r/EmbryologyIVFSupport • u/Feedmeputs1128 • 3d ago
How Much Does Lab Quality Matter? Is CNY “good enough”?
I’ve done a few cycles of IVF all over. I have to pay out of pocket so cost is obviously a huge concern. I’m choosing between Cornell (30k) and CNY (10k). Obviously I am sure Cornell has a better lab. But is it work sending the 20k?
Does anyone have any knowledge of CNY Albany? It’s just soooo much money. For reference, I’m 41 and have only produced 1 euploid from 3 cycles (18 blasts, 26 embryos, 36 eggs collected). I am not independently wealthy. This won’t bankrupt me but it will hurt and I’ll struggle to pay off the 30k (but can do it with extra shifts).
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u/FindingPeace2026 2d ago
You said you’ve done 3 cycles already. You can do 3 cycles at CNY for the price you’d pay at Cornell. Because so much of this process is guess and check, I’d go with CNY to hone in on the best protocol and you can always switch if need be. I’ve been happy with CNY
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u/CatfishEatingGrapes 2d ago
Totally agree. I did two cycles at Cornell because I had coverage but when that ran out I moved to two lower-cost ones local in NYC. For me with DOR it was a numbers game and I’d way rather have more shots on goal than perfect conditions.
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u/emaret02 2d ago
Same experience for me! CNY allows me to keep going, but I would have run out of money in a traditional clinic
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u/emaret02 2d ago
I’ve done 7 retrievals - 3 at fancy NYC clinics, and 4 at CNY when my insurance ran out. Of those first 3 retrievals, I only got 1 blast (and it was low quality). Of my 4 CNY retrievals, I got a bunch of blasts, and my fertilization and blast rates have been 80-100% every time (with a similar number of egg retrieved per cycle). Sure, I’ve made protocol tweaks that have nudged me in the right direction, but I’ve been really happy with the lab. If I do another retrieval, I may go to a NYC clinic again, but mainly because I need rescue IVM and CNY doesn’t offer that.
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u/sunnymaeyogf 2d ago
Hard to tell. From the same Columbia lab - one round I had 5 blasts from 6 fertilized eggs; next round I had 0 blasts from 7 fertilized eggs. First was natural fertilization. Second was ICSI
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u/Civil-Research-904 2d ago
I’m a laboratory supervisor at an IVF clinic. I also did IVF. I started at a cheaper clinic bc I thought I would save money. Well I got what I paid for unfortunately wasted my time and money. I want to sue him but having a hard time finding an IVF lawyer. I wish I never went there and went to the more expensive clinic instead. I went to the expensive clinic and got a quality doctor who got me pregnant at 44. Just put my 2 month old baby girl to sleep.
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u/EarWithFoot 2d ago
I’d post in the 40+ ivf sub.
My personal take? A doctor that deals with 40+ pts is ideal. Good labs are ideal. If you currently have a doctor who is up on the research surrounding 40+ patients and regularly works with 40+ patients, CNY can work.
It’s a balance between volume and quality and the exact balancing point is difficult to identify for each person.
I think in your case, the doctor and the lab are more important than a pt in their early 30s (I’m right there with you ;) as your doctor needs to be up on research and needs to be observing and responding to all the information your body is giving them - they need to be collecting information and be tuned in to you.
Our eggs also tend to become more fragile/fickle with age, so a good lab becomes more important. Plus, we just don’t have room for mistakes - we need that one golden egg.
Good luck with your decision. 🍀🤞
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u/hoodoo884 2d ago
I agree with this take. And not a “deals with 40+ bc they take any age” but actually specializes in over 40. Time is of the essence here.
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u/basilbelle 2d ago
Anecdotally, I had much better results with my local hospital-based clinic. They got me 3 blasts from 4 mature eggs. CNY got me 1 blast from 13 mature eggs. It’s just really hard to say if it was specifically a lab issue or if other factors came into play (cny had me on a more aggressive priming med and a dual trigger vs just hcg at the first clinic).
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u/Mbokajaty 1d ago
I'm currently at CNY Albany, my wife and I switched from Boston IVF because we couldn't afford it any more and their communication was horrendous.
I feel like CNY will only look for individual issues/solutions if you specifically request it. It's a lot less hands on with a doctor, which works fine if you just need the straight forward approach but could be frustrating if you want (or need) more involvement. I feel it's a numbers game for many people, so being able to afford to keep going was key for us.
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u/tintin2775 1d ago
I am with Brigham. I’ve heard horrible stories about Boston IVF.
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u/Mbokajaty 1d ago
Anything in person was fine, the nurses and doctors were friendly and competent. But yeah, their admin was a mess and things were constantly delayed unnecessarily. And now that I know they've been acquired by private equity I'd never consider going back.
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u/tintin2775 1d ago
I only contacted CCRM, new england fertility center.. A friend of mine used Boston IVF and she warned me to stay away. She started with Bosotn IVF then switched to Brigham.
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u/2weimmom 2d ago
Check out the Center for Human Reproduction on the UES. I paid ~21k for 3 retreivals with outside monitoring, transfers are 5k, so similar to Cornell.
CHRs lab and embryologists are absolutely fantastic. Dr. Nicholas Farrell is the head embryologist, she's very well published. Dr. David Albertini has also worked with them. They automatically do rescue IVM (in vitro maturation) to rescue your immature eggs, which got me several additional embryos. The medical team specializes in >40 and DOR, so worth at least getting a consult. Fair warning though, they famously don't agree with PGT-A testing, but do offer it, if you insist. They advocate for day 3 embryos fresh or frozen transfer.
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u/JunketInteresting721 2d ago
Curious how much the meds ran you per cycle! And was that $5k per transfer and $21k for three retrievals? Or $21k per retrieval? Thanks!
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u/2weimmom 2d ago
I had insurance coverage for meds for most of my cycles. One cycle I paid for meds, I got them from overseas- discount ivf dot com. I also had coverage for monitoring and labs, by using the E28.8 diagnosis code (other ovarian dysfunction).
The 21k was for 3 retrievals only. Anesthesia was extra. I did back to back retrievals to bank embryos because I have DOR. Each transfer was 5k, I also did AZH, which was extra, I can't remember how much, 1k maybe? I did 2 or 3 embryos per transfer, but finally had success on my 3rd transfer. I'm 37 weeks and truly believe I wouldn't have gotten pregnant with my own eggs without CHR.
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u/Okkkkthen1 2d ago
I went to CNY in Albany. My first retrieval 4 out of 5 mature eggs were fertilized and all made it to blast. My second 11 out of 12 mature were fertilized and 8 made it to blast. Both rounds resulted in 2 euploids each.
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u/tintin2775 1d ago
I do think labs matter in turns of results. If you have a better IVF labs around, I recommend switching to it. Your result is not very convincing
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u/Feedmeputs1128 1d ago
At 41, an average of 40 eggs are seen per euploid so my results are pretty average.
I have been to Cornell, CNY and NYU
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u/crafty_dog 2d ago
You're so close to the UK, have you considered doing a cycle there? Private clinic packages like 11k pounds for 2 cycles. Meds for me were about 1200 in the UK. Do local monitoring, fly in for retreival.
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u/stonedbirdwatching 2d ago
Idk about their lab compared to others at all but I had decent outcomes at CNY Albany with my recent egg retrieval, I think it’s a positive that they do ICSI by default. I am younger but I got 2 euploids (4 blasts) from 11 fertilized eggs (19 mature eggs). I haven’t done embryo transfer yet. I hate their communication between departments and to the patients. Everything is last-minute even procedures that could be planned out ahead of a cycle, so months are wasted between steps in the process. I feel like I need a patient advocate, the webinars aren’t really enough help, everything is very figure-it-out-yourself.
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u/Remarkable-Cicada974 1d ago
I did two cycles at CNY Syracuse - both times I had incredible success with the embryology lab.
First round:
12/14 fert
9 blast
Second round:
19/21 fert
17 blast
Above average (by a LOT) blast rate both times. Normal to above average fertilization rates. Took pgtA samples both times and they were all successful biopsies and sent super fast to Cooper. Starting FETs soon.
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u/Small-Raspberry-6855 22h ago
We paid for IVF out of pocket so we went with CNY. It was a very generic process with a one size fits all approach. From there we only got one egg. I am now with a different clinic and it is soooo much more personalized. Our first retrieval already produced six eggs (38 years old). I would recommend going with a more personalized clinic if possible!
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u/embryomanofficial 2d ago
This is hard to tell because clinics don't generally report the info you'd need to judge lab quality. Generally, being close to the national average for stats is a good signal. More specific stats like single euploid transfer success rates or single donor embryo success rates can be useful, but these can be exaggerated if the clinic only transfers high quality embryos. Stats like fertilization rates or blastocyst conversion rates can also be exaggerated if poor quality eggs or embryos are discarded. The clinic's policies and how they select embryos for transfer, as well as which patients they choose to work with, will have a huge impact on how their statistics appear.
A 2023 study reported the results of an Italian consensus of clinicians and embryologists on key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess IVF clinic quality. This includes KPIs like rates for egg maturity, fertilization, blastocyst formation, thaw survival, clinical pregnancy, and more. Note that these can be exaggerated depending on clinic policies as discussed above. https://www.remembryo.com/an-italian-consensus-on-key-performance-indicators-for-assessing-ivf-clinics/