I am sure all will be well the second time around  It's good to hear that CARE seems to be on the ball(as it were lol) at getting women pregnant 

Did you egg share ? If you wouldn't mind could you give us an idea of how much the 1st cycle cost...if you would prefer to private message me on this feel free. Just so we have a firm idea of the cost involved as no one has talked to us about these as yet..


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

Lucky1968 said:


> Hi we used CARE Manchester 3 times and they got us pregnant on all three occasions (although one sadly miscarried). On the last occassion 2010 (baby born 2011) CARE had their own sperm bank and we were given a choice of three potential donors. We found them friendly, helpful and, given their success rate with us, very competant. Our same sex status was completely irrelevant.
> 
> On the negative side my brother-in-law and his wife who do have fertility issues found them indifferent and a bit lacklustre when they had fertility treatment there in 2011, but the fact it didn't work for them might have something to do with it.


Well it seems CARE is recommended by a few people and seems to have a good success rate(always a bonus). It good to hear "We found them friendly, helpful and, given their success rate with us, very competant. Our same sex status was completely irrelevant."


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

anicca79 said:


> Hi Surething,
> 
> Welcome. I hope you find this forum useful. Some of the answers to your questions will be found on the 'new here with questions' recent posting which I put up and people were very helpful with. They certainly reassured me that the counselling thing was nothing to worry about.
> 
> ...


Hi Emma,
I couldn't agree more about "Help is only for those classed as 'infertile' but I would argue that all same sex couples are infertile by definition!" . Our Dr disagrees with it but her hands are tied but she did tell us that all the tests we need Blood tests, HSG etc we can get done on the NHS. These are the ones we in the process of having at the moment.


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## anicca79 (Sep 29, 2012)

Hi Surething,

Yeah I'm going to the doc tomorrow for a routine appointment and I'm going to quiz them about what tests I can get for free and hopefully get the process started. By the way not sure if people have seen the MFS open day in November? It's free and a weeknight. I haven't got the link to hand as I'm on my phone but if you search the MFS website for open evening you should find it. It is limited numbers though x


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## anicca79 (Sep 29, 2012)

Oh and can I also ask (those of you who know about MFS and Care Manchester particularly)  when you get tests from the GP can you get them done some time in advance of your clinic consultation? So even though we're not trying till next year can I get tests done now? I'm assuming there must be a time restriction. Also,
what proof do the clinic need that you've had them done? Can they access medical records or do you need to get some sort of proof from the doc? Thanks!


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## incywincy (Nov 13, 2011)

surething said:


> incywincy said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Surething,
> ...


Surething, £985 is the reduced rate! IVF is usually several thousand pounds, so to get it at £985 is a good deal. It's almost completely free at some clinics in London if you donate eggs, but not at the two Manc clinics unfortunately. I worked out that the costs of travelling to London and hotel stays would outweigh the price of the Manchester clinics.

Did you also ask about being tracked down? Yes, if you donate eggs and they result in a successful pregnancy you can be tracked down when the child is 18. You will get notification first that they've made enquiries, it won't just be a random knock on the door. But you have to have a counselling session before egg sharing where you can talk about things like this. I don't mind being tracked down, I'm using a sperm donor if I do it, so I see it as giving something back.

Anicca, Care told me that my HIV, Hep and chlamydia tests were valid for 12 months, the rubella immunity one indefinitely. And I just asked my GP to print out the results for me to collect. I dont' know if they'll check with the GP too.


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

incywincy said:


> surething said:
> 
> 
> > incywincy said:
> ...


Ah thanks for the clarification. I don't believe we will be having IVF.
I notice MFS say on their website "Egg Donors

In the UK we have an acute shortage of donor eggs. This is because it takes a very special person to become an egg donor and help other women have a child. If you're aged between 18 and 35, and have no serious medical history, you could become an egg donor with Manchester Fertility Services.

As of 1st April 2012, new compensation rates mean egg donors will receive £750 for each donation cycle."

Is a cycle one lot of eggs...how many eggs do they take ?


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## jenjifier (Oct 15, 2012)

Yes Care are on the ball, so to speak  spoke to them yesterday and got matched with donor sperm. Trepidacious about trying again, but excited at the same time.

The last time I did egg share. The downreg and stim went fine, I got 12 eggs, which we split 6/6. Unfortunately she didn't conceive. It cost circa 1300. 
This time we aren't sharing. With us losing Erin, we thought it might be nice to have some embryos on ice if the next cycle doesn't work. There are no guarantees about whether or not we will get any, but touch wood. That way I won't have to take all the drugs again the next try, they can just add embryo at correct time of normal cycle. It's obviously more expensive. We are looking down the barrel of 5k! But I have been saving for this, this being my the only thing in the world I want at the moment! Hope that answers a few questions x


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

Glad to hear good things about both MFS and CARE Manchester as I feel we will be using one of them to start our family  

Best wishes to all those currently in process of starting/extending their family  

We have 2-3 weeks wait now before the HSG test so just chilling and trying to findout as much as we can.

Exciting times for us all


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## mintyfaglady (Aug 25, 2007)

We used MFS and got testing done via the NHS and our very friendly GP.

Both clinics will be at our conference in hebden bridge on 17th nov, if people have questions for them.

http://lesbianparentsgroup.com/2012-conference/

/links


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## surething (Oct 5, 2012)

mintyfaglady said:


> We used MFS and got testing done via the NHS and our very friendly GP.
> 
> Both clinics will be at our conference in hebden bridge on 17th nov, if people have questions for them.
> 
> ...


Wishfull thinking on our part it took us about 4 months until we got the HSG done !!!!!!!!
its now done and we still have more hoops to jup through beforev we can be referred to Care Manc which we are hoping will be in the next couple of months....


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