Wendey Munro, The Fertility Pharmacy – Clinical Marketing Director

The perfect support for UK patients from IVF travels abroad!

With so many excellent clinics both here and abroad it is hard deciding which one best suits your needs. It’s not always enough to just look at ‘success rates’ as these can vary somewhat, depending on what type of patients the clinic treats.

Over the past 12 months I have repeatedly been asked which country is the ‘best’ for UK patients to go to for their IVF treatment … well, there is no ‘best’ as it really does depend on your own situation.

How to decide? Here are some of the factors you may wish to consider when choosing which clinic is right for you:

• Whether the treatments offered fit your personal needs and if you are eligible within that
  country’s criteria.
• Whether you choose an international clinic or a UK clinic, you will have to consider the costs.
• To consider the location is important as you may need to make several trips to your clinic
  over the course of your treatment.
• This may be mitigated by being able to access continued nurse support and medication
  supply support back in the UK.

Often I hear, on reflection that patients are happy they had factored into their decision making
process the simple and intangible questions…

How do they make me feel? & Do I feel supported when I leave?

I cannot recommend any single clinic over another – all I can say here at The Fertility Pharmacy is that we have helped many UK patients who have visited the excellent clinics in Spain, Czech
Republic, Bologna, Barbados etc. However, there are equally highly regarded clinics with novel approaches to treatment in Italy, Greece and Cyprus, among others.

From our experience of helping International clinics and their UK patients we have collected a host of questions which you may find useful to ask when you first speak with your chosen clinic.

• Which tests will I need to have and can I get these at home before I travel?
• What medication will I have to take and what side effects may they cause and can anyone
  help me with this when I get home?
• Will all the medications be available in the UK or will I have to look for alternatives?
• How much will they cost?
• What happens if I can’t inject myself, is there anyone who can help me?
• Do you provide a continuity of care package for when I get home?

The thing is, If you opt for IVF, you’ll be expected to administer your own medication via injections for at least five nights in a row, usually more. It is impossible for any International clinic to do the injections for you, (unless you stay for several weeks), which then puts costs back up. So, we hear time and time again that this is when many patients start to realise their own limitations and begin to panic – and needle nerves kick in!

Thankfully, there are nurse-run services that come to your house, like our Nurse at Home which is bookable through The Fertility Pharmacy, at the same time as organising the delivery of your
medications.

Couldn’t be simpler!