Choosing a clinic is an important stage in the process of infertility treatment. Whether you have only started to diagnose the causes of the problem or you have already indications to the in vitro treatment, it’s worth checking which centre will provide you with the best care. So, what to start with? There are several dozen facilities in Poland dealing with infertility treatment in various scope. Some dozen or so of them can be proud of their longstanding experience and the broad range of services, offering their Patients comprehensive care from the diagnostic stage, through basic treatment methods to IVF programs and additional procedures increasing the efficacy of these programs. While taking the decision you have to ask yourselves several questions. First of all, think about what will play the most important role in your case: treatment costs, quality and efficacy, proximity of the clinic, nice atmosphere?
If the cost is important, remember that cheap doesn’t always mean good. It is worth looking at the cost of treatment – in particular when it comes to in vitro – from broader perspective. Saving on tests diagnosing the infertility causes may prove a false economy if, based on their results, the doctors are not able to find out what the source of your problem is. A properly implemented IVF program to which you allocate more funds may end with the long-awaited pregnancy, while savings and lower quality may require from you further approaches in vitro. You should also check special offers of the clinics – they often include significant discounts allowing you to stay within the planned budget.
Quality and efficacy are your priority? Therefore you should look at the quality and efficacy data presented by the clinics you consider. The average efficacy of in vitro treatments shouldn’t be below 50%, and of insemination – 10%. You should also check if the clinic has ISO certification or if it has implemented other quality assurance systems. They guarantee that the procedures applied in a given facility meet the strict requirements of safety and work organisation. It is also important whether a given facility cooperates with international organisations dealing with reproductive medicine, like ESHRE or ASRM, and meets their standards of in vitro treatment. Another important aspect is the modern equipment and the qualified staff at the clinic. Its own diagnostic laboratory and well-developed in vitro laboratory would be an additional asset.
The geographical proximity may be one of many decisive factors of your choice of the clinic, but the only one. The potential necessity to travel to the clinic which you trust may be a better solution than the treatment in the clinic which – although located closer to your place – doesn’t entirely meet your expectations. Especially that often – in the case of couples living in more distant locations – it is possible to organise the visits to the clinic in such a way as to limit their number to the necessary minimum. This applies in particular to the couples who decide to undergo in vitro fertilization.
The staff at the clinic is also very important. It is worth checking what doctors you are going to meet, what experience and education they have, what area they specialise in, or if they are active in their professional environment and are in touch with scientific institutions. After all, they will be diagnosing the infertility causes, answering your questions and supervise your treatment. You can search online fora for opinions, although it is advisable to keep a reasonable distance to their content. The effects will certainly be impacted by the individual approach to patients and the scope of techniques the doctors in a given facility can offer.
So, before you choose a clinic, it is worth considering all these issues.
