Case Study 5

When I met my husband, I knew our journey to parenthood would be tough. Geoff had children in a previous relationship, after which he had a vasectomy. After a couple of years together we knew we wanted to try for children of our own.

I wanted to conceive ‘naturally’. IVF and surgical sperm retrieval in the UK would have cost over £10,000. So we went for a vasectomy reversal. Geoff had the operation, but the test following the procedure showed no live sperm. We waited another three months, but it was negative again. We were devastated. 

A few months later I went to the doctor for a routine smear. I started chatting to the nurse. She told me how, after numerous failed rounds of IVF in the UK, she and her husband went to the Czech Republic for more treatment, using Your IVF Journey. It was a much cheaper option for them and, more importantly, it was a success. This was exactly what I needed to hear. I emailed them straight away. Becky replied, instantly, with all the information I needed, including success rates and costs. 

We needed to have some additional pre-treatment tests. We knew Matt still produced sperm, as his FSH levels were fine. I was 32 and had never had problems before, so we thought this would be okay. But my AMH level came back low, indicating poor ovarian reserve. I was gutted. 

Becky confirmed very quickly that we’d been approved for treatment. With my eggs not getting any younger, we chose the earliest slot possible. We were going to the Czech Republic in six weeks! We read Becky’s travel guide avidly. Everything is in there – recommended hotels, apartments, flights, restaurants, and lots of other useful things.

We were provided with everything we needed – treatment plans, prescriptions and lots of additional help and advice. I began the treatment protocol, which Becky explained very clearly. This was all new to me, so it was really helpful to have everything laid out for me.

We booked flights from Manchester to Vienna, then back via Prague, both about 2.5 hours from Brno. This was slightly easier than travelling to London for the direct flight to Brno. We stayed at one of Your IVF Journey’s recommended apartments. It was a great decision. The apartment was close to the clinic, easily accessed by tram, spacious, clean and comfortable. Luckily, I’d taken my laptop, so we hooked up to Netflix (essential viewing when recovering from treatment).

The clinic was clean and professional – we were impressed. After a final scan I had my eggs collected and Geoff had TESE to retrieve his sperm. We had a private room in which to get ready, and to recover, before being discharged. This was really nice: we were always together at the clinic.

We were given daily updates on the progress of our embryos. After five days we were told we had five good-quality blastocysts. We transferred the best one. I guess the rest is history. Our little embryo made himself very comfortable, and we now have a gorgeous baby boy! We could not be happier. We plan to return to Brno in a couple of years to hopefully get Henry a little brother or sister!

Becky and Ben at Your IVF Journey made the whole daunting process of having IVF abroad stress-free. I believe this was key to making the process a success. We took two weeks off work to do this together, to relax, eat out and have a nice time between appointments. You don’t get that luxury in the UK. Thank you so much – we are eternally grateful.