When and why was Embriogyn founded? Who was behind the project?
REPLY: Dr. Pere Feliu's leitmotif has always been Human Assisted Reproduction. He was the founder of Quirón Bilbao in 1997, but as a typical Catalan, he wanted to come back to his homeland with the illusion of opening a fertility center in capital Tarragona. We are the only center dedicated exclusively to fertility in the province of Tarragona.
Since its foundation, how many successful pregnancies can Embriogyn boast of?
REPLY: Our annual average of newborns is 150 (this depends on each year).
How does Embriogyn's success rate compare with other clinics based in Spain offering similar techniques of assisted reproduction?
REPLY: We think that answering this question would be too pretentious or "subjective". You can get this information from the SEF (Sociedad Española de Fertilidad) website.
What is the most commonly used form of assisted reproduction at Embriogyn?
REPLY: Our treatments are always individualized and adapted for each case in particular. We try to provide the simplest of the alternatives yet always choose the one with the highest probabilities of success.
How many different treatments do you offer & what are they?
REPLY: All fertility treatments available nowadays are carried out in Embriogyn.
How do you assess what treatment is suitable for each couple?REPLY: This is a complex stage that entails the study of both female and male factors prior to deciding what treatment to pursue.
Can you tell us a bit about the process once people have contacted you for advice either by phone or email?
REPLY:
We have developed a Program for International Patients that reduces the number of visits in order to facilitate the process. This program relies heavily on professional communication between our Doctors and the patient's local consultants at home in order to remain informed about patient's progress. In case of patients from within Spain, the distance aspect is also taken into account and the number of visits reduced. In general, after contacting by email or phone, patients send all relevant information related to their medical history so that we start to know the case prior to the first visit. In that first visit, a review of all the information is carried out again and a decision is taken on whether there are extra tests to run. On that visit, the Doctors do a physical examination and a specific study of the uterine cavity and ovaries to gather information for embryo transfer. Then, on the second visit, the second half of the process is carried out (embryo transfer).
Approximately what percentage of couples come from Spain and what percentage come from abroad?
REPLY: Approximately 10% of our patients come from abroad and 90% from Spain.
What are the main reasons that couples come to see you from abroad? From which countries do they tend to come from?
REPLY: Most of our foreign patients come to us because they face long waiting lists to receive treatment in their countries, the laws in their countries are very restrictive and because of our high success rates. Patients come from UK, Canada, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, etc.
How much practical assistance do you give couples coming to visit you from abroad?
REPLY: We understand the stress derived from seeking any fertility treatment, with the added element of coming from a long distance. Therefore, we strive to be as clear as possible at all times and we complement the information with a special session with our biologists who explain the whole process that takes place in the lab.
The patient is encouraged to pose questions and comments at all times and all along their fertility journey.
Do you get requests from many single women and gay couples?
REPLY: Yes, we do. Being Spain a country whose law permits fertility treatments for these patients, we do receive enquiries and visits of this kind.
What is the average age of women coming to seek help at your clinic?
REPLY: The average age is 34 or 35 years of age for patients coming from Spain and 42 years of age for patients coming from other countries.
Are prices for your treatments significantly lower than in other countries of the EU?
REPLY: Yes, we suppose so. However, we are motivated by quality of service rather than quantity.
Approximately how much would one round of IVF treatment cost?
REPLY: For a round of IVF with patient's eggs is around 4800€ and for IVF with Egg Donation is around 6900€.
For older women seeking help with getting pregnant, how do you decide whether to use their own eggs or use an egg donor?
REPLY: It is utterly important to perform a correct diagnosis for the sake of clarity. It is clear that for women above 40 years of age, the best option is egg donation while for women over 43 years of age egg donation can be the only option. However, we do not reject the option of attempting IVF with the patient's own eggs if we still consider it viable and after studying the ovarian reserve (biological age).
How much emotional and psychological support do you offer couples when undergoing treatment? What are the main issues that couples need to face?
REPLY: As most of the centers in Spain nowadays, we have a psychologist specialized in fertility. The main issue faced by patients is the uncertainty and stress caused by the 2 week wait after embryo transfer.
We always aim to giving our presence and support to the patients because we understand the importance of this special moment in their lives.
From what age does the chance of getting pregnant significantly decrease?
REPLY: The age when women are at the top of their fertility is considered to be between 24 and 26 years.
Fertility decreases as from 30 years of age, then it decreases even more after 37 years of age with a dramatic decrease as from 40 years of age.
If people are interested in your services, how should they contact you?
REPLY: They should contact Laura Peralta, the Coordinator of the International Department via email to: lperalta@embriogyn.com or
telephone: +34 977-24-24-51 (Mo. through Fr. from 9 am to 1 pm).
http://www.embriogyn.com
