Our Next Trip

Well here we are preparing to leave for our second trip to Reprofit.  I must say, planning for this trip went significantly smoother then the first. Once again, Paloma with Miracles Waiting scheduled all of our appointments with the clinic. I made all of our travel arrangements in advance.  So now as we approach our departure day, all I really have left to do is pack our bags and get our travel details organized.

It was much easier this time around to make our travel arrangements. By scheduling everything in advance we cut down on our expenses. To save on airfare we waited until six weeks before our travel dates to buy our tickets into Dublin. We paid $864 per ticket with American Airlines and went directly through the AA website to accrue more airline miles. Instead of flying into Prague, we decided to fly  into Bratislava Slovakia on one of Europe's low cost airlines, RyanAir.  We saved over $500 a ticket. Bratislava is conveniently only an hour drive from Brno and is close to Vienna.  To avoid renting a car and to save on travel costs we'll take a Student Agency bus into Brno.  Once in Brno we'll use the city rail service and taxis to get around the city. We have also come to enjoy all the walking involved during our travels for the exercise and additional cost savings.

We have planned to travel for a total of eight days. Just enough time to do a little site seeing. We'll spend our first night in Dublin and then fly into Bratislava early the next morning.  While in Dublin we'll stay at our favorite airport hotel, Bewley's. I got a great deal on our room, $56 a night through Orbitz! We also save because the hotel offers a free shuttle service from the airport and there is access to a city bus that will take you directly into downtown Dublin. From Dublin we plan to fly into Bratislava where we will spend two nights at the Ibis Centrum Hotel in downtown Bratislava. The hotel offers a great location directly in the center of old town within walking distance of most of the attractions .  We'll spend two days total in Brno at the Hotel Europa where I got us a great room for $50 a night. For both hotel stays, I had to shop around the different hotel and travel sites to find the best rates. I ultimately, ended up using Venere.com We'll then head to Vienna for a couple of nights before flying back to Dublin and then home.

We are very excited and will write more upon our return.  Wish us luck!

Our IVF Experience

Choosing Reprofit was an easy choice for my husband and I.  We had read about many couple's experiences and also found several reviews about the clinic online. We also worked with our consultant, Paloma, with Miracles Waiting.  She answered all of our questions and scheduled all of our appointments. This left us with only a few decisions left to make, our hotel and flight arrangements.

To make our arrangements we used various travel sites. I used Priceline.com to reserve our airfare and went through Venere.com to make our hotel arrangements. I had heard that the best fares are often on Priceline and after many comparisons determined that Venere had the best rates by far than any other hotel site.  Since we had already been planning a trip to Eastern Europe, it did not take much additional planning to incorporate a trip to Brno from Prague.  Brno is also only a two hour bus ride away from Prague, so we were able to add this to our itinerary easily.

We flew into Prague and spent several days site seeing.  From Prague we arranged to take a Student Agency bus to Brno.  The bus dropped us off right in the center of Brno and from there we took a taxi to our hotel, Hotel Cyro.  The hotel was close to Reprofit and only a $5.00 fare to and from the clinic.

The outside of the Reprofit clinic was bright and welcoming. It was clean with white floors and modern furniture.  The nurses all wore nurses outfits similar to what nurses wear here in the states.  To our surprise we were greeted in English and everyone was very nice and courteous.  The nurse gave us some paperwork to fill out and then we waited for the doctor to arrive for our initial appointment. 

When the Dr. arrived she was very nice and greeted us with a thick Czech accent, yet spoke fluent English.  She looked over our medical records and gave us an idea of what to expect the day of our Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET).  From there she directed me to another room where she performed a trans-vaginal ultrasound. I asked about my Fibroids and if she thought they would be a problem. She mentioned that they were large but that she didn't think they would be an issue. After the ultrasound was complete she took us back into her office and explained what would happen during our procedure. We then shook hands and left the clinic.

We returned to the clinic the next day. Upon our arrival our nurse quickly escorted us to the room where our procedure would take place.  I changed my clothes and then waited for the Dr.  It only took a few moments for the Dr. to arrive.  He explained the procedure and then showed us our embryos up on the monitor. The procedure only took a few moments.  Afterward, we were escorted to the Dr.'s office where he explained our next steps, the hormones that I was required to take, how long I was to wait before taking a pregnancy test, and what I would need to do if the procedure was a success.  From there we were directed to the Accounts Payable department where we paid for the FET and the Trans Vaginal exam. 

Once downstairs we went to the pharmacy and filled our prescriptions for Estrace (Estrogen) and Progesterone. Buying them at the clinic rather than back in the states was significantly cheaper.  Two weeks of progesterone and estrogen cost me $150.00.  In the states I would have paid closer to $500. I was required to take both the estrogen and progesterone for two weeks before the procedure and then another two weeks after the procedure. If everything went successfully I was to take then keep taking the progesterone for 12 weeks into my pregnancy.  Unfortunately, our FET was not successful.  However, now that we are planning our second trip, we have enough to get us through our next trip to Brno.  

Overall, my husband and I were very happy with our experience and have started planning our next trip scheduled for this October.

Why we chose IVF in the Czech Republic

Unfortunately, our first efforts with a European fertility clinic did not result in a pregnancy.  Of course we realize that it may take more than one procedure to realize our goal. Notwithstanding this, we had such a great experience at the clinic that we have already began planning our second trip for this October.  We also decided that because we had such a positive experience we should share our stories and any information that may help others make the same decisions we did.

Our first experience took place at Reprofit, a fertility clinic in Brno, Czech Republic.  I just happened to stumble upon the clinic while searching for cheaper IVF options here in America.  It also just so happened that we were already in the process of planning a trip to Eastern Europe for our vacation.  So when I found the Reprofit website it seemed like fate.  Even more surprising were the prices.  When researching their prices we were shocked by how much cheaper they were than any of the clinics we had looked at in America.

Since we were now very intrigued, we decided to find out as much information as possible about the clinic.  I did various searches trying to find as much information as possible. I was able to find fertility discussion sites where women had either gone to Reprofit for fertility treatments or were planning to go to, just like us.  Luckily, I had made several connections and learned as much as I could about the clinic.   These women were a wealth of information and eased our worries and concerns about traveling to another country for fertility treatments.

However, rather than calling the clinic directly we went through an organization affiliated with the cilnic, Miracles Waiting.   Our coordinator's name is Paloma.  She arranged our appointments and was in constant contact with us and the clinic.  She helped alleviate any of our concerns and was available to answer all of our questions.  Had it not been for Paloma, I do not think we would have made it through.  She has been nothing short of a godsend. 

Planning our trip to Prague and Brno was not as complicated as I initially thought it would be.  We had heard from a friend that it is cheaper to fly through Dublin and then use European no frills airlines to fly to Prague.  We chose to fly from New York to Dublin on Aer Lingus into Dublin and then took another flight on the same airline from Dublin to Prague.  Had we flown directly into Prague on an American airline our flight would have cost considerably more money.  By flying into Dublin and then flying on Aer Lingus into Prague, we saved around $500. From Prague we took a Student Agency bus directly into Brno which cost us $14.00 a piece roundtrip.  From the Brno train station we caught a cab to our hotel that cost $2.00 total.  Getting to the clinic cost another $6.00 round trip. 

All in all between airfare, hotel costs, food, and clinic costs we spent a total of $5,200.00 - Frozen Embryo transfer $2200.00, airfare $1500.00, hotels $700.00, food $500.00, transportation $300.00.

We had a great experience.  We now have hope that our dreams of having a child together will soon become a reality and we've had the opportunity to experience the Czech Republic in the process!

Please continue to join us as we continue our IVF journey and discuss the many affordable fertility options available throughout Europe.