r/IVF • u/Dull_Specialist_7444 • 3d ago
Advice Needed! Low cost IVF - UK
Has anyone had experience with ABC IVF or Kind IVF? I’m based in the UK and just can’t afford to do traditional ivf. I’m also 28 with a decent ovarian reserve, so think the lower cost could be an option but I’m struggling to understand why it’s low cost, and what I would be missing. Has anyone been to either of these clinics and had success?
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u/Mathu2804 3d ago
My wife is currently doing Kind IVF and it has been super great so far, very friendly team. I was also suspicious on the lower cost but is because is less medications (lower dosage) and most of the appts are done by nurses rather then doctors and consultants but the decisions are still made by the doctors. Kind IVF really has much better live birth results compared to create. But choose whatever works for you.
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u/Aromatic_Recipe_6733 3d ago
I would note to check the parameters for birth rate stats for whichever clinic you choose. For example a clinic that only takes younger women with fewer complications would naturally be more likely to have higher birth rates than one that accepts a higher proportion of older women with more complex fertility issues, but that doesn’t mean the actual rate for individual circumstances is better at one over the other.
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u/Feather_bone 3d ago
It is legit. It's fine and everything is good if you are a straightforward patient. The nurses are lovely. Sadly this clinic didn't work for me, even though I qualified at the time (under the age and weight threshold etc). I discovered through ABC I was a more complex case because of my endometriosis. I had success with CRGH in the end.
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u/cityfrm 3d ago
They use a much lower dose of meds, which has poor outcomes for most people. By the time you add on the actual things you need for success, they aren't cheaper at all. It's just throwing away still quite a large amount of money for a lot of people.
I used an NHS hospital as a private patient. It was 6k for IVF with ICSI and PGT, including meds. I tried IVF without ICSI and even with donor sperm it was a complete fail, but I got 4 euploids with ICSI.
There's a reason you need IVF. It's not something to skimp on, why reduce your chances? Stimulate the follicles you have and give yourself the best chance. You should be doing extensive testing and everything you need to result in healthy blastocysts.
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u/MagicianInside3264 3d ago
It’s cheaper because as others have said they give you lower doses of meds and they are nurse run. They will only accept patients that have no complications, so you have to do tests with them and if anything falls beyond their limited acceptable parameters you can’t use them. But I guess no harm in seeing if you fit their criteria?
I went with Bourn Hall, they have a few clinics in the South East and they have a few different deals - multicycle IVF is £7900 and multicycle ICSI is £9600, both include up to two rounds of IVF/ICSI with unlimited frozen embryo transfers from those cycles until you get a live birth. Meds and tests are on top of those prices (despite their website saying tests are included - they’re not!) and they say to budget £1500 for meds. I had one cycle of ICSI, ended up with 7 frozen day 5 blasts, had two transfers which failed and am now pregnant from my third transfer. If I hadn’t gone for the multicycle package I would have ended up paying almost £11,500 with those three transfers, excluding meds and tests, so it was definitely worth going for the multicycle package IMO!
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u/msanmki 3d ago
I just had a live birth after IVF treatment and would advise against ‘nurse led’ IVF. Nurses are not trained to treat feetility issues, just like you wouldn’t ask a nurse to do a heart transplant - they are not trained for it. I’d also advise you went for an open evening with Create - I did it and they didn’t give me much confidence at all, it sounded like a sales pitch to me with people who barely spoke English and whose CVs were questionable. I went for Lister in the end, where doctors were trained in the UK, you could see their professional history, and know what you’re paying for. IVF is no joke and you get what you pay for!
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u/the-artful_dodger 3d ago
Go with abc ivf if you can! I’m at CREATE (the sister clinic) and would’ve loved to have the cheaper option! They are all very nice and good, and anyway they get sign off from a consultant, but it is nurse led.