Planning IVF Abroad for February

I finally made contact with our consultant from Reprofit in the Czech Repulic regarding our IVF procedure using donor embryos. She informed me that we will not lose the embryos we selected if we postpone because they are reserved through the end of February.  However, my monthly cycle started on the 30th of December, which would have me starting my cycle for February around the 28th of January.  If that should happen, my transfer would have to take place over the weekend of February 17th and 18th.  In the past, all of my past IVF procedures scheduled the frozen embryo transfers on the 19th day of my cycle.  I'm not sure if the 20th or the 21st days will work because I had to come in the day before the transfer for an ultrasound, then the next day the transfer. I will have to check with the clinic to determine if they can do the ultrasound on Friday the 16th or possibly Saturday the 17th.  Honestly, I'm not sure if I want to twist fate, since the 19th day was successful for our last transfer. Not that I'm superstitious or anything;) 

Now here I am again wondering if I will need to postpone our embryo transfer for another month.  There are things you can do to hold off your cycle.  However, I'm not sure I want to risk it or if I can now.  I used birth control for our last transfer to control when it started.  I also ended up using an herbal remedy to start my cycle on the exact day we needed it to start for scheduling.  We lucked out and everything worked out well.  I'm worried for this time around because we are using airline miles for this trip to the Czech Republic.  I'm not sure how easy it is to reschedule my ticket if the timing is off and we have to postpone. We would also like to save as many miles as possible in case we need to make the trip again. I may have to use more miles for the trip if I have to go in March. 

There are other medical options that can be used to hold off your cycle for an IVF procedure. Although, it is recommended that you plan ahead of time for this. Unfortunately, I missed the window of opportunity for this.  These options have also never worked out for me because I have not been able to find a doctor to prescribe the medications needed here in the US.  Since we are doing our IVF abroad, the prescriptions written by the foreign doctor have not been considered verifiable her in the US.  Albeit, I would have had to go through Reprofit's pharmacy and have them send me the medications.  Frankly, my husband the attorney has never been too keen on this idea so I have never done it.  Up til now I have been able to plan our transfers around my regular cycles.  However, I did have help from our consultant with Miracles Waiting, Paloma. Something to keep in mind if you are considering IVF abroad, going through the clinic vs. a private service such as Miracles Waiting or My IVF Alternative.

It's frustrating to think that I may have to postpone again.  If my cycle can hold off for one day everything will be fine!  Or if it wants to start a couple of days early, that would be great as well. So I will be crossing my fingers.  If we have to postpone, then there's also the fact that our donor embryo's are only reserved until the end of February.  While my husband and I understand that we may have to go with a different set of donor embryos, we feel connected to these  and would like to hold on to them. We will see what happens.

As for now, I will schedule my flights as if everything will go as planned.  Wishful thinking at this point is better than negative thinking, right?  I may hold off on the hotel reservations though, because its harder to cancel or reschedule the hotel arrangements.  There's always a big risk in losing your money. I can hold off and hopefully still find some good rates as we get closer to the date. 

Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about IVF abroad, Reprofit or Embryo Donation or if you are looking for a cycle buddy. My email address is  WeTravelledforIVF@gmail.com. Until next time....

Transfer One Donor Embryo or Two?

As we approach January, my husband and I have begun to question whether we should transfer one donor embryo or two.  Although we definitely increase our chances of implantation by transferring two embryos, we also run a greater risk of developing complications during a possible twin pregnancy.  Although he thinks it is ultimately my decision, my husband feels it might be best to just go with the single embryo transfer. If it does not work, we could take a second trip to Reprofit to try again.  But cost is certainly a factor for us...just as it is for most who are considering IVF.


I like the idea of having twins. The idea of instant family sounds enticing.  However, my husband has a very good point...a healthy pregnancy and baby should be the ultimate goal.  Although, we transferred two embryos during our last frozen embryo transfer (FET) and only one survived.  By transferring only one we decrease our chances of a successful FET,  and increase our costs.  It's a difficult decision to make.

The experts agree with my husband that transferring one embryo is safest.  The Practice Committee of the American Society of Reproduction, however, published an article indicating that the older the patient the less risk of multiples. They actually recommend transferring more than one embryo in older patients.  Since I'm now in my 40's, based on this research I increase my chances of success by transferring two. The Practice Committee also recommends transferring embryos at the Blastocyst (day 5) stage in older patients. The one caveat to this is that we will be using donor embryos from young donors.  Thereby, increasing our chances based on the viability of the embryos.

My gut tells me to transfer two. I think I'm going to go with my gut.  Should I change my mind, I'll be sure to let you know! 

If anyone reading has been faced with the same decision, and have advice or a story to share, please feel free to send me an email at WeTravelledforIVF@gmail.com.  I would love to hear from others points of view.

Why we chose Reprofit

Hello Everyone,

In selecting a clinic, we ultimately chose Reprofit in the Czech Republic for the following reasons:

1) When researching clinics throughout Europe, we found many favorable reviews for Reprofit on a

number of fertility discussion boards. We asked the people who had posted about their experiences

and we were able to compile a lot of information about the experiences that these people had with

Reprofit. We soon came to believe that the level of medical care in the Czech Republic was every bit as good as the care that we might receive here in America.

 2) We also learned that, unlike America, embryo adoption in the Czech Republic is completely anonymous. There is no fear that we would ever be contacted by either the egg donor or sperm donor. There were also no contracts to sign or home visits to endure.

3) The embryos are created using donated eggs and sperm from anonymous donors. The donors go through a lengthy screening process and are all under the age of 32. Furthermore, we learned that Reprofit does not use “left- over” embryos from a couples’ IVF cycle.

4) Reprofit has no “waiting period”. This made arranging the procedure around my vacation time much easier.

5) All of our appointments were scheduled through a third party consultant (Miracles Waiting), which

facilitated making communications with the clinic.

6) Reprofit was significantly more affordable, even after factoring in a.) the cost of travel and b.) the

fact that we had to make the trip twice because our first visit was not successful. We were able to save money on our second visit through a “Shared Risk” program that “Miracles Waiting” has with the clinic.

7.) While I do not know the current costs charged by the clinic, my cost was approximately $ 2500.00 for the first visit. Because I had to return a second time, I was was charged $1500.00 for the second visit.

8.) Finally, while you should check current pricing for flights, my travel costs amounted to about $2000.00 for airfare to and from and about $500.00 for ground transportation. I can’t provide you with exact figures for my two trips because we included a bit of a vacation. But suffice it to say that the cost and quality of hotels in Europe are comparable to those here in America. You do want to book ahead in order to get the best price.

9. And finally, do not be afraid of any language barriers. Apparently, English has become the international language of business. Every hotel desk clerk we met in Europe spoke English as did most cab drivers and restaurant servers. So did most shopkeepers and police officers. And the majority of Doctors and staff at Reprofit were fully fluent as well.

8 Months Later - A Baby!

Hello Everyone,

It's been eight months since my last post.  I apologize for the hiatus. After we returned from the Czech Republic, five days after our embryo transfer, my husband and I found out we were pregnant! I had hoped to continue writing about my experience during the pregnancy. However, we had some complications in the beginning which became more serious toward the end of the pregnancy.  We decided it was best to focus on the pregnancy and resume writing after our daughter was born.

Thankfully, our daughter, Arlena, was born on June 12th at 10:44 pm.  She was 5lbs 10 oz. and 17 1/2 inches long.  She is the light of our lives and a complete joy! We will never be able to thank Reprofit enough for everything they've done for us.  We also hope that by sharing our most blessed news, that we may be able to help others affected by infertility.

Our goal for this blog is to continue writing about the fertility options available throughout Europe, so that we can spread the word and help other couples  make their dreams of having a child come true.