David Ryley

Dr. Ryley certainly knows what he's doing, so I really trusted him to manage my care. However, it was so hard to get an appointment and when I was with him, I always felt the ticking clock in the background. He would talk so fast and overwhelm me with information, so I never had time to fully process and formulate questions I wanted to ask. As a result, many questions went unanswered, which was very stressful and at times upsetting, especially when things did not go as expected during some of my treatment.

Do not expect to have your hand held throughout this process. You will get very efficient, high quality care, but he is not there to guide you through it. Be your own advocate and go into each appointment prepared with questions and don't be afraid to take all the time you need with him, even if it feels like he's trying to rush you.

Dr. Ryley was always really great in our human interactions; however, I think Boston IVF on the whole treats its patients like numbers vs. humans. When I had logistical complications during my IVF cycle, there was literally no one I could reach out to who I felt would want to help me. Dr. Ryley is impossible to get an appointment with, so everything takes so much longer than it should. That said, Dr. Ryley was very straightforward with me about our odds and as a result I felt like I could really trust that he wasn't giving us false hope. He was very realistic but also very positive and encouraging. There were just so many times when we felt totally lost and alone in the process and wish we had gone to a smaller clinic for a more human touch.

My husband and I have unexplained infertility, so we started with 3 medicated IUIs (with Clomid days 3-7) and then moved on to IVF (Gonal-F, Menopur, and Cetrotide). All IUIs were unsuccessful. My IVF round led to only 5 eggs retrieved, 4 fertilized, and 2 made it to day 5 blastocysts. One was transferred and one was frozen for later transfer.

Jess was a fantastic nurse. She was the only person I knew how to contact and would always respond to me in a timely manner with answers to my many questions. I really appreciated her patience and organization when it came to managing my care through a very stressful process.

Boston IVF is a total factory: you just get on the conveyor belt and go. There's very little personal touch, and no one is going to hold your hand through the process. That said, they have this down to a science and it's very easy to get your monitoring appointments and results, medication shipped to you, etc. It's definitely a trade-off, but I would opt for a smaller clinic next time because the personal touch outweighs the efficiency for me.

My IUI and IVF cycles were fully covered by my insurance, so I only had to pay for medication and appointment co-pays out of pocket. This wound up being maybe $300 for all 3 IUI cycles plus 1 IVF cycle.

Dr. Ryley strongly advised we just transfer one embryo given my age.

Dr. Riley knows his stuff, and also knows I am a scientist who understands the background research and statistics. It took us a couple of tries to fully understand one another's styles but once we did we had a great report and he is always well-prepared having reviewed my particular history and needs, and willing to listen carefully to any of my questions. We joke around and I now never leave without feeling like we have fully discussed everything I had hoped to and that he has tailored his answers and advice to my situation.

Try to self-reflect ahead of time on your needs and what you are hoping to get out of any particular appointment, and make sure you can clearly express those. He seems very willing to adapt his general style to fit those so you can have the best, most informed experience possible.

Dr. Riley knows his stuff, and also knows I am a scientist who understands the background research and statistics. It took us a couple of tries to fully understand one another's styles but once we did we had a great report and he is always well-prepared having reviewed my particular history and needs, and willing to listen carefully to any of my questions. We joke around and I now never leave without feeling like we have fully discussed everything I had hoped to and that he has tailored his answers and advice to my situation.

Dr. Riley is an award-winning Medical Professor with Harvard Medical School, and up to date on all relevant research. He explains the stats and rationalization for each protocol and step suggested, but I never feel like he wouldn't consider other options if I requested them and they were within the range of approaches he feels are medically appropriate. GIven my age (41 when I started IVF) and not great numbers, we started with an aggressive cycle of estrogen priming, Gonal-F, Medipur, and Cetrotide, along with Ovidril to trigger. The first cycle could have been worse but we decided to change things by trying low dose HcG in place of the medipur. This cycle worked better. For the third we decided why mess with what had worked about as well as we could have expected so we kept it the same, but it went very poorly. Given my age it seems this is not uncommon. If I do another cycle we will try a Lupron Flare protocol, which he figured has about a 50/50 chance of working better but we can't know until we try. I had the option of sticking to the prior plan if I wanted to. We also always have a plan in place for how many embryos to transfer and on which day (as I'm doing fresh cycles) ahead of time. For example, if I have less than four embryos on Day 1 the plan would be to transfer two-three on Day 3. If I have four or more we go to day 5 and transfer 2, and freeze the others if I get more (so far I haven't). If I have extras I have elected to do PGS testing, but I can change my mind at any point if I choose not to. (Though I have given a deposit.)

My primary nurse (and former primary nurse) have been wonderful in just about every way. Occasionally when someone else has filled in there has been some confusion where they are telling me something different than what I understood from my primary nurse and doctor.

Boston IVF is a large fertility center with several locations, though only one (or a few?) do surgeries. Some folks don't love that it feels like a factory and that it may never be your own doctor doing your retrievals, transfers. etc. Personally I love the clinic and after about a month of understanding their whole system I settled into a good routine with them and knew who to call when for what. One benefit of using such a large IVF-only clinic is that they are open 7 days a week no matter what. You can schedule your labs and ultrasounds before work. Your results are posted on the patient portal within a few hours and your main nurse (or very occasionally doctor if it's bigger news that might involve a decision) calls you. I am in and out of appointments in minutes and the majority of the staff including phlebotomists are wonderful and get to know you once you've become a frequent flyer.

Massachusetts is extremely lucky to require some infertility coverage through insurance, though policies can vary. To date then, there have been relatively few costs (PGS testing deposit was the main one) but as I may be aging out of my current insurance, I assume the numbers will be similar to those at other big clinics around the country. I have not yet done all the pricing but I am sure it is available.

He bases his suggestions on the statistics available for patient's ages and numbers. So for someone like me over 41 with not great hormone levels, an SET is not recommended. The stats of having multiples with multiple untested embryos are so small, and the risk of trying to freeze, test, and thaw the only extra one or two embryos doesn't seem worth it. That said, and I have asked, if I preferred to only do an SET he would.

As stated, I don't question his ability in the OR or necessarily his medical decisions. But his bedside manner (poor) makes a huge difference in patient satisfaction. I would not want him doing an egg retrieval on me again.

I'm not his patient, he just did my retrieval. I won't have to see him again.

Overheard him being rude to a young woman near me who had eggs retrieved. Spoke to the nurse near her and said "I already told her." The patient (post-opp) who had not been addressed by name had to state that if he had told her, then she had forgotten. It seems reasonable to have to ask for this info twice (and get an answer kindly delivered) if you are coming out anesthesia. He was decent to me pre-opp but post-off was a bit rushed and rude. When I asked if he was going to freeze any immature eggs, rather than just say yes, he irratablity stated "You didn't go over that with your doctor?" He hadn't remembered our pre-surgery discussion either. Didn't seem to care. When I asked a simple question about how many mature follicles I ended up having going in, he dismissed me and said he didn't count them. I was told several times all of my eggs would be frozen right away - then later that day was told only some of them were frozen. The nurses at Boston IVF are excellent and I like my actuall doctor...but the man who did my retrieval needs a little more patience and improved bedside manner. The way you are spoken to during and after surgery can make all of the difference in the world. Unforuntaly, at Boston IVF, you cannot control the doctor that does your retrieval, only the one that makes your plan. Overall happy with Boston IVF, just not the retreival experience.

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The nurse I had a day of egg retrieval was phenomenal. She wasn't super knowledgeable about the egg freezing process but did her job as a surgical nurse very well. She was very kind. Very patient. I highly recommend Darlene (although the surgical nurse isn't something you can control). My doctor who coordinated care had a nurse who also always called me back the same day I left a voicemail. Brynna. My only wish is that were were able to communicate throgh messaging as well.

Locations are everywhere so it can be convenient. However, the only location open on the weekends is in Waltham, so if you need to go on a weekend, you have to drive there. Has a bit of a factory feel to it, but I was satisfied. Loved the option for acupuncture. All of the women I interacted with were great.

Again, I'm not his patient. He just did the retrieval. Costs were about $12K

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He was great to work with, very thorough and very honest. He tried to make a little too much small talk for my husband's liking, but I found him very calming and very professional. When our first round of eggs from our egg retrieval turned out to be abnormal he was very sympathetic, he asked if we wanted to move on and didn't pressure us to do another round of IVF and egg retrieval. He did explain what they would do differently to help us get a better outcome.

I would tell a prospective patient that he will give you a lot of information. Lots of statistics, probabilities, timelines etc.. If you're not someone who likes a lot of data it can be overwhelming, but its also important to know what the process looks like and what the chances are.

I was diagnosed with cancer and told to speak to someone at Boston IVF to help preserve my fertility and give my husband and me the best chance to have a baby after treatment. Dr Ryley's office fit me in so quickly and were so helpful in this process. Within a few weeks we were applying to oncofertility programs to receive reduced cost medications and undergoing IVF. After our first round of egg retrieval all of our eggs were abnormal, and Dr. Ryley was so nice and comforting about it. It made em feel like he cared about our journey as people and not just numbers and success for Boston IVF.

Heidi was an amazing nurse to work with. So generous with her time and always available for questions. I cam to the office on the first day of shots and she sat with me while we went over the steps and as I mimed multiple times how to go through the process. she also made herself available to FaceTime with me that evening so she could watch what I was doing and offer assistance and answer questions. She seemed to put in a lot of time working with me to find oncofertility programs that would allow us to receive free or reduced cost medications.

It's a very big operation with multiple offices, which is great because you can go to the one closest to your home for early morning ultrasounds, but if you need a weekend appointment you can only go to one specific clinic in Waltham, MA. And with the main office being in Boston parking can get really expensive, it costs $4-$7 to park at one location, and if they're running behind it can be even more. Though every office has a coffee machine - a small perk so you can spend your morning coffee money on parking and get free coffee in the office. Because of my cancer diagnosis they worked really hard to get me in quickly so that we could start right away, I believe I called on a Friday and saw the doctor the next Wednesday.

Because of my cancer diagnosis a lot of our treatment was covered by insurance or medication grants. Most of our routine payments were copays, or partially covered by insurance. We did opt for two items not covered by insurance: the ICSI procedure (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection -$2,500) and the PGTA (preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy - approximately $3,900 - final price dependent on the number of eggs retrieved).

Dr Rylely himself was pleasant, but he never left me with any notes to take home. I always left feeling like I had missed something because he said so many new things and just expected me to understand what was happening or what to do next.

He's a decent doctor but it hardly matters; what you need as a patient is a good billing specialist and good nursing staff. Dr. Ryley has neither.

The nursing and administrative staff is terrible. There were repeated clerical errors - wrong birth dates, lost vials, etc. For example, I had blood drawn 3 times for diagnostics because they kept forgetting to test me for things or insisted on testing me for things I already knew I had (e.g. I knew I had sickle cell trait, but they insisted on testing me, even though I had my test results forwarded form another doctor). It's impossible to get a hold of a person by calling. You always have to wait for them to call you back and they call whenever they feel like it. At some point I was waiting for probes to be made for PGD testing. They said they would call me when they were ready to proceed and that it usually takes 1-2 months for the probes to be made. After 2 months, I called them. They said "Oh, they've been ready for a month; you should have received a call". Literally you are on your own with these people. It took 6 months to get to the egg retrieval process because communication is just so bad. By time I was ready to start my meds, I decided to switch clinics. I just couldn't deal with BIVF.

I didn't get to this point. Right after I was prescribed Gonal-F along with other things and 2 days before I was supposed to start them, I switched clinics.

Terrible. They never answer the phone. You're always sent to voicemail. They call back about half of the time. If you request to be called back at a specific time, they don't call you back at all. There was an issue with the lab where they couldn't find my medical records for Boston IVF. We eventually realized it was because BIVF had inputted the wrong birth date. I had my blood drawn repeatedly during the diagnostic phase because they kept forgetting stuff or refused to consult my medical records. They also referred me to a genetics counselor that was out of network. Getting that bill in the mail was great. It took me 6 months, from August to February to actually get to the point where I could start the fertility meds/injections. They're also pretty grouchy when you call.

I had an issue with insurance where Boston IVF outright lied and said my insurance would cover PGD testing. There was a lot of back and forth where they said my insurance company said they would cover it and I called my insurance and they said they were waiting on medical documents from Boston IVF. I asked them if they could give me a note in writing saying that it was covered, but of course they couldn't/wouldn't. In the end, my claim was denied by my insurance and I had to come $5,000 out of pocket. I'm not even mad, I expected this from their staff because they're egregiously impatient, overbooked, and too busy to deal with their patients. When I switched clinics, they told me it would take up to 10 business days to have my records transferred over. On the 11th business day, they still hadn't sent it over. When I called, they said "they had sent them over a week ago, but they would try again". For some reason, it went through the second time. I'm 100% sure they didn't try to send it a first time.

I had insurance and did not complete my cycle

I said it before--he is very caring and compassionate and explains everything well. He is smart and confident but also realistic in setting expectations. I have the feeling that he "has my back" and that he truly cares.

The clinic is really busy and it is difficult to get appointments in a timely manner. There is also the question of whether you want to deal with feeling like a number at such a big clinic... I think he's worth it but we'll see.

Dr. Ryley is very warm and approachable and really conveys that he cares and "has your back". He has advocated for me with insurance and got me right in for surgery when fibroid was found--and delivered news with compassion.

Gonal F, Monopur, Cetrotide, Endometrin

They are very helpful, but you can tell that they are busy. However, when you need to talk to them, they will get back to you soon and explain things clearly.

The clinic is very large so the positives of this are that there are many resources and options, including many locations and open on weekends. The downside of this is that I feel a bit like cattle in a factory...and your doctor does not perform any of the procedures (unless you luck out and they happen to be on call). Boston IVF and New England IVF also joined and there are differences between their protocols within the same clinic, but that was not made clear to us at the outset (switched between NEIVF to BIVF doctor and a few things slightly changed).

This first cycle is covered under insurance and Dr. Ryley fought insurance for that. Otherwise, it's about $8k-$10k.

I would definitely recommend Dr. Ryley to a friend, as he was recommended to us. I think I would just be clear that you may not see him as often as you expect and he may also not do the procedures himself. But that was understandable given timing issues. I thoroughly appreciated his care and got the treatment we so desperately needed.

Just to manage your expectations. He is a wonderful doctor but not a magician. It may take a while to see results but in our case after our first cycle was canceled he definitely made adjustments for our next treatment and called me himself to explain why the cycle was canceled. He also called me to review how our embryos were progressing which meant a lot.

Dr. Ryley always asked how I was doing during our consultations and conveyed compassion and dignity and warmth. Also a sense of humor.

My husband and I drove the process and dr. Ryley did not push us towards IVF until we felt we were ready. We tried several medicated cycles, 3 IUIs after he explained that the odds really didn’t improve after that point, took a break and finally moved forward with IVF. For IVF we did an antagonist protocol with PGS testing and a frozen transfer of a day 5 embryo. It was successful!

I cannot rave about the nurses working for Dr. ryley enough!!! Heidi, Amanda, and now I forget the name of the other nurse I spoke with a lot, were so so wonderful. They were very clear with instructions, answered questions, and showed tremendous compassion. Heidi in particular just really seemed to care about our situation. The people doing the blood draws in Brookline were also tremendously compassionate!

Dr. Ryley has an excellent bedside manner. He is compassionate and friendly and explains the process well. I did not find him open to changing protocols nor did he seem particularly well versed in treating DOR.

Be your own advocate. Ask many questions, and insist on the treatment that you want. If you have a condition such as DOR, ask specifically what would differ in your treatment compared to women without DOR.

Antagonist protocol (I responded poorly), 2 micro-flare protocols (I responded better), and two A/ACP with estrogen priming protocols (I produced many more eggs). The last protocol I insisted upon; the first two were standard for the clinic and were attempted because women often respond differently to the 2 protocols.

Heidi was very personable and polite, but provided almost no information regarding parameters during the cycle such as follicle number, estrogen levels, etc., even when I specifically requested that I be provided this information (often, a voicemail is left when the patient is busy at work). I have since learned that many patients are provided cycle calendars (Heidi does not provide them), and following often complicated instructions is much more difficult in the absence of a cycle calendar. Other mistakes were made, such as the source of sperm (fresh or frozen) many times, which definitely increased my stress level during the process.

Boston IVF is very efficient, wait times for monitoring are almost nonexistent, and retrievals and transfers run smoothly. Overall the clinic is very good. Based on my experience with one doctor, I would suggest that more alternative or atypical protocols be attempted, particularly in the case of conditions such as DOR.

Massachusetts covers IVF cycles almost fully. For freezing and storing samples, as well as copays for medications, our overall costs during 5 IVF cycles over the course of 2 years was approximately $2500.

Based on my diagnosis of DOR, 2-3 embryos were thought to be best for transfer.

There was only one thing we initially did not like about Dr. Ryley; if you don’t have the first appointment of the day, he is running late. As we worked with him we understood that this is because of the time and care he takes with each person. We were never rushed through an appointment, he gave us all the information we needed in a clear and jargon-free manner. Dr. Ryley answered all of our questions completely and was always available if we had more. During our time with him he was 100% focus on us, our wellbeing, and our goal.

He’s worth the wait.

We interviewed 2 doctors prior to Dr. Ryley and both tried to send us to the local LGBT clinic, which had an “education” program that was over a year long. Dr. Ryley took time to listen to us, to affirm our family, and to understand who we were not only as patients but as people.

We initially used Clomid to bring on ovulation, but when that did not have the expected results we switched to Letrozole. My wife was still not ovulating normally so we used birth control pills to help “reset” her cycles. It took roughly 8 months to achieve ovulation, and the second cycle we got our first positive. We used the same protocol when we decided to have more children.

Everyone was very professional but also friendly. We really felt like they were a valuable and caring part of our team.

The parking was terrible, and the office was difficult to get to. We did have to travel to another office for our IUIs. The communication between the offices was excellent. Everyone was very respectful of our privacy and did everything possible to put us at ease and make us comfortable.

With our first our out of pocket expenses were about $14,000. Insurance covered everything with our second.

We love Dr. Ryley and we're completely satisfied with our experience with him. He was always honest with what we should expect and clear with what the course of action would be. We always felt that we were in excellent hands.

Trust him and Boston IVF - Stay the course, though it might take a while, and if it is possible for you to get pregnant, Dr. Ryley will do everything he can to make it happen.

Dr. Ryley was very supportive and encouraging and very accepting of us being a gay couple. Dr. Ryley's language and approach was always professional and understanding and tailored to our specific situation and needs.

I don't remember all the specifics. We had tried ICIs by ourselves and IUIs with a family friend who is an OB/GYN and they didn't produce a live birth. We went to Dr. Ryley after I had a miscarriage. He suggested many tests to make sure everything was working properly, which we appreciated because we wouldn't want to go through more cycles if something was wrong. We then did a few more rounds of IUIs with drugs but they didn't work. Then Dr. RYley suggested IVF- and explained the procedure very clearly. Though it was overwhelming, Dr. Ryley and all of his nurses and staff were very helpful in explaining everything every step of the way. We did the course of drugs for the egg retrieval, got 20 eggs, 4 of which fertilized. One didn't survive, we transferred one and it didn't work, the second one worked, and produced a healthy baby boy. We froze the 4th one for two years and just transferred it 9 months ago and Just gave birth to another baby boy.

Thy were all very helpful and knowledgeable and available at any hour of the night to take phone calls and answer any questions we had.

We love Boston IVF- every office (Quincy, Waltham and Brookline) that we used was great. We like that they have a policy of not encouraging children to be in the clinic- it is helpful to not be reminded of what you don't have and desperately want every time you go to the doctor. Also, having the Domar center in Waltham was excellent. I took advantage of the acupuncture for every insemination and transfer.

The billing dept was very helpful in arranging all of the details for insurance and other than co pays and deductibles, everything was covered.

We didn't want to produce multiple births so we only transferred one at a time. It was more of our decision and Dr. Ryley supported it.

Just make sure you consider factors besides bedside manner. He was very friendly and we connected on a personal level but ultimately we were not that happy with our experience at the clinic.

He has a very good bedside manner. Almost too good - I think he was overly optimistic about our chances of success on multiple occasions.

We were frustrated on multiple occasions at the lack of coordination and organization on the part of the nursing and administrative staff. Early on, we were very confused about several aspects of our cycles. For example, I was not confident that they had the timing of our first IUI cycles correct. Furthermore, they did not tell me in advance that I would have to schedule a follow-up appointment with the doctor, and that it would take weeks to get on his schedule. So we saw the nurse practitioner instead for the first few cycles, and it took several IUI cycles before we were able to address our concerns with the doctor and make changes.

We were very concerned by a couple incidents. First, they had a typo that led them to miscount the number of vials of sperm we had used. This raised a number of red flags for us, as the only reason we have confidence that the baby inside us is in fact our own is our level of confidence in their data management system. Second, the insurance coordinator forgot to call us after getting approval for one cycle. I had to call her and she claimed she had called me several days previous because she "always did."

I had insurance

He is very open and doesn't judge; he always answered all our questions carefully and was sympathetic to difficult / negative feelings and offered a positive outlook; he was available by phone even in the evening; he always tried to explain treatments so we would understand and used visual aids

Don't automatically assume every woman over 40 years is "defective"; check if she could do a natural (unmedicated) transfer before administering typical protocols with hormones

Very accessible and sympathetic, always expressing concern for success and well-being, open to my own thoughts and concerns, always took a lot of time to address and answer all my questions

Several strategies with bcp and different dosages of Bravelle plus Menopur, Gonal-F and Lupron as well as Ganirelix. Treatment of thin lining with various estrogen formulations (patches, tablets). Cycle leading to pregnancy was unmedicated with progesterone support after transfer.

Everyone was competent and tried to be supportive and helpful; some have more compassion and a warmer approach to patients than others

Strengths: clinic is very integrated and all processes are well established; billing is transparent; patient is educated and informed ahead of procedures; clinic works through several locations 7d/week Weaknesses: communication with staff can be tedious due to practice of having to leave messages and waiting for call back; this was especially difficult for egg donor who was employed and couldn't talk freely at her work place easily

Drugs were typically filled by specialty pharmacies and I didn't shop around: costs ran from 50-1000$ per cycle. Fees and procedures per OE and DE ran approx. 10-30,000$, but I had insurance coverage.

OE transfer was with multiple embryos; DE transfer with 2 frozen embryos per cycle. Future DE transfers will only be single embryo transfers.

Dr Ryley is very friendly, informative and mostly, he listened to what my concerns seriously. I ended up putting 2 embryos back and was pregnant with twins at first but miscarried one of them at 9 weeks of pregnancy. When we were putting the embryos back in, he has explained to me that one of the embryos were much stronger than the other so it made sense that the weaker one just didn't make it and it wasn't meant to be. I was recommended to put 2 back in instead of just one for the likelihood of me getting pregnant doubles by doing so. And it was right, I sure am pregnant now with a singleton baby(third trimester now). One negative thing that I have experienced is the fact that I have suffered from Hyperactive Ovary Syndrome in the beginning of my pregnancy. I am a small person and have accumulated water in my lungs as well because of it. I called in to let Dr Ryley know right away and he told me to go to an ER right away. That's how I found out that I am actually pregnant (this was a very early stage)! Dr Ryley and his staff scheduled me an emergency quick surgery to drain the fluid out of my uterus (under the influence of anesthesia of course). The fluid in my lugs ended up draining on its own so I didn't need a surgery. It was a bit of a scare in the beginning but I command Dr. Ryley and his staff for their quick remedy and actions so that my symptoms won't be worse. Hyperactive Ovary syndrome is usually prevented by having the doctor watch your vital stats weekly(which was normal for me weekly) but my symptom actually occurred towards the end with a pregnancy with twins, it may have something to do with it. Either way, I'm happy that I am pregnant in the end with a good doctor who had watched over me with great care. Boston IVF in general was such a great experience with great staff overall. I definitely will recommend this doctor and it's facility.

Ask as many questions as possible, tell him about your concerns(how many embryos to put back in to maximize the chance of pregnancy versus likelihood of having twins, etc).

Dr.Ryley along with the staff there were very informative, answered all my questions, responded back to my numerous phone calls and reassured me with any doubts and worries along the way.

She must have been so busy so she never really picked up the phone but always called me back. If she was tied up for the day, she usually had another nurse call me back to answer my questions

David Ryley was a good balance of kind and matter of fact. We wanted to know a lot of background scientific details for tests and procedures, and he always accommodated us. Really The only small downside is that he was not available for in-between visit telephone calls or emails. That just isn't how Boston IVF works - there are nurses on call for that purpose.

Be prepared to only see him before you start the cycle, for consultation and planning. You won't see him for any procedures, and if you get pregnant on the first round you'll never see him again.

Boston IVF overall definitely worked like an assembly line, but just about every interaction I had along the way was positive and caring. We only saw Dr. Ryley for a few office visits leading up to our cycle (he didn't actually do any of the procedures himself). We liked his matter of fact, scientific conversations yet he was also very kind and sensitive. Really the only negative feedback would be for his secretary, who could use a bit fine tuning on the patient/customer service soft skills.

Antagonist protocol: Birth control pills, FSH, Ganirelix, HCG, egg retrieval, 5 day transfer of 2 embryos. This was my first and only IVF cycle, which resulted in my identical twin girls (one embryo didn't make it, the other split!).

At Boston IVF, just about each interaction along the way was with a different provider. This is why I previously likened it to an assembly line. That being said, for the most part everyone was very professional and compassionate. I think I only had 1 or 2 just 'so - so' interactions along the way.

Boston IVF in Waltham was where I had all of my blood work and procedures. They offered very convenient hours and lots of free parking. The facility was modern and clean.

I was very lucky, living in MA and having a company sponsored health plan (BCBS MA) that fully covered my fertility treatment for the cycle. I paid almost nothing out of pocket.

I would not have had the results I had and the positive experience I had (despite nearly 4 years of various treatments) without the support and expertise of Dr. David Ryley.

If he says he'd recommend moving to more aggressive treatment options, listen and follow his advice right away.

Dr. Ryley was always able to respond and get me laughing even when I was feeling discouraged. At the same time, he was good at being direct and telling me what he did and did not know. He also told me when he thought my chances of pregnancy were low. At that point, while he told me he would be happy to have me continue to try with my own eggs, he also suggested that I consider egg donation to increase my odds. After some reflection, that's what I did - and he was supportive with information and with just being there all along the nearly 4 years it took for me ultimately to bring my daughter home (had prior complications related to endometriosis and started the process of becoming a single mother by choice later in life).

I started with a long succession of medicated (injectables) IUIs and then moved to a series of IVFs with ICSI. I got pregnant several times but some were clinical pregnancies and one was a miscarriage at 12 weeks. As I turned 43, Dr. Ryley recommended I consider egg donation. I did and decided to proceed. The first donor I chose had not previously donated and despite medical tests indicating everything was fine and a total of 27 eggs retrieved, only 6 fertilized and they were all low quality. I had a strong preference for a single transfer but took his advice and transferred 2 fresh, then 2 frozen and got pregnant with one of the last 2. Unfortunately miscarried at 10 weeks. I almost gave up, but did decide to try one more time with another donor who had successfully donated previously. Got more than 30 eggs, 27 fertilized and 2 of these were discarded due to poor quality. I had one transferred fresh and got pregnant and gave birth to my daughter in 2012 nearly 4 years after I had my first fertility appointment.

My nurse coordinator was excellent. Once I shifted to egg donation, I got a different nurse coordinator who was just as good. I really relied on them for support and answers to questions. They knew I was doing this on my own and really became my support team. There was only one negative encounter on the nursing staff in my nearly 4 years - and that was a different nurse who was working with me in the context of my first miscarriage who was not particularly sensitive to my direct questions relative to a slowing heartbeat and whether that meant some hope still or no hope. She just was not direct enough for my liking and seemed to not get that I'd rather know.

Great supports in terms of ancillary services like acupuncture on site before/after retrieval, classes and support groups, massage, yoga, nutritionists etc. at the Domar Center that is attached to the main outpatient clinic in Waltham. They do well in terms of managing children coming along (separate family waiting room) and are good at creating a soothing atmosphere.

I think that all told, after insurance, and counting 2 separate egg donors, my cost was a bit below $100K (insurance covered a bunch upfront, but I paid for several IVFs myself and 2 donor egg retrievals, incl. donor and personal medications and 4 transfers)

He was great at explaining everything to me and giving me realistic statistics . I felt very confident in his knowledge and the care he provided. He didn’t get more technical than I wanted , everything was at just the right level for me. I also felt like he had plenty of time with me and didn’t feel rushed

He is very trustworthy and I recommend him without hesitation

Very kind and actually wanted to know me as a person- almost to the point I was a bit disconcerted since it’s so unusual!

We used metformin, letrozole and IUI. I’m a single mother by choice so obviously I went straight to iui . We started with ovulation predictor kits but I asked to move to active monitoring . I got pregnant on the 5th cycle. If that hadn’t worked the next step would have been ivf but I didn’t need tha

I really felt like a number with the nurse. My interaction was pretty limited with her however, just a call after the blood tests to tell me if I was pregnant or not

It’s really a machine - the doctors are great but you feel like a number. The fact that it’s a machine gives you confidence though so as long as you’re ok without the touchy feels you really are in great hands. The doctors are all very academic and on top of the research as well and they just have a very smooth process.

I paid about 2000 per cycle - 800 for the sperm and 1200 for the iui and montori g. My insurance covered the visits so I only had a copay and it also covered the blood tests and HSG

Dr. Ryley was honest and incredibly positive, even when we were starting to lose hope. He encouraged us to seek a second opinion when we told him we wanted to and also offered to raise our case at the practice's monthly meeting to see if someone else had ideas to help address our unexplained infertility. My only issue is that sometimes he talked a bit fast and details were hard to remember. I wish we had pushed more wrt egg quality, which seemed to be an issue though he assured us it wasn't.

Be prepared with questions and be honest.

When meeting with Dr. Ryley and the tech's in the Brookline office, I felt like a cared for patient. The phlebotomist at the Brookline office was AMAZING, as were the techs doing the ultrasounds. They talked us through everything and showed us what they were seeing. Waltham was the complete opposite - children were always there and never in the separate waiting room (hurtful since we were all there with fertility issues!) and it totally felt like a factory. The tech's were cold and didn't show us anything and the blood draws were factory-ish and I always left with a bruise.

In the procedure room they took care of everything and kept track of things, so after the first one, I always got the patch for nausea to help with being sick after retrievals.

Dr. Ryley was warm, compassionate, and understanding. He took the failures and setbacks as hard as we did. He provided both statistics as well as his own experience so we knew the range of things to expect with each step. We always felt like he was on our team, rooting for our success.

You are your own best advocate, but you will feel like you have another fighter on your team with Dr. Ryley.

Dr. Ryley made personal connections with both myself and my husband. He remembered non-medical aspects of our lives and we genuinely enjoyed every visit we had with him. He also called to check in personally after big news (good or bad). He once went above and beyond to squeeze me in for a surgery the day he’d be in the OR so I wouldn’t need to wait 4+ weeks until our next cycle. We loved him!

Jess was WONDERFUL! She answered countless calls with patience, compassion, and a genuinely positive attitude.

Most monitoring and surgeries were at the Boston IVF clinic in Waltham. No complaints - it is a quiet, clean facility and I always found the staff very nice and helpful. The Boston office (more for consults) is beautiful. Parking downtown can be pricey but worth every penny for the care you receive.

He was very optimistic but not blindly so. He was very friendly and made a sad and uncomfortable process much easier. He talked to us like humans and made me more optimistic than my previously two failed transfers

He is very kind and has great compassion and warmth for patients

With my previous doctor i felt like a number but with Dr ryley i felt like he truly cared about me and was very personable

He did my transfer but my third one so my embryos were already frozen

They treated me a little mord like a number and i know they have a lot of patients but they could have been more organized maybe by hiring more nurses

Too many patients and not enough nurses. You do feel like a number sometimes. Also my first doctor was more pushy about only transferring one even though it’s ultimatrly up to me. That said i know they have a large number of patients but hiring more nurses should be a priority. Also telling people their transfer time a few days before the actual day rather than the day before would be helpful for planning purposes but other than that the fertility clinic is good

I do not remember

None. He recommend SET for my age which is mid 20/

Dr. Ryley was amazing! He knew I worked in the medical profession so he gave me much more detail and was very patient with my questions. He was also able to engage my husband who has no medical background and explain things in plain language. He made us feel safe and we totally trusted him.

Trust in him and the process.

He was warm, caring, and tailored his approach to our specific issue.

They were kind, professional, and very warm. My only comment would be because I work in the medical field they didn’t explain as clearly how to inject the medications and the timing. I had to do a bit of research on my own.

Great hours! They had before work options and made sure to book appointments based on what you were there for. For example, they only confirmed pregnancies st certain times so women who were still struggling didn’t overlap with the others. I felt this was very considerate

We are very fortunate to live in a state where infertility treatments are covered. I work in a hospital affiliated with BOS IVF so it was considered tier 1. We paid a copay for the cycle meds but that was it. All testing was covered.

Every interaction with Dr. Ryley was great. He was thorough and very patient. I never felt rushed out of his office. He did not, however, do our procedures, as that was always based on whoever was in the OR on the day of a scheduled transfer. I would have liked for him to do our procedures.

I would say to make it clear to his staff when you want to speak to him directly. His team of nurses are very competent and often handle many things themselves. If you want his opinion directly (not just through the nurses), you should feel comfortable asking to speak to him directly. They will accommodate that.

Dr Ryley and his team were thoughtful, kind and helpful throughout the process. Despite two unsuccessful IVF attempts, Dr. Ryley was very clear that he never gave up hope and that he was there to help us throughout.

I thought that every person I encountered on the nursing staff was competent and thorough. They all knew what they were doing and many of them showed great compassion at times when things did not go well for us. They also were very happy for us when things were going well.

Dr. Ryley is very thorough with his explanations and never rushed a conversation. He asks questions to get to know us as people, not just patients. From the first day I met him he showed confidence that he would find a plan that worked and he did!

He is very honest and you will leave his office with hope.

He is personable, empathetic, and actually seemed to listen.

Nurse Doran is very punctual with returning calls, which helps reduce stress. She is thorough and extremely patient with all my questions.

The weakness of the Boston location is just that - the location. We always knew we would have to travel to appointments but things can be stressful enough with infertility, sitting in traffic thinking you are going to miss your appointment shouldn’t be one of them.

I feel the cost has been fair.

He always gave me time to mourn and was a true advocate for me when we had so many unsuccessful IVF attempts and my husband wasn't really understanding. Ryley actaully made a comment that I was being tortured if I were to have another IVF attempt. He was caring and compassionate and realistic when he needed to be.

He was wonderful. Be prepared for anything unexpected and always have faith.

He was compassionate. Even though he shared devastating and heartbreaking news about my own fertility, I felt like he understood as best he could.

Great communicators. Organized. Private. Resources. Compassionate.

I lived in MA so Insurence covered soooo much. We had a few co-pays, but all the services totaled to over $100k. When our Insurence rejected to pay for IVF when we used donor eggs, Ryley advocated for us- sent a letter explains why medically they should pay. It worked and they reversed their decision.

Dr Ryley is fantastic. He answered our questions honestly and was always optimistic even when we weren’t. My partner and I are both trying/tried to get pregnant with him and we have been very satisfied

Ask everything. If you need to talk to him, just ask his staff.

Dr Ryely is warm and personable. We always felt like he was on our team.

Me- ivf: ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval and 3 day transfer. My partner: 6 iuis on Femera and trigger shot (PCOS)

I love Heidi, Susan, Amanda and every staff member in the Brookline office. Not so fond of Waltham, but not there regularly.

Boston ivf is organized, professional and communicative. Highly recommended

Insurance covered

Our insurance only covers one egg transfer, but I think if that wasn’t the case he would have let us do two.