How was your experience with Katherine Bass at Fertility Center of Maryland?
I found Dr. Bass to be professional, compassionate, and direct. She communicated difficult information well, but was not touchy-feely. She was willing to answer all of my questions, and provided me with the type of information I was interested in (ie- studies, pros and cons of certain testing). She consulted a colleague after my negative test and seemed to put thoughtful effort into my case. I think she is very well-suited to her job. I did not notice weaknesses.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Katherine Bass at Fertility Center of Maryland?
I don't have specific advice.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Katherine Bass at Fertility Center of Maryland?
She spent as much time as we needed during the initial consultation, post-IVF phone call, and visit, to answer all of our questions. She was direct and honest, and compassionate. I appreciated the personal approach.
Describe the protocols Katherine Bass used in your cycles at Fertility Center of Maryland and their degree of success.
She used micro-flare protocol (micro-dose lupron) given my poor response to previous Antagonist protocols. She also suggested doing a 3 day transfer rather than a 5 day, given my history of poor/average embryo quality. ICSI was performed. She recommended 1 -2 embryos be transferred. In our first IVF cycle with her, all 3 of our embryos were average and I've had many implantation failures in the past, we transferred two. I did not get pregnant. In the second, we had a better response with 4 good-looking day 3 embryos. We transferred 2 and froze 2. Unfortunately the transfer was not successful and our frozen embryos did not survive the thaw, so FET was cancelled. If I do a final cycle, her recommendation is to try to get a blast, even if it means not having a transfer.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Fertility Center of Maryland.
I thought the nurses were good. They were easy to get in touch with and provided me all information I asked about.
Describe your experience with Fertility Center of Maryland.
The staff was helpful, learned my name quickly, and generally accommodated me efficiently. I never had to wait longer than would be reasonable. The patient has to call in every day for a results at a specific time, which was not problematic for me but perhaps could be if that time interfered with a work meeting or something like that.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Fertility Center of Maryland.
There was only one day when I had to wait, but it was understandable due to inclement weather. Overall, I was able to be seen within a few minutes of arriving.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Katherine Bass at Fertility Center of Maryland.
My insurance covered 50%. I reached my out of pocket max of 2750 immediately and spent about $600 on medications after insurance. I have looked into using an egg donor with this clinic but costs are higher than other clinics so I will change providers if I end up going that route.
Describe Katherine Bass's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Fertility Center of Maryland.
Yes, eSET is preferred. However he quality of my embryos and my previous implantation failures led them to transfer 2 both times.