{"id":4863,"date":"2023-01-17T13:01:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T13:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/pl\/?p=4863"},"modified":"2023-02-28T10:39:06","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T10:39:06","slug":"ivf-refunds-funding-our-next-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/pl\/ivf-refunds-funding-our-next-attempt\/","title":{"rendered":"IVF Refunds: Funding our next attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Very often, IVF stories share the perspective of someone who is about to embark on, or who has just finished, their fertility journey. But what about all the people currently riding that emotional rollercoaster? Having spoken to thousands of patients at that stage, we understand the time, energy and mental strength it can take to tackle another round of IVF. What\u2019s more, the financial strain can become overwhelming. In this interview, which was originally published by our partners Fertility Help Hub<\/a>, we spoke to Rosie, who is using her refund from an Access Fertility programme<\/a> to fund her next round of treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where are you now on your fertility journey, Rosie?<\/strong>
We just finished our fifth attempt, which sadly didn\u2019t work. I felt it was important to share my story, because so much of the literature and social media suggests you\u2019ll be successful first time around. It\u2019s really important that people know and understand that might not be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us, our infertility is \u2018unexplained\u2019. In every round of IVF, I\u2019ve produced lots of eggs, and usually between six and nine fertilised. Each time we\u2019ve implanted two AAAB-graded embryos, but sadly none have resulted in the baby we\u2019ve hoped for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve tried endo-scratch and embryo glue \u2013 it feels like we\u2019re throwing whatever we can at this. In my view, there\u2019s no harm in doing these things, if it might help even one time. However, I haven\u2019t gone down the pre-genetic testing route \u2013 the benefit didn\u2019t seem to outweigh the disadvantage for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We still have a frozen embryo and another round to go, so we\u2019re not at the end of our journey yet. Nonetheless, we\u2019re realistic about our chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That must be very challenging. How do you cope?<\/strong>
From the start to where I am now, it\u2019s been incredible challenging, both physically and emotionally. Undergoing IVF treatment can be very restrictive \u2013 you can\u2019t book holidays because you don\u2019t know when you\u2019ll be going into the clinic. There\u2019s a lot of admin to do, and all those little things build up. I was very strict about doing everything by the book, and as a result, I was really stressed. Now I\u2019m a lot more relaxed about it all, and that has really helped. That being said, it\u2019s a process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously it\u2019s extremely difficult not to get your hopes up, and when you get a negative result, it\u2019s devastating. Seeing others become pregnant, seemingly easily, can make you feel very lonely. I felt a bit ashamed, in a way, that I had to have IVF, and I didn\u2019t want to talk about it. However, once you start having conversations about it, especially with people who\u2019ve been through the same experience, it really helps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus from a financial point of view, having the IVF Refund Programme<\/a> in place has helped us manage our costs. Not only did it give us peace of mind, but most importantly, the refund has allowed us to continue our treatment, now on the Multi-Cycle Programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you find out about Access Fertility?<\/strong>
Our clinic, Bourne Hall, told us to look at it. At the time we had lot to take in, and it was all quite confusing. We didn\u2019t realise it was actually a separate company that we had to register with. It seemed like such a good idea, we knew from the outset we wanted to do the IVF Refund Programme<\/a>. When we were just about to start treatment, the clinic asked how we\u2019d like to pay and we realised then we\u2019d need to register with Access Fertility directly. Fortunately, after a panicked call with a wonderful person at Access Fertility, they rushed our application through for us, and everything was sorted in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What attracted you to the IVF Refund Programme?<\/strong>
I\u2019m an accountant, so finances are my thing. When we looked through the options, the IVF Refund Programme looked like a no-brainer. The Multi-Cycle Programme<\/a> and the IVF Refund Programme<\/a> (with a 50% refund) were going to cost roughly the same. Critically though, if our treatment didn\u2019t work out, we\u2019d get the refund back, which meant we would have other options. I\u2019m quite practical, and if I thought \u2018if it doesn\u2019t work, the refund will give us some financial comfort or bandwidth to go again\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, that\u2019s exactly what happened. We did three fresh rounds of IVF plus one Frozen Embryo Transfer, but sadly that didn\u2019t work. Fortunately, with the refund, we had the money to pay for some more rounds. It made it a much easier decision, from a financial perspective, to try again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has your experience with Access Fertility been?<\/strong>
It\u2019s all been very smooth and very easy. I cannot praise the people I dealt with on that first call enough. They were absolutely fantastic. I\u2019m a lot more chilled these days, but that first round was terrifying \u2013 I was in a real tizz. The person I spoke to was absolutely amazing. They really understood the emotional stress I was under. They were calm, reassuring, and dealt with it so quickly, we didn\u2019t have to delay. When you\u2019re on an IVF journey, everything comes down to timing. At that point, everything felt so pressured, and Access Fertility relieved that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arranging the refund was super easy. I cannot fault Access Fertility in terms of their processes and how that all happened. They were sympathetic, communication was sensitive, and the refund came quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Would you recommend Access Fertility?<\/strong>
I would. During what is a very difficult and expensive process, you should take the support you can get. The Access Fertility Multi-Cycle Programme<\/a> (which we\u2019re using now, as I\u2019ve past the age accepted for the Refund Programme) is also really good. Even though there\u2019s no refund, you still save money, and having the unlimited Frozen Embryo Transfers is a real bonus. It\u2019s given us another bite of the cherry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any other advice for someone embarking on their fertility journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n