# why is there such a huge difference in cost



## Panda7 (Jan 11, 2006)

hi all, im looking into treatment in the czech republic as we have now run out of money (more or less). 
We have been at the Lister in London and I realise they are expensive but cant quite figure out why the cost is so low outside the Uk. 
Can anyone help me understand this please as i dont want to fear the worst, like lower standars ect (which i dont honestly feel is the issue but am still a bit confused).
Sorry if im being dim and there is an obvious answer but would apprecaite as much feed bcak as possible please ?
many thanks
Zula


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## Tea63 (Sep 21, 2006)

Hi Zula
Not sure, but my guess would be that it is like everything else in eastern Europe, living standarad and pays a lot lower and expenses like rent a lot lower than western Europe. I have not been to any clinics in the uk, but in Australia (dont think there is a big difference between uk and australia) and been to Invimed in Poland and prefer Invimed to some of the clinics here - a lot better service 
Anyone else got a guess or know ?
Tea


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## babycrazy (Mar 17, 2006)

Hi Zula
Basically its because the west are ripping venerable couples off, If you look at Easturn Europe Russia and Ukraine they are charging less than 1/2 the price for an EDTX.  Out of this they have to pay Dr,s , scientist  donors drugs, and at least a months wages  compensation to the donor ( not a measly £15 a trip to clinic) 
I think it may be cheaper in Eastern Europe ,Russia, Poland etc, because the peeps in these countries i.e Dr,s are not paid £100000 and more a year. All these ex commonist countries all people from all kinds of employment backgrounds are are on much lower wages than here in the West.  You will also find that the Dr,s are more approachable,  most answer there own emails, almost on same day, not by there secretary a month or so later. 
If you look on threads here on different clinics in different countries you will get a lot of info. I think you will find  most clinics are better, with better results and bed side manner. Reading Russian and Ukraine threads, they have a so much more rigorous pre treatment programme than in U.K.  In all these established eastern E.U countries (Rus & Ukr inc) donors are also tested thoroughly. As egg donors are paid on average a months wages for there trouble, there are a lot more available and with a lot younger girls volentering than here in U.K thus  resulting in higher success rates.  Most of these clinics only use women who have had a child of there own, but some dint!.  As these girls are putting theremselves at risk of fertility problems , I  think using prov en donors  is a sign of a caring clinic, I would hate to think that some girl could be put through this  kind of suffering for my sake, when she had not had a child  or two of her own.
Remember to take in to account your flight & accommodation cost when going abroad. Also if your using your own eggs it will be cheaper still as you wont have to pay the Donor compensation.
The only thing you don't get ?? that you get in U.K is the pre TX counseling, but then you also don,t get a few peeps, sitting in judgment of you to wether you will  make good or deserve to be a parents.


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## Kitty kat (Mar 21, 2006)

When we knew we were going to need fertility treatment, I contacted a well known clinic in Harley Street -we were advised to have a process that is tantamount to useless for a woman of my age and they blatantly lied about the statistics, suggesting I go through three or four of these before moving onto IVF.  I was totally ripped off.  It was all particularly distressing and ended up reporting them to the ****.  After that I went to a couple of other well hospitals for consultations but I saw them physically bristle and cool towards me when I mentioned my unhappiness with the said clinic and the fact that I had reported them.

On this board I saw that Joy had two wonderful boys from ISIDA in Ukraine and I PMed her.  She kindly told me about another board that has been invaluable.  We were extremely happy with the hospital out there when we initially went out for a 'go see' and to have the tests.  I think they were honest about my chances, and I felt it was right for us.  For us, it was not so much the money, (although we had limited ourselves to three goes before drawing a line under line under it) but the treatment and care.

I was happy that the donor selection process was fair.  The donors do seem to be young but then walking around Kiev, there are lots of young mothers out there.  To donate at ISIDA the girls have to have had at least one child.  My donor had a two year daughter and the clinic was happy to pass on my gifts to the donor and her child along she got the fee from the clinic for donating.

The standard of liivng is cheaper in Eastern Europe.  We ate out in great restaurnat every night, something you could ill afford to do in London.  We caught taxi's too and from the clinic at around £3.00 each way maximum  and so on and so on which impact hugely on the prices.

Going abroad is not for everyone.  It can be frustrating dealing in emails, time delays and stilted English.  But we loved Kiev, and saw it as a bit of an adventure which was a good job as we went three times in the space of four months.  I wouldn't hesitate to go abroad again and nor would I hesitate to recommend it.  I am now happy to report that I am 24 weeks pregnant with twins. The clinics over here should really buck their ideas up, and we stop charging exorbitant prices for shoddy second rate care.

Anyway, good luck with your choices.

K


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## Panda7 (Jan 11, 2006)

Tea, BabyCrazy and Kit Kat, thank you very very much for your feedback, im going to show it all my hubby tonight when he gets home and my little brother who works for the NHS and had the concerns. Im happy to say that after reading what youve said im still 100% comitted to going abroad so if Hubby agrees thats that!
I dont know whatid have done without FF, its been a lifeline in itself!
Congratulations by the way and take good care of yourselves all of you
Zula


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## three_stars (Jan 19, 2006)

uh, greed 
That would be a big part of my answer. The rest has been covered here. I realise it can be daunting for people have not travelled much or dealt with foreign cultures but if you open yourselve up to a bit of adventure and are able to do the required travel and time off work I am certain you will not be displeased with the treatment you get abroad at many of the clinics you will find info on site.

It is still much less expensive abroad, mainly due to much less cost of living then in Uk but if you look back even just a few years those prices have increased greatly in some places ( this was the case when I researched Russia for example). With the entry into EU and more foreign patients I fear the rise in costs abroad will continue but for now it is very reasonable by comparison. More importantly I have always gotten very good communication, often directly with my doctor.
b123



zula said:


> hi all, im looking into treatment in the czech republic as we have now run out of money (more or less).
> We have been at the Lister in London and I realise they are expensive but cant quite figure out why the cost is so low outside the Uk.
> Can anyone help me understand this please as i dont want to fear the worst, like lower standars ect (which i dont honestly feel is the issue but am still a bit confused).
> Sorry if im being dim and there is an obvious answer but would apprecaite as much feed bcak as possible please ?
> ...


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## buster24 (Jul 11, 2005)

Zula I also work as a staff nurse for the NHS, and i have been out to Istanbul for ivf. I found the treatment to be more personal to you. I did loads of research before i went.unfortunately it never worked, but i was very happy with the treatment and care i recieved. i had had 4 goes here before that. I am now looking at going down the donor route. We have an appointment in Glasgow in 2 weeks to see about using my sisters eggs, but plan B is if this is not viable we are def going to reprofit in Czech. The Drs in these countries are not paid as highly as our private Dr's here, drugs are also much cheaper. I would not hesitate in going abroad again. The cost of some of the clinics here is terrible.
goodluck in what every you decide


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## Panda7 (Jan 11, 2006)

Cheers Buster, i agree that its more to do with the Uk being overpriced than anything else and have sent another email back to reprofit this afternoon to get things going. 
Im sorry you also had a bfn last month, i hope it all goes well for you with your sisters eggs but if not good luck at reprofit, if i get there first ill be posting to say what it like
       
take good care
Zula


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## alanelaine (Sep 10, 2005)

Zula,

Alan does quite a bit of business in Eastern Europe in former Soviet countries and he advises that people's preconceptions are distorted by western propaganda.

Soviet policy meant that the state funded investment in healthcare (and every other industry) to the best extent possible as there was no private alternative.  This resulted in countries like Romania treating everybody with poor eyesight with what we now have as laser surgery - a one off operation meant that the state didn't have to pay for spectacles every two years!

Consequently, most of these countries have a well qualified and well funded medical society which leads, together with lower living costs and what everybody else has said above, to lower costs for TX.

There is also a greater culture of acceptance of DE and donors are ususally pleased to be able to help out those less fortunate than themselves.  If you consider how a month's salary would cover your time off work for scans, tests, appointments and the inconvenoeince of daily injections, etc. the compensation is hardly excessively generous.

Our experience of the UK, Spain and Russia is such that we have no hesitation in recommending Russia in preference to the other clinics we went to.  This is no reflection on our Spanish clinic as we changed from them due, largely, to difficulties in matching donors because of blood group rarity.  That said, our Russian clinic had more clinical staff, doctors and support workers than any clinic we've been to so we remain impressed by their abilities.

Hope this is helpful.

A&E


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