[zara2005]

hi
i am new to the board.i hav stage 3 endo and am considering my options.
just wondering has anyone had fert treatment in south africa. wud appreciate ur advice re which centre uve had it at, costs and ur overall experience.
thanx
zaraxxx

 

[Han123]

Hi Zara

I am going to South Africa for egg donation in January. The doctors at the hospital here in London recommended it to me (as they knew I didn't want to be put on a very very long waiting list in the UK) and said the medical standard in South Africa is extremely high. The clinic I'm going to is in Cape Town. Have a look on www.capefertility-clinic.co.za  You will have to e-mail them about prices, but egg donation is £2400, so IVF etc will be (a lot) less (not sure what treatments are you considering?).

Let me know what you find out!

Good luck!

Han

 

[zara2005]

hi han
thanx 4 ur reply. i am goin 2 see my gynae beg oct 2 discuss treatment options if nothing happens b4 then. he did initially suggest GIFT (which is different to IVF as its done laparoscopically under general anaesthetic ). i am however tryin to do as much research as possible so that shud i need to have it done i will have a plan in mind

wud really like to know how it all goes so pls keep me updated as i am def going to hav tx in south africa shud i need it. will email u if u dont mind with more info.

tk care and good luck
zara

 

[siddiqah]

hello zara!!

i am from south africa and i too had endometriosis - stage 2. had it removed in january at a clinic called vitalab in linksfield, johannesburg. i had previously gone to another clinic in sandton, johannesburg - very well known. unfortunately i found the doctors there to be a bunch of cold fish. but check out their website anyway, www.medfem.co.za.
i am now on my first icsi cycle with vitalab and i have to tell you that my doctor is absolutely fantastic. i couldn't ask for someone better! their website is www.vitalab.com
i have compared pricing here with pricing in the uk and needless to say it is cheaper. my entire icsi cycle, including the hospital fees for the egg retrieval etc. are all included in my price.
it is R30000.00 which is approximately 2500pounds

oh, i nearly forgot to mention that the waiting period to see these doctors is only about 2 weeks. which is nothing, really.

let me know if there is any more information you need. will gladly help!

best of luck
siddiqah

 

[Vanilla]

Hi Siddiqah and Zara

I am intrigued about treatment in SA re. ED. Are the centres available to those of us who need a white donor. If so, wow, the costs are considerably cheaper!!!! It would be worth considering.

Vanilla x

 

[Han123]

Hi Vanilla!

Yes, they have many many white donors. Thanks to South Africa's history, you can choose from many many donors with an English/Scottish/Dutch/German background. Lots of blond hair-blue eyes. That's exactly why we're going! 

Good luck!

Love, Han

 

[siddiqah]

hi vanilla
han is right. there are plent of white donors with various backgrounds.
south africa is definitely an option worth looking into. good luck
siddiqah

 

[zara2005]

hi vanilla 

as siddiqah and han mentioned south africa has a lot of donors of varied backgrounds. also the health care is of a very high standard and much cheaper. cape town is becoming increasingly popular amongst foreigners for treatment and a holiday all at one go!

luv zara

 

[Vanilla]

HI ladeez

Please can you give me an address of who/where to contact for costs. I'm also dark blonde with dark brown eyes would it still be suitable. Not a blue eyed blonde!

Thanks and best wishes

Vanilla x

 

[Han123]

Hi Vanilla,

Absolutely, they've got something for everyone  Have a look at: www.capefertility-clinic.co.za and click on the egg donation pages.

Good luck!!!!

Han

 

[Noodledoo]

Hello Siddiqah

I have just noticed that you are having your treatment at Vitalab. I can't rate them high enough! I have been treated by them for years and had my 1st IVF in July with them. Unfortunately it didn't work but they are still great and I would recommend them to anyone. I had 2 botched op's before going to them and although my endo is stage 5 now - they have tried to help everyway they can. I am based in London  and I call them all the time which they dont seem to mind!

Who is your doc there and which nurse have they assigned to you?

For anyone else considering going to SA - I would suggest Vitalab!

Good luck to everyone x

Love Piexe x

 

[siddiqah]

piexe

i'm sorry to hear your ivf didn't work. i'm with dr.volschenk. he is totally wonderful! i dont have 1 nurse assigned to me. although, i speak mainly to heather. who was your doctor and nurse?

i am now on my  . getting more and more nervous by the day. i dont seem to have any symptoms that others on the 2ww have!

will u be coming back to sa for yr next ivf attempt? why are you waiting till end of 2006?

siddiqah

 

[Noodledoo]

Hello - I also had dr.volschenk and Heather! 

I have been treated by all 3 of the docs and when I developed such bad OHSS - I saw all 3 of them again. they are all good! Good luck during your 2WW! I do feel for you so sending you lots of 

I had my IVF in SA so that I could be near my mom and so that I could rest. I did have lots of problems so I am very happy that I made that decision. It took alot out of me and I was devastated when it didnt work. I still am. But I had made a promise to myself and to my partner that I would wait at least a year before trying again. Vitalab did tell me that I would get one shot at IVF and I was given 6 months to sort my head and heart out! It was a tough time and put alot of strain on Paul and I. (we arent married so hadnt thought about kids). A year feels like a million years away but we cant afford it so I know that I will have to stick it out. It's so tough though.

I am glad that we took the chance though and tried. My IVF didnt work but in the end it was because of my eggs which werent very good at all and now Dr V has told me that my chances have increased to 40%! So now I am a bit more hopeful. I am going to try and put my name down on the NHS (free) list here and see if I can get IVF here. A bit worried as I only trust Vitalab but I think that I will be fine.

Why are you having IVF?

 

[Vanilla]

Hi Han

Thanks for the info and have checked out the website. Gosh its alot cheaper!!

Have you  been there for your first consultation or don't you have to do that? I read about sending photos etc and I guess you go over when they get a match, is that how it works? Also who recommended Cape Town to you, I was only recommended to go to Spain.

We're in the same boat, same age, neg IVF's and poor egg production.

Vanilla xx

 

[Han123]

Hi Vanilla,

Yes you are right, we are in similar situations! So I mean it when I say I know how you feel.

I actually read about the clinic here on this website. An American company Renew Fertility organizes egg donation in SA and they put a post on this site a while ago. You can either do egg donation directly with the clinic in Cape Town. In that case, you 'only' get a description of the donor's age, hair color, eye color, etc, but you can't see pictures (legally not allowed in SA as far as I've understood). However, if you go to the clinic throught Renew, you get lots of pictures of the donor (because Renew is based in the States) plus a detailed profile. I guess it's some sort of loophole allowing people to get cheaper treatment in SA while still being able to see pictures of the donors. The downside is that the Renew fees make the whole treatment a lot more expensive, so if pictures etc. are not that important to you, you may as well contact the clinic directly. You do not have to go over there at all prior to the treatment, all they need is your medical/treatment files and a photo. They will then propose a match to you and if you are happy, they will start organising the donation.
DH and I have chosen to go with Renew, but that is just a personal choice.
Oh yes, before I forget: we initially chose the clinic because we read about it on this website, but when our London clinic advised us to go for egg donation after our last failed IVF attempt, they said: 'We would recommend SA, very good, no waiting lists, right 'type' of donors, and cheap'. We then told them we have already looked into egg donation and decided to go to SA. It was good to have SA recommended by doctors too though.
Keep asking questions if you have any!
xxx Han

 

[Vanilla]

HI Han

That was really helpful info, thanks. Questions?!!!! I got plenty!

I think we will bypass Renew as I 'm still a little funny about my DH's sperm being mixed with a donor and I really would rather not see a picture of the match. I'm interested to know her details, hobbies etc, but that's all! I have in fact contacted the clinic and was sent a Medical History questionnaire within 2 hours which was impressive, surely sending my notes from the hospital would be alot easier - is that what you did? Can you help me with the following questions too?!

So far, have you got a better idea of the costs in total you are going to part with, including flights and hotel expenses? The website says 22,000R for the treatment, that works out at about £1800. In an earlier posting I read it was £2400 for ED. 

How does the blood test and scan monitoring work? Where would the medication come from? There's no info about that on the website. I was hoping to find a step by step procedure too because I don't actually know how it would all happen once a match was found. I sound like a complete idiot - sorry!

Am pretty sure we'll settle for SA and plan to go out hopefully in January. Combining with a holiday atmosphere and relaxing by a pool after the ET without feeling guilty sounds good to us !

By the way where are you located?

Vanilla x

 

[Han123]

Hi Vanilla!

Haha well, see you at the clinic in January. That's when we're going.

About the files: they don't want all of your files, as they only need specific details and of course do not want to have to sift throught your stack of notes. It only takes a few minutes to fill out... They really don't need that much info.

As far as I know, they don't do any blood tests on you. Only the donor gets a lots of bloodtests. The scan to check your womb lining will be done the day after you arrive in Cape Town. They will either ship the medication or use their international chemist in London (I'm in London so that's very convenient for me).

Now, about the costs, yes, this is how much we pay: £300 for the donor, about £2100 for the egg donation (it's gone up to R24000) (from what I've understood, this includes the medication for the donor and for you), £1000 for the flights (if you book before next Tuesday, you can get good BA flights for just under £1000 for 2 ppl), and £400 for accommodation (we have booked a B&B close to the clinic, I've got loooooads of internet links if you like). So £3800 in total (depending on exchange rate).

I have a step-by-step document that they e-mailed me. I will (try to) send it to you via a private message (not sure if I can attach files).

Where are you based btw

Speak soon!

Love, Han

 

[Vanilla]

Hi Han

All your info has been greatly appreciated - thanks. Have sent you a PM reply to the info you copied.

Am based in Wandsworth and will be moving to Wimbledon in November. The clinic we're with is the Lister in Chelsea, originally I was with the specialist who performed my laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, she was based @ Horsham Mid Sussex Fertility clinic who were attached to The Bridge Centre, they eventually did the EC and ET. The journey to see her for scans and blood tests got too much so we changed clinics. And you? You're in London too?

Keep in touch

Vanilla x

 

[caron]

hope you girls dont mind me butting in 

I've been reading your posts about capefertility clinic and as we were planning to go in Dec there on holiday thought I'd inquire about egg donation, they have replied within hours everytime and believe me I've written a few times  , Han we also got a list of questions and answers and they even have a few apartments close to clinic to rent for 250R a night , could I be a pain and ask about where you have booked, prices per night etc , getting really excited about it now and still havent okeyd it with my Dh yet  yikes , sure I'll talk him round tho  just got all my notes from our clinic in uk , will be posting them asap here's hoping this tx will be the one as the drug protocol is differnt to my other donor cycles

love caron xx

 

[andy2005]

Hi there

I am a complete newbie on the site, so please excuse any unintentional 'toe stepping' if there is any?   Wish I found it earlier.

South Africa, especially Cape Town, cobined with a holiday (and the exchange rate) is a great place to have treatment. 

There is another clinic in Cape Town tygerberg Fertility www.tygerbergfertility.com.  I have been to both CapeFertility and Tygerberg Fertility  3 x IVF in tygerberg and 1 x ivf 1 x FET in CapeFertiliy.  Unfortunatly nothing has worked but I would recommend Tygerberg (Vincent Pallotti hopital not typergerberg hosipital) over CapeFertility, everyones experience is so personal and also different but atleast if you are going to Cape town you have two options to compare and I always think that is the best.

I can't remeber who said it on the message board but i totally agree that the doctors in Cape town can be a little on the cold side, but then the sunshine makes up for it  .  I have also heard the the Johburg clinics are very good.

Prof Kruger at Tygerberg is constantly researching and investigating and in the news in SA.

Good luck to you all.  Hopefully this cycle will work for us  otherwise I may just see you there next year.

trying to stay sane, Andy xx