Eric Surrey

Each fertility journey is a bit different. As such, here is a little about our journey. From the start, we knew that we would need an egg donor and gestational carrier. As such, we worked with CCRM to select a donor and create embryos. Dr. Surry also evaluated our gestational carrier and managed the transfer. From a medical standpoint there was nothing particularly ‘complex’; healthy eggs, healthy sperm, healthy gestational carrier. In our interactions with Dr. Surry his perspective was that it was an ‘easy case’. That said, the administration of this process was a disaster. Also, our child was born with a significant physical disability. Interestingly, while this disability should have been identified while still under the care of CCRM, it was missed on every ultrasound.

Do not rely on reputation alone. Dr. Surry helped us create our family. CCRM had the best reparation at the time and so we gave them a lot of leeway. When their administration was a disaster we overlooked it – because ‘they are the best’. Now we are left we a lot of regrets… what if their disastrous administration somehow contributed to our child’s lifelong disability. We should have followed our gut.

Individual interaction with Dr. Surry was very limited. During our entire journey I believe we only physically met him twice – during the consultation and embryo transfer. That said, we did speak to him on the phone twice; once to discuss genetic test results and finally when we were determined to move our embryos to another clinic. While our nurse was great, everything else about CCRM felt very much like a baby mill.

As I recall our treatment strategies were fairly routine. The one thing that was out of the ordinary was the need for a FDA quarantine (six months) of our sperm. One thing that was a bit frustrating was, after the embryos were created, Dr. Surry offered to allow our GC to have an additional six-month quarantine of the embryo – which was of course her decision. The challenging this is that this was not required and we did not even know it was an option until our GC almost backed out of our match because it would have through the timing off.

Overall, Monique was great at coordinating and communicating. Often it became evident that CCRM did not have the administrative processes in place for our situation and so Monique ended up doing a lot of back and forth. One challenge was when we notified her of our child’s physical disability, her approach was more clinical than compassionate in the moment. That was hard.

Utter disappointment on nearly every level. Their billing was a mess. They asked us to fill out very personal information in a rushed and PUBLIC place. It felt as though the operations were not equipped to deal with a gay couple.

I don't recall the cost.

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Each of the doctors I have seen had a history intake of questions. Dr. Surrey's intake was more in depth. Just by looking at my intake, Dr. Surrey thinks I was misdiagnosed almost 5 years ago which ended our fertility journey then and then last year that all changed when I had my first pregnancy at 44 and miscarried 2 weeks later. I saw Dr. Surrey after this and I just didn't feel like a patient and he gave me my hope back of having a family.

Be transparent and don't be afraid of asking questions. I made the mistake of not having any questions ahead of time and even though I had done alot of reading, i still felt very new and uneducated, but that was my fault not the Dr or the Clinic.

I've met with Dr. Surrey once so far and that was for my initial consultation. The intake of questions were more thorough than my previous doctors. He had already gone through my intake and had questions from that. He had a genuine smile and showed empathy. My previous doctors I never felt that way. The Dr before Dr. Surrey was like a robot and showed no emotion at all.

We haven't had any treatment, but it is looking like IVF with PGS testing will be our only course of treatment. The antisperm antibodies makes it almost impossible of achieving a pregnancy naturally and with my age, PGS testing is crucial.

I had a consult with Shawna on the day of my consult with Dr. Surrey. Even though I haven't had another appointment, I have communicated with Shawna and she is very helpful, forthcoming and empathetic. Her empathy and show of concern is a great comfort to me.

The clinic has great communication and make you feel like you're their only patient and that's alot too me. It's a new building and can be very intimidating when you walk in. I feel like there should be a little more direction when you walk in. The second time i was at the clinic I realized there was a information desk, there wasn't anyone at the desk for my first appointment and that made it a little more confusing. I'm sure the more I'm there the more comfortable I'll be with it. But at the same time, this experience is all new and I am still a little nervous about this entire process.

My insurance covers nothing for fertility assessment for me since I'm 45 and the cutoff is 44 or fertility treatment for any age. So everything we pay for is out of pocket. My 3 day hormone test was $555 for 4 hormones and the one day fertility assessment that includes the workup for my husband and I will be $3,000. We are currently saving for this workup. As I understand it, CCRM is one of the best and most expensive clinics there is. My husband is in a wheelchair so medical expenses are nothing new to us, so even though this will be very expensive for us, it's worth it.

I'm not sure what his approach is yet, we haven't got that far in my treatment

I think Dr. Surrey would be great for someone doing IVF who wanted the standard or an aggressive protocol, and who didn't want to delve deeper into underlying issues. I had issues with my cycle that I thought were indicative of why conceiving would be difficult -- luteal phase spotting, and he literally told me I should take birth control if I didn't like the spotting, and told me I should just do IVF before it was too late (I'd been diagnosed with DOR). I was not interested in going to IVF without understanding the underlying issues with my body. Later, they found I had a unicornuate uterus, and I agreed that IVF was the best option but said I could try a few cycles of IUI with my local doctor if I wanted. He would not give me clomid/letrozole with a UU due to risk of multiples. He said the only medication he would give me was luteal phase progesterone. We don't have sperm issues, so I didn't want to do IUI, but asked him to prescribe me progesterone for natural cycles. I got pregnant immediately. He called me to say congratulations, but I then never heard from him again. I miscarried at 9 weeks. I've since switched to a different RE.

Make sure IVF is actually what you want to do if you go to him. He will not try less invasive / less aggressive approaches first. I had the feeling from the whole experience that CCRM was trying to make money off of me.

The Lone Tree office is so over-the-top fancy...I couldn't help but think of all that I was paying for that fancy waterfall behind the concierge desk that reminded us all of sperm flowing. I didn't see the doctor except for when I was paying specifically for a consultation, and when my diagnostics revealed a uterine anomaly and I asked to speak with someone about it (I was in shock and had no idea what it meant for my future fertility), the nurse didn't know who I was and hadn't reviewed my chart before talking with me, and didn't tell me anything useful. That said, the techs running the ultrasound and the HSG were extremely nice, comforting, and skilled.

He would not prescribe any medications (clomid/letrozole) due to my uterine anomaly (unicornuate uterus) and said the only option was IVF. I asked him to prescribe me progesterone during the luteal phase (my idea, not his) and he agreed. I then got pregnant spontaneously.

She always seemed extremely busy, and most of the time it was not her responding to my questions. It was impossible to get anyone on the phone, but they did answer messages in the portal within 24 hours.

I felt like they were trying to make money off of me. They were reticent to bill anything to insurance, and often told me that things "probably wouldn't be covered" and then told me I'd get a lower rate if I paid out of pocket, but if they billed insurance and they denied it I would have to pay exorbitant amounts. AWFUL. This is a TERRIBLE way to treat patients -- scare them into paying out of pocket. Really, really terrible. They also messed up payment on the few things they did send to insurance and made me pay too much upfront anyway.

Initial consult -- $300 "regroup" consult -- $100 Day 3 bloodwork -- $500 Baseline ultrasound -- $500 HSG -- $600

Dr. Surrey was fair and although I did not like what he had to say in regards to my own eggs, it turns out he was correct. I actually had a natural pregnancy during my treatment and when he found out he called me that same day to congratulate me. Unfortunately, that surprise pregnancy ended in miscarriage. I was upset that he wouldn't let me join the acai study because it was only my first IVF cycle but due to my age and the fact that I was running out of time, I wish he would of just given me the supplements. Maybe they would have helped.

Be prepared with questions and have a list.

Dr. Surrey really cared about me and I felt like he really wanted us to be parents. He took his time with us and answered all of our questions.

I was put on Luteal Oral-Microflare protocol due to my age and DOR. We only retrieved 5 eggs, 3 fertilized and one made it to blast. We did a FET but it was not successful.

I had all great nurses but the problem was that they were always quitting and I would be assigned a new one. It was frustrating to have to explain your situation all over again and build new relationships. It was exhausting.

I never had to wait long for an appointment. The office is clean and comfortable and everything runs smoothly. You know what to expect and they provide you with literature that explains everything. They are usually pretty good at returning phone calls. The billing is confusing and needs some work. I think the nurses need help though. They work long hours. They do care about their patients and I wish they had more time to devote to each one of us.

CCRM is very expensive. It makes getting treatment very difficult. I also hope that one day all insurance will cover treatment.

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The only thing I wish was different is more contact with Dr. Surrey. Right now we are only doing IUI, which I feel in a sense makes us less of a priority. However, when I have questions or concerns and I convey them to his nurse, she always communicates his responses within 24 hours. Since I’m not the only infertile person, I understand his time is limited and I have never felt like he doesn’t care about me as his patient, even if I am just doing IUI right now. Our first meeting, he was so personable and kind. He learned my husband and I were both students and he gave us a discount on our services. He didn’t have to do that, but he was kind enough to offer that help for us. I feel like that really speaks to his character.

Don’t be frustrated when you don’t see him every appointment.

In a way I feel like a number because there are literally so many patients at the clinic. However, when we met with Dr. Surrey for the first time, he took the time to get to know us and our circumstances. He did a great job at explaining our problems and identifying the solution. He didn’t sugar coat the truth, but he was very optimistic. It was about a year between appointments for us and it felt like we picked up right where we left off which really impressed me.

Dr. Surrey started us out on Letrazole because he said it was a better medication than clomid. He provided the research to back up his choice and felt very confident it would work for us. Day 2-5, ultrasound and blood draw to make sure we are good to go ahead with the meds. Day 5-9 letrazole. Day 12 ultrasound for follicle check. Depending on size and number of follicles, there may be a follow up ultrasound. Trigger shot of ovidrel exactly 12 hrs before IUI. My body didn’t respond as well the 2nd and 3rd time so we weren’t able to proceed with the actual IUI.

Taylor is great. I’m alwYs happiest when I get to see or talk to her. Kind, organized, and personable, she helps this confusing world of follicles, medications, and procedures less daunting. I’m grateful for her advocating for me in my behalf.

CCRM is a well-oiled machine. It’s one of the top clinics in the US and it is easy to see why. The staff are all amazing and kind. Everything is always on time, I’ve never waited for an appointment from an ultrasound to a blood draw. The only weakness is cost. It is expensive. But in this business, everything is expensive. One thing that was different from my other doctor was there were a lot of blood tests and other tests my husband and I had to do before were even able to start a treatment. It was hard to shell out a lot of money before we could move forward but I understand it’s best to have the full picture about each patient before you start stabbing into the dark with treatments.

$350 for primary consult $150 for doctor follow up meeting $200 per ultra sound $100 for hcg blood test HSG $500 $150 for sperm analysis $185 per sperm wash (x2 if freezing sperm for use) I can’t remeber how much the actual IUI is but I think they estimate around $3000 with meds and ultrasounds/blood work and the procedure.

Dr. Surrey did show compassion and I do feel like he wanted us to have a family. I wish that he did look more into my husband's sperm issues and did more tests for him. After our egg retrieval he recommended more tests for my husband which we asked before we even did our egg retrieval and he said it wasn't necessary.

Before meeting with Dr. Surrey, prepare all the questions that you have. Our meetings with him were less than 10 mins (both in person and on the phone).

I felt that Dr. Surrey knew who my husband and I were. However, I felt like a number with the CCRM business office and nursing staff. It was very difficult to communicate with the nurses and business office to where it made me think about leaving CCRM all together.

I did the CCRM vitamin cocktail and Acai for 3 months prior to my egg retrieval. I did the antagonist protocol and used menopur and gonal-f, and Lupron for a trigger. I did stems for 9 days. My follicle count was 21 and we retrieved 14 eggs, 5 to blast and 2 were ccs tested normal.

When you need to contact the nursing staff you call the CCRM main number and you leave a message with the nursing staff. Your assigned nurse is suppose to contact you, but you can also have anyone in the nursing staff return your call. It usually took about 5 hours to get a call back. One time I left two messages on a Friday, never got a call back. My call wasn't returned until Tuesday morning.

I do think that the CCRM doctors are great. However, the CCRM nursing staff are overworked and the business office is awful. Everytime I have to deal with the nurses or the business office I wonder why I put myself through this added stress just to see Dr. Surrey.

They had monitoring times where you could go in for blood work.

For the IVF egg retrieval with CCS testing, I believe we spent just under $40,000.

I did not do a FET.

Dr. Surrey is very honest and detail oriented focusing on percentage rates and numbers. What sets him apart to me is that he is so kind and treats me like a human who longs to be a mother. He gets that! And I truly feel like he's on my team rooting for me, trying to help me make the best decisions to get me that baby. He has a super funny personality that you don't ever really see in most doctors. I appreciate his humor and it makes this process a little more fun and light. I don't have my baby yet but I know he's doing everything he can to help me...and he cares.

Appreciate his humor and time. Take your time with him, he gives you his undivided attention. Try to think of any questions you have and write them down so you don't get sidetracked and forget.

Dr. Surrey has always been kind while still being scientific and calculated. He never rushed me while we were talking in person or on the phone. He is a numbers and percentage type doctor while having a great bedside manner.

With retrieval #1, I started with estrace morning and night for 7 days. Then I started 2 vials of menopur each morning along with 20 units of Lupron morning and night, and 300 units of gonal-f and dexamethasone at night. Dr. Surrey added in 2 vials of menopur at night and upping my gonal-f to 450 units for the last 6 days of stims to try to help move things along. I stimmed for 15 days and got pretty sick which Dr. Surrey thinks it was from the Lupron. Retrieval #2 went a little more smooth as he left the Lupron out and see if that would help keep the headaches down, and it did! I took 2 vails of menopur in the morning, 5 days of 35mg of omnitrope at night, and then 450 units of gonal-f, 100mg of clomid and .5mg of dexamethasone at night. Cetrotide was added in for the last 4 days of stims and my total days of stim meds was 14 days where I then took 3 trigger shots of 10,000 units of pregnyl and 2 shots from the leuprolide acetate trigger kit. Retrieval #3 was the same protocol as #2.

Becca has been my saving grace. She is always on top of things, very organized, kind, knowledgeable and most importantly ACCESSABLE. You can almost always reach a nurse at CCRM very quickly.

CCRM is the best. They are professional and they know what they are doing. You get what you pay for and it's top notch service and care. Be nice to your nurse and it will set you up for great success! The business office can be a little slow but I think they are just very busy.

Physician cost $19,694; lab fees $30,166; anesthesia $2,850, facility fees $10,842; approximate medication costs $32,400; FET $5,445.00

I have a slightly T shaped uterus so Dr. Surrey recommended only one embryo transfer at a time. He said he would complete 2 of I really wanted to but it would decrease my successful delivery by 22%.

Dr Surrey was honest, compassionate and kind. He is always welcoming and I felt safe under his care. He explained all of our options and made our treatment plan feel very personal. After my retrieval surgery he made sure to talk to me in the recovery room to tell me how many eggs were successfully retrieved and made sure I was feeling good.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions

Dr Surrey has personally called us several time to discuss treatment and test results. He has done all of my procedures and has been very kind and made us feel comfortable with the entire IVF process.

I started with birth control and then was on gonal-f and memopur prior to retrieval. I then did Cetrotide and triggered with Lupron. Post retrieval I did a month on birth control, followed by Lupron. I then started estrace, baby aspirin, endometrum and IM progesterone prior to transfer. I am still currently on those meds. I am 8 days post transfer toast, just awaiting my HCG test.

Everyone in the clinic has been so kind and welcoming. They are very efficient. I do wish they would communicate results better. I had to ask on a few occasions for them to give me my results.

The clinic is very organized and efficient. They made me feel important and safe at all times. There are several different areas and we have been to each one. We are always greeted and welcomed. They explain exactly what they are gong to be doing and direct you to the next area. They offer several classes to explain the entire IVF process, as well as counseling and peer gatherings.

Dr Surrey recommended we only transfer 1 embryo. He made sure we understood all the risks and benefits of transferring more than one. We elected to do chromosomal testing on our embryos and we felt comfortable transferring the one with the highest grading.

I have only had two appointments with him as I'm in the early stages. I just completed the pre-work up. He spent a fair amount of time with us in the regroup- He is very personable and tries to answer your questions.

One thing that was disappointing was we had asked if he could write down what we discussed in our regroup and he said he would not be able to do that. It was complicated information and I was not trusting my memory. I guess be prepared to take notes before you leave the office

I really do like Dr Surrey as he has a great bedside manner and answered many questions- however, the clinic itself is very impersonal. I am in the beginning stages and have just completed all of my pre-work up- so we'll see how the rest goes

Because I am 45, and have low egg reserve , this doctor wanted me to have three retrievals. This put the cost up exponentially, almost doubling the initial estimate. The rationale is that they can fertilize all the exit once and then see what we have. However, I did get a second opinion from another clinic and they only wanted to do one egg retrieval at a time. I definitely left feeling confused after visiting both doctors and clinics

The nurses are great in person and I felt were compassionate. However, there were already a few mixups and we are at the initial stages. This makes me concerned. Furthermore, the communication is less than desirable, as they can be Hard to reach.

From what I hear the clinic has an amazing lab, which is a good reason to go here. The clinic is comfortable and large and seems like they have very good equipment. However, it is impersonable and it feels very disorganized to me . One time I sat in the wrong place waiting for my procedure- and sat for a very long time. When I asked if I should be there, I was told yes I was in the right place. Then after 45 minutes, I checked in again and was told I was in the wrong spot. A similar thing happened another Time as well. It feels like they have no idea who is sitting in there waiting room. I was also talk to Rudely when I was told I had to do a procedure I was not expecting I needed to pay $700 that day. I asked if I could speak to a nurse or someone that can explain to me what this procedure was and was told that a nurse was unavailable, and if I were to speak to a doctor today, I would have to pay a fee to talk to them. It was very frustrating. I finally got a hold of a nurse after asking a million questions to the front desk person as to why I had to do this procedure. In the end, I did not have to do the procedure at all .

This is the most expensive clinic in the state. When comparing to other clinics, it is significantly more expensive. Also, my treatment plan that was laid out for me and it up doubling my cost. Another provider had a different treatment plan that was much more inexpensive

Dr. Surrey was fantastic. He called me when there was something important to discuss, or if he knew I might have further questions about something. He had a great bedside manner, but was always straight forward as well.

Be prepared to be told exactly how it is.

I went to Dr. Surrey two times. The first time was in 2010 and resulted in a pregnancy. I went back in 2016 to see what my chances were for a second baby. Dr. Surrey remembered me, my husband, and our case very well. I realize he had all of our information in file, but he had an incredible bedside manner without giving us any false hope. He was very matter of fact about our chances with my eggs and what it would take to get pregnant again.

I remember he added saizen to the protocol. That was the only hormone I had not taken in my previous cycles.

My nurse was wonderful. Everyone was always incredibly optimistic and compassionate.

The clinic is beautiful, clean, and well managed once you become a patient. You are in and out quickly but without feeling rushed (you aren’t waiting in the waiting room for very long at all, but they take their time with you during your appointment). When you go for your initial one day work up, however, you will most definitely feel like you are being shuffled around and just “another patient.” It’s not that they aren’t kind, but you definitely don’t feel like a priority. The nurses and doctors are great, but the front desk staff always seemed a bit overwhelmed.

I had a surgery that would have cost $10,000 but they convinced my insurance to pay for half, so it was $5,000. The IVF with medications totaled to about $15,000. The one day work up was around $5,000.

At the time, he didn’t have much of a preference and let me decide. He recommended two. I’m sure those ideas have changed in the past few years though.

He made sure he explained everything thoroughly and even told us “I’m going to always be completely honest” and we appreciated that. I would recommend him to anyone and already have. Unfortunately we had a failed IVF attempt from a previous doctor, so Surrey was the second RE we saw. After the testing phase, he gave us his recommendations to peruse a treatment cycle and selected the best “protocol” for me. Care was definitely individualized and he suggested a few extra steps to increase our chances of having successful embryo growth. We have 6 more embryos frozen at CCRM and plan to use Dr Surrey again in the near future for frozen embryo transfer.

Dr. Surrey is very honest and will tell you his professional opinion. He is very caring and compassionate and is one of the kindest doctors I’ve had a chance to work with.

Dr. Surrey was amazing. Very kindhearted and stated facts. He called after hours to congratulate us on our confirmed pregnancy. And also called after hours once we made it through 12 weeks gestation to wish us good luck on the rest of our journey. I cannot find words to describe how wonderful he is.

Protocol to increase number to eggs-decreased egg reserve; Endometrial biopsy prior to egg retrieval to use tissue in culture medium that embryos were going to be placed. This will help stimulate a natural environment in hopes that we will have successful embryo development (We uSed a different doctor for first treatment cycle which resulted in 0 embryo development)

Colleen was excellent and communicated very well. She also helped us with the cost of meds by giving us donated meds to help decrease medication cost.

I enjoyed all the clinical staff. The nurses and embryologists were great. I felt comfortable with all procedures performed. The only thing I wish was better was the communication with the billing department. When I called and left a messaged I received an email saying she was too busy to return calls. I did however, get my questions answered.

Cost was more then previous RE doctor, but worth it.

We had several “A” quality embryos. Dr. surrey recommended single embryo transfer. My husband and I elected to transfer 2 embryos just in case. We are currently due in 6 weeks with one baby.

When we met with Dr. Surrey, he was polite and informative. He didn't go over a ton of detail, but answered questions when they had them. I would say, I wish he would have given me more information up front about a lot of things.

Make sure to do your research and come with questions, especially if you like to be told as much information as possible.

I only spoke with Dr. Surrey 3 times. Once at our first appointment, once at a follow up, after the 4 failed IUIs, and once during a hysteroscopy. I did not feel like he saw me as a number, it was more the overall of the office. They didn't even know my name and I had been there at least once a week for 6 months...

We did 1 IUI with 50 mg of clomid, 1 with 100mg of clomid, and 2 with 75mg of letrozole. We switched to letrozole when my lining thinned out from the clomid.

Colleen was informative, and gave information when asked. For the most part, she brushed over things and said "This is how we do things". I did like Colleen, but don't know that she really listened and understood me.

Overall, I felt like a number to this clinic. I literally went there every week for 6 months and the same 3 people at the front desk did not know who I was. I didn't think they were compassionate towards people struggling with infertility. Also, there was one time that the phlebotomist tried to talk to me about my insurance and got my hopes up for something, but the front desk agreed with me that the phlebotomist was wrong. It was really hard to get my hopes up that there would be some coverage, and then have them torn away.

Each IUI was about $1400 including all meds, since we were 100% out of pocket. The testing on the One Day Workup got kicked back with my deductible, so we are still receiving random bills... I haven't been back to them since December.

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Dr. Surrey was fantastic. To some degree I think he took a bit for granted that my husband and I knew or understood more than we did at times, but if we asked him to slow down or asked questions, he was quick to adjust. Again, I knew that Eric Surrey didn't know me personally, but when we were meeting with him, it felt like we were the patients that mattered and that he was well versed in our specific situations. In terms of my expectations around meeting with a doctor at a large clinic, Dr. Surrey exceeded them in every way.

Write down questions ahead of time or as you are given explanations and don't be afraid to ask them. There's no reason to leave an appt. with Dr. Surrey unclear about next steps or anything he said.

I recognize that Dr. Surrey wouldn't know my details if we ran into each other on the street, but every time he talked to my husband and myself it felt like he was talking directly to us and our situation. I didn't feel like he was giving us canned responses or recommendations. In addition, when we went through an ectopic pregnancy, he treated us with compassion and understanding. Like he truly cared.

For IUIs, I believe the drug protocol was Letrozole + Trigger Shot + Progesterone suppositories. He preferred letrozole to Clomid because I had been on Clomid prior to the IUIs and did not see success. For the Egg Retrieval, I struggle to remember the exact drugs I took, but it was a fairly standard starting point...I don't think anything was specifically custom to my situation, since we were unexplained. For the Transfer, I started with a bit of birth control. I then moved onto using a steroid pill of some sort I think. For the bulk of it, I was on Progesterone Suppositories (twice a day), Estrogen Patches (worked up to 4 patches every other day), and Progesterone In oil injections (0.5 units) every other day. After labs were drawn at some point, they decided to increase the PIO injection to 1 unit every other day, and add in estrogen pills.

Katie was nice and helped me through the steps. She returned calls and answered questions. I felt like she could have been a bit more friendly or involved, but I know she also has a lot of patients, so it's very hard. There was some issue early on in my treatment. I had a Nurse (Kim) who was nice enough. She ended up leaving though and while I was notified she left, I was never notified of who my nurse was going to be. There was never an appt. set up so I could meet my new nurse or anything like that. I felt lost for a little while which was not a fun feeling.

CCRM is a large clinic. That is a strength and may be seen as a weakness to some. You are not going to get a ton of 1:1 time with your doctor. And there may be times you have to remind your doctor or nurse of something. You need to be your own advocate and ask a lot of questions and point out anything that seems weird to you. But, they are among the best in this field and they always made me feel comfortable. The nurses and front-desk staff are so nice and friendly. I went to the Rose location in Denver and the woman (Ruby) who took my blood was phenomenal. She rarely left a mark, was always super quick, but most important was so nice. Her smile was the best in the middle of this terrible infertility journey. As long as you know what you are getting into with a large clinic, I think it's a fantastic place to be treated. I would never hesitate to recommend it to anyone needing treatment. And honestly, with how large it is, I think it would be possible for them to be WAY more impersonal than they are. They did a great job of making me feel valued and important when I was talking to someone.

It was a lot. CCRM is expensive and everything was out of pocket. I honestly have no idea what the total was.

Dr. Surrey recommended a single embryo transfer given our age and the unexplained nature of our infertility. I appreciated his candor and recommendation, and that's what we went with.

He reviewed my previous IVF cycle and tried to make it better for my second try. We are currently doing a third IVF and he has completely changed the protocol which is good. I am hoping for better results. He has always been very friendly and has a great sense of humor.

He is very direct and sure of what he wants to proceed with and that is something that I appreciate. On the other hand, he is also open to suggestions in the protocol and always listened to what I had to say.

He is very attentive and answers all questions. I have also been in contact with my nurse who contacts him and gets answers very quickly. He also manages all of his own patients even though he is in a large group of physicians.

The first IVF cycle with him was my second overall. I was on a normal responder protocol with suppression using birth control pills for one month, followed by stims (Gonal f, menopur, dexamethasone and cetrotide) I had a double trigger with that cycle. We retrieved 9 eggs, 4 mature, 2 blasts, one normal per testing. My first cycle we had 12 eggs, 4 mature and non were normal....so the second cycle was an improvement. I am about to undergo my third retrieval in 3-4 weeks.

I absolutely love my nurse. She is totally on top of it and always returns my phone calls the day of. She has also explained the protocols to me and the thinking behind meds etc. If she is every unsure of something, she contacts DR Surrey and gets me a definite answer. She is really a great nurse.

This clinic is extremely well organized. You do kind of feel like just a number at times because it is like a factor - HOWEVER, my doctor and nurse have not given off this feeling. The location is very easy to find and everything is in ONE building which is great for the embryos. The weaknesses include the higher price and the fact that there lab only takes one insurance. I have to pay everything out of pocket and it is getting very expensive.

Initial work up is around 4,000-5,000 dollars 23,000 for first IVF cycle - includes PGS testing 15,000 for second IVF cycle - includes PGS testing

I have not transferred yet.

After having 3 local RE's tell us our only hope was donor eggs we went to CCRM. Eric Surrey was honest and upfront that our chances were slim but he was willing and able to help us at least try. We ended up getting 3 great embryos. Our first transfer failed and he was compassionate yet optimistic for the next one. Our second transfer took and he was so excited for us, unfortunately after we were released from CCRM we had a 2nd trimester miscarriage. In our talks with Dr. Surrey now he has come with great options to try again with either trying to transfer into me again or a gestational carrier. I have CCRM to thank for giving me even the option of using my own eggs. Every step of the way from the nurses, to the front desk ladies to the lab techs and everyone in the operation area, they are all top-notch professionals. I cannot recommend CCRM and Dr. Surrey enough. You are in gentle, caring, empathetic, professional hands with them.

CCRM is expensive and the processing is daunting and scary. Trust them. They are a world class research facility in the top of their field, they won't steer you in the wrong direction. I would (and probably will) do it all again with them in a heartbeat.

I have a very difficult diagnosis and Eric Surrey wanted to be the only Dr at CCRM to help us because it was so difficult. He has kept to that promise. He was excited and optimistic in the good times and compassionate in the hard times. He was also very honest in our chances and never gave us false hope.

I don't remember the specific type of protocol for my retrieval, but we did clomid, final-f, menopure, cetrotide, and triggered with Lupron. Dr Surrey went pretty aggressive as I only have one ovary and at 31 have poor quantity and quality eggs. We ended up with 3 great quality embryos to freeze out of the 7 they retrieved. It may sound like a small number but the percentages are amazing with what we were working with. Transfer we used birth control, lupron, endometrian, progesterone injections, vivelle estrogen patches and an oral estrogen. My lining did really well on this.

I spoke with Amy 90% of the time and another nurse only 10% of the time, which I like as Amy knew what was going on with me. I spoke to Amy 2-3 times a week if not more. She was always informative and took the time to answer my millions of questions. She would also consult Dr. Surrey and get right back to me if needed.

This place is amazing. Top notch, research facility, and highly regarded in the US for their field. My only negative is that they are very busy all the time so sometimes you have a little wait.

CCRM is very expensive. The first day initial work up was around $5,000, then the upfront cost for egg retrieval and first transfer was about $15,000 and then optional (which we did) CCS (genetic testing) for up to 10 embryos was $8,000. Medications were not included in this price which was about $6,000 for the retrieval and $1,500 for each transfer.

Dr Surrey only allowed us to do 1 embryo at a time as I only have half a uterus and the risk of twins was too risky. We did genetic testing and they really don't recommend transferring multiples when you know you have good embryos- we agree with their methods.

I felt he was very knowledgeable, warm, and friendly. I only saw him twice I believe. We did a FET with our 1 remaining untested embryo from our IVF cycle in 2015. We had it shipped from IL to CO for the transfer. When the transfer failed the Doctor called me personally to tell me it failed. It was nice for him to reach out.

I wish I would have asked more questions on the likelihood of it working. With an untested embryo with a 35 year old egg I guess our chances weren’t very high. We were disappointed and didn’t feel prepared for it not to work.

Maybe because we weren’t going through a full IVF cycle but just transferring an embryo but I dont even remember my nurse. I do feel like we were given a bunch of information but it was all contained and sent through a portal. It felt kind of cold vs having direct email access to my nurse

I don’t have access to my paperwork, I must not have saved it and it was sent via the portal.

They answered questions within 24 hours via the portal. I had several nurses that would respond which made it a little confusing. My preference is to have 1 main contact.

A big weakness in my opinion is you are forced to use their in-house lab. Although I initially thought this was a benefit, very few insurance companies are covered under their lab. We ended up paying far more than we needed to. The clinic is nice, large, and well organized.

As mentioned earlier, their lab where they require all testing was not covered under our insurance when most places were. We didn’t find that out until we were too far down the path to turn back. I remember a hefty consultation fee as well, it was significantly higher than most.

Strengths: Bedside manner, knowledge, experience Weaknesses: Too many patients to really dive deep into someone's medical history, too busy to easily set up a meeting, no one explains the long term side effects of multiple IVF cycles/high doses of medications

Be sure you know every piece of your medical history, medication doses, and lab results. Don't rely on the doctor to know all of this.

The doctor has good bedside manner and seems to care, but at the same time, he has so many patients that it's hard for him to remember every specific case. His first recommendation for treatment was a protocol that I had already tried unsuccessfully and I had to remind him of this. He then agreed his original protocol wouldn't work. If a patient didn't remember their medical history, or didn't feel comfortable objecting to a doctor's recommendation, they would have not received the proper care.

The antagonist protocol was used because my lab results were all very good. ICSI and IMSI were used for male factor infertility. None of my embryos made it to Day 5.

My nurse was on top of my cycle and I felt that she really cared. Having a good nurse can make this process so much easier. She never acted like I was bothering her. She only forgot to call in one RX, but apologized to me. If my nurse was out of the office, one of her colleagues would get back to me if I had any concerns.

CCRM is very organized and almost every person who works there is so kind. I have only ever spoken to one nurse who seemed to hate her job and treated me like a child (I'm so glad I only had to talk to her once!). You have to make sure you follow up on everything- labs, medications, pharmacies, payments, etc. The one huge weakness is the business office. They are very hard to get a hold of. It is extremely stressful when your payment is due in 5 days and they won't call you back. They only call you back if you say "I want to make a payment." They do not follow up on insurance claims and always blame the insurance company. They make mistakes on how much money they need to reimburse patients and you will only get your money back if you stay on top of everything. They require you to prepay even though the insurance company says you should NOT prepay for services. I have spoken with many other patients who get incorrect bills. The business office told them that the bill was sent in error because they don't always check to see if you've already paid for a service prior to sending a bill.

Ultrasounds for monitoring $ 1,000 Nurse Patient Coordination Fee (not billable to insurance)$ 1,175 Nurse Patient Coordination Fee (not billable to insurance done w/FET) $500 Retrieval of oocyte by physician $ 1,177 Transfer of embryo by physician $925 Ultrasound for retrieval $200 Ultrasound for transfer (done with FET) $200 Surgical Suite for retrieval (out of network) $3,279 Surgical Suite for transfer (out of network-done with FET) $1,005 Anesthesia: $475 Labs: $ 1,775 Sperm Isolation w/semen analysis $615 IVF-Lab-Oocyte identification $615 IVF-Lab Culture and fertilization $1,516 IVF-Transfer prep (done with FET) $615 Hatching or Blastocyst $925 Thawing of embryo (done with FET) $1,000 Embryo biopsy $1,600 Genetic Consult (not billable to insurance) $350 Fertility Genetics - CCS testing on embryos (not billable to insurance) $1,700 Embryo Freezing $975 ICSI $2,836 IMSI $525

I have not completed a transfer with this doctor.

Doctor Surrey is both compassionate and straightforward. He took his time to fully run every test and while it took a long time, i knew I was getting the best care. He made many recommendations but still left the door open for us to make decisions. We followed all of his advice. He genuinely cares about each couple he treats

Be patient. As an infertile couple we were so anxious for results. Everything took WAY longer than expected. Cycles were long, tests took time, the protocol changed and took longer. But it is all for good reason and we got results!!

Our care was personal and treatment was tailored directly to our diagnosis. Dr Surrey and the nurse team took their time to thoroughly explain everything throughout the process. They left no stone unturned

We originally were going to do one IVF cycle. At the time of retrieval there were not many fertilized eggs and we decided to expand to a three cycle retrieval protocol per Surrey's recommendation. After the third retrieval we opted for PGS testing due to my poor egg quality. This was also strongly recommended. We had certainty at he time of our transfer that our embryo was genetically normal and would have second guessed ourselves if it didn't take.

While you have a designated nurse and a primary doctor, you will see many different people. Our doctor did not actually perform any of our procedures however everyone takes very good care of you! They are thorough and it takes time for tests and protocols but that is why they have such a great reputation!

The preliminary tests seemed endless and the costs added up. We went for the Rolls Royce of treatment plans and had three consecutive retrievals with a freeze all as well as PGS testing. I think the package was $50K, meds not included.

Because of PGS we felt a single transfer was a good choice. We could always come back for a second transfer if it didn't work.

Dr. Surrey is very warm and patient. Our case went from straightforward (male factor) to more complicated than expected (I had a different reaction to a standard stim protocol than expected), and rather than treating that as a fluke, he changed my next stim protocol and had me more closely monitored as a result.

Less related to the doctor himself, but more the clinic/nurses: don't hesitate to reach out again to the nursing line, rather than just your individual nurse, if you haven't heard back. My first stim cycle, I expected my nurse to be following me more closely, especially since it was my very first cycle, but by my second cycle, I knew that things may fall through the cracks and was more proactive about communication that was urgent.

CCRM has a large patient volume, and I know each nurse carries a heavy load. Though sometimes we had nurses who were not as proactive or responsive as we expected/hoped (and we did have 3 different nurses over the course of 2 years of treatment there), Dr. Surrey was always kind and patient, and very open to our questions during meetings with him. After I miscarried a CCS-tested embryo that turned out to have a trisomy (very rare there, I was told I was one of very few documented cases at CCRM), he met with us and arranged a meeting with the head of genetics at CCRM, expressed deep sympathy, and even offered some financial relief for our next transfer.

My first ever IVF cycle was with CCRM. We had a male factor diagnosis, so I was on a standard (OCP antagonist) protocol. I did not respond as expected (stimmed too quickly, progesterone spiked), and we could not proceed with a day 5 fresh transfer as planned. We froze all and elected to do CCS testing because of that. 2/4 5-day embryos were "normal," one was transferred, and unfortunately I had a missed miscarriage discovered at about 13 weeks. We did testing of the fetus and he had a trisomy. We had extensive follow-up with our local genetic counselor and CCRM (Dr. Surrey and the genetics department), and learned that it was likely due to an undetected mosaic embryo. We decided to do another retrieval rather than a transfer of our remaining embryo. This time, Dr. Surrey changed my protocol (PAL protocol, which I understand is for high responders/PCOS patients, though I don't have a PCOS diagnosis). He also asked for daily monitoring starting earlier, and I believe started Ganirelix earlier as well. I responded much better to this cycle: we had 12 5-day embryos (versus 4), and 7 came back CCS normal. I transferred 1 of these and it resulted in a healthy pregnancy and live birth. My daughter is 18 months old now. We will go back for another FET in another year or so.

I think the nursing staff has heavy caseloads and, at least when we were there, there seemed to be a fair amount of turnover (we had 3 nurses in 2 years of care). I got much more comfortable following up with the general nursing line when I hadn't heard back from my individual nurse. I felt I had to be pretty proactive - for example, following up to make sure care and test/ultrasounds were being coordinated with my local monitoring clinics and CCRM (this was somewhat complicated by my needing to use 3! different labs/clinics for various testing, as my home clinic - Kaiser - wouldn't do outside monitoring). Honestly, I expected and hoped that my nurse would be more on top of things. I do think it varies by individual nurse - my first nurse (no longer works there) was unfortunately the least organized and communicative, which was hard because it was my first ever IVF cycle, and I was afraid I wouldn't know enough to be on top of everything.

The strengths of this clinic are definitely their doctors and lab. I'm so glad and grateful that we decided to are were able to pay more and start treatment here. We were advised by our local doctors that we weren't a difficult case and that we could have success locally, and that may have been true, but after my first cycle it became clear that it wasn't as straightforward as expected, and I feel very lucky that my protocol was adjusted for the second cycle and we had success. This is an aside, but I also appreciated being "out of town" for retrieval and transfer, so that normal life was put on hold during those trying times. But coordinating care when you're not a local patient is definitely an added layer of stress. Weaknesses that I experienced (especially in 2014-2015) were inconsistency and communication issues with nursing staff - patient should be prepared to be pretty organized and proactive.

I think cost of 2 retrievals, 2 rounds of CCS testing, and 2 FETs, plus medication and local monitoring costs (all out of pocket) was close to $50,000.

Dr. Surrey encouraged eSET both transfers, due to my age and history, risks of multiples, and transferring CCS-tested embryos. We agreed.

Dr. Surrey is upbeat and clear in his communication style. He makes sure everyone is on the same page and ready for the next step. He is professional, transparent, and approachable. He has a reassuring bedside manner. Dr. Surrey is thorough and attentive to you as an individual patient.

I think all infertility patients probably come prepared on their end, and you can expect that he will also be prepared from his end. He will add a voice of reason and hopefully also give you something to laugh about in this crazy journey!

During our regroups both my husband and I always felt like our medical history had been reviewed and that we were engaged in a true conversation with Dr. Surrey.

We started with a PAL antagonist protocal which lead to the successful retrieval of our eggs. A few days after the retrieval my levels were tested and it was safe for us to proceed with a fresh embryo transfer, which resulted in the pregnancy of our oldest child. When she was 13 months old we initiated the process for a frozen embryo transfer. The frozen transfer resulted in the pregnancy of our son who is now 13 months old. During both pregnancies we followed the standard medication protocalls up to I think 9 weeks gestation.

During our egg retrieval and first transfer our nurse was upbeat and organized, although something happened with our scheduling and while we were driving to the clinic for the transfer she called to inform me that a different doctor would b handling my transfer...this wasn't ideal in our eyes although you are notified that anyone could be doing your transfer (it just felt like a scheduling snafu on her part at the last minute). When we arrived we expressed our concerns and Dr. Surrey actually made a point to come and do my transfer which was very relieving. During our second frozen transfer experience our nurse was fine, I just never felt connected to her, and due to her schedule would sometimes receive communication from other nursing staff, again fine just didn't feel like she really "owned" us as patients.

We chose this clinic because of their high success rates. I would choose to go back again, as we have personally had great success there. Its a high price but has been absolutely worth it for us. I feel 100% confident in the labs handling of our embryos. The reception staff, ultrasound nurses, and venipuncturists have always been pleasant and we have had a good on site experience on our couple of visits to the clinic.

You would think I'd have this burned into my brain! Our frozen transfer was about $6,000 for the transfer itself, but if you add medication, travel, and out of state monitoring we spent about $10,000. Our retrieval and transfer was about $20,000.

We absolutely were provided with research and statistics as well as having a conversation with Dr. Surrey about eSET. In the context of our medical background, ESET was his suggested route, and we agreed for both of our transfers.

Dr. Surrey had good bedside manner, however it felt like he just applied the same plan to you without actually reviewing your history. For example was not clear of the medications I had taken during a previous cycle and had to stop half way through describing next steps because it changed the plan. Seemed to do extensive labs that weren't always indicated. Didn't know whether he had prescribed trigger shots or not.

Make sure you are aware of each step and ask lots of questions. Question why you are doing things and review everything without assuming that he is aware of previous or current treatment.

Very busy clinic where support staff didn't know patients very well. Felt like you were part of a factory walking from one part to the next without individualization

1) IUI with clomid and ovedrel. Dr. Surrey felt the work up didn't explain our infertility enough, so that starting with less invasive would be okay. Produced a chemical pregnancy - ?maybe. He called it a chemical pregnancy and ordered more labs then as we were starting the next cycle remembered I did a trigger shot and that could have explained the very very low b-hcg. 2) Repeat same plan. Negative

Very poor communicators. Unable to get ahold of my assigned nurse directly. Would take 2-3 messages over 1-2 days to get a call back. Lacked empathy with negative test results - left voicemails and then just referred us to the in house counselor. When cycle was cancelled last minute put blame on us for something they missed. Would say they would call to set up next cycle or next re-group and never called.

Very nice and fancy building. Have a Central Denver Office - but Dr. isn't there very often so have to drive to the suburbs for most of your care. Care costs more than other clinics and it appears a lot of that money is going towards a fancy building.

Meeting Dr. Surrey was intimidating because my husband and I were just coming to understand what our fertility issues were. However, he was vey clear with what our issues were and that we would never be able to naturally conceive a child (that was his bluntness, but I really appreciated that moment of truth). He indicated that we were perfect candidates for IVF. We got all the "checkboxes" checked, T's crossed and i's dotted and I went in for a lining check before retrieval. As it turns out, I had a cyst. Dr. Surrey's favorite nurse (I was not a fan) said we would have to cancel the retrieval. I demanded to speak to Dr. Surrey - so he came to see me, performed the ultrasound again to confirm a cyst and said he could drain it on the spot. THANK GOODNESS he came to the ultrasound room. Shortly after that, he performed our only retrieval. He was gentle, and kind. He knew I was afraid of needles but assured my husband and I they would take good care of me while in retrieval. SUCCESS! Our first IVF cycle was a fresh transfer, so 5 days later, we were back in his office for a transfer. He recommended transferring only one embryo, but told me I could convince him to transfer 2, which we did. Shortly thereafter, it was confirmed that I was pregnant, and my numbers looked like twins! Unfortunately, my numbers started dropping just a few days later. As it turns out, we lost one embryo but were still pregnant with the other. Dr. Surrey called all the time to tell us the good and bad news. We are forever grateful for Dr. Surrey because we now have a beautiful 2 year old son, Ethan. When Ethan was born, we sent Dr. Surrey a birth announcement. He wrote us a letter back and called us congratulating us. In 2017, we did 2 transfers with Dr. Surrey again. He was hesitant the second transfer because he wanted me to lose some weight first, but didn't argue with me. I wish I had listened to him. It was hard to hear that I should lose weight, but he was telling me what was best for all of us. We had a successful transfer in June 2017 and were pregnant with 1 embryo. Again, he was very congratulatory. Unfortunately, we miscarried at 5 weeks. Dr. Surrey was the on-call doctor when I was having my miscarriage late one night. I was SO VERY thankful that it was him that answered the phone. He stayed calm and tried to calm me down with specific instructions until I could see them in the morning. Dr. Surrey was upset along with us when it was confirmed via ultrasound that we had, in fact, lost our baby. We told him we were not giving up and to see us in a couple of months. In October 2017, we did another round of IVF and transferred 2 embryos. Unfortunately, neither embryo took, and Dr. Surrey was on the phone with me very shortly afterward to talk about the path forward. We talked multiple scenarios and he provided his recommendation until we agreed on a path forward. In my opinion, Dr. Surrey KNOWS what he's doing. He is very good at his job. He will always tell you what the best path forward is, but will offer other scenarios and tell you the risks associated with everything. I feel like he's a good listener, is understanding, compassionate, blunt, and is willing to work with you. He is honest, and that carries so much weight.

Dr. Surrey will be blunt, and it might hurt to hear the truth (initially), but he knows what he's doing.

I felt like a human because after our son was born I 2015, Dr. Surrey called us to congratulate us. When we started back up with IVF in 2017, Dr. Surrey met our son. At both FETs in 2017, he asked how our son was, BY NAME!

Before each cycle, I took a low-dose birth control pill. After that, the meds were basically the same. Endometrin, Vivelle, Lupron, Progesterone in oil, Medrol, Doxycycline. We had success twice (IVF) with this protocol, but not the third IVF cycle. My cycle started with Lupron 10u/day until I started my Endometrin and Medrol and Doxycycline. I was on 1 patch of Vivelle every other day for 8 days and then it increased one patch every other day until told to stop. I started the Progesterone in Oil 0.5 mg every other day in the morning 5 days before the transfer. Again, I was told to continue all medications until specifically instructed to change or stop.

I was not a big fan of my first IVF transfer nurse, Helaine. She didn't call in the birth control before my pharmacy closed for the weekend, and she didn't call in enough to get me on the right schedule. Then, when we were suffering our miscarriage, she was basically telling us that we should brace ourselves for losing both embryos. She also said it was not typical for first-time IVFers to get pregnant. Thankfully, she left CCRM before my next transfer in June 2017. I loved that nurse - gosh I wish I remembered her name. She was on the ball - always calling me back when I had a question just to let me know she got my message, even if she didn't have the answer yet. But, she ended up leaving CCRM right after our miscarriage. For our last transfer, they were still trying to figure out what nurse was assigned to us. So, I ended up talking to and seeing multiple nurses. It was hard because some nurses were super sweet and took their time talking to me and answering my questions. Other nurses seemed to be in a hurry and sometimes short with me on the phone if I had questions.

The doctor's are the strengths at CCRM. I believe they are all infertility specialists and have something unique to bring to CCRM and their patients. If you're not happy with one doctor at CCRM, ask to see another doctor.

All monitoring appointments are in the morning, i.e. blood draws and ultrasounds. It was a well-oiled machine. Each person checks in at the desk and then sits and waits for their name to be called. Typically, you never wait longer than 10-20 minutes.

$2856.62 to CCRM, $3401 Fertility Labs of Colorado (FLC), medication typically ran from $1800-$3500 depending on the cycle. I don't remember specifics on what I paid for each blood draw or ultrasound.

Dr. Surrey always recommended to me that I only transfer 1 embryo. He said there is less risk involved later in a pregnancy if I were to be pregnant with a singleton vs. multiples.

Dr. Surrey was always warm and compassionate through the process. Prior to even going to CCRM, he read over my case and answered all my questions in the phone consult, and then, after our one day work up, he presented me and my husband a clear path forward. He explained any changes in thought processes he had (e.g., change of protocol, change of our chances), and he didn't force family building plan on us because he was concerned that our odds were pretty low. He reassured me at the regroup prior to egg retrieval that he would be watching my case even though we were nearing the end of stimulation over a weekend. It's a good thing he was because I almost ovulated and had to do an immediate trigger shot with egg retrieval the next morning. Luckily, all the eggs were still there! He called the deliver the good news that we had two normal embryos out of the six. At the time of transfer, he was very professional, and he must have done something right because we have our son!

CCRM is a big practice, so don't be afraid to be your own advocate and ask lots of questions. Dr. Surrey will answer them all, and if you are looking for someone with a good balance of compassion and honesty, he is wonderful.

Dr. Surrey was and is warm, kind, and compassionate while also being forthright, firm, and honest. I appreciated both, and my husband really appreciated the honesty. Our previous doctor gave us completely unrealistic odds, so Dr. Surrey's honesty while hard to hear was also helpful.

I primed with estrogen, and I used Lupron, Gonal F, Ganirelix, and a single trigger shot. I was originally scheduled to do a double trigger, but because I almost ovulated, I did the single. At my previous clinic, I had primed with birth control and did an antagonist protocol, but they did not retrieve many eggs though they were tracking 14 follicles that were growing evenly.

My nurse had been with CCRM for several years, and she was confident, organized, compassionate, and funny. She always returned my phone calls and answered multiple anxious questions a week. She was like a therapist and nurse rolled in one! Going through IVF is so stressful, and while I still had to be my own advocate in the system, I wouldn't have been able to do it all without Lainie. She was wonderful!!!

Everyone at the clinic from the administrative staff to billing to medical records is warm and friendly and tries to be helpful. I followed two proverbs... squeaky wheel gets the grease and you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. (They're a bit outdated and cheesy but true.) I never had any problems with getting my questions answered or issues resolved as long as I was kind and assertive. A little human kindness goes such a long way on both ends.

Our insurance paid for most of it, but our out of pocket was $11,000 for the cycle and transfer, plus the cost of medication and travel (since we're from out of state).

My doctor let me choose to transfer one or two, and my husband and I chose one. There were many factors, including potential complications for me and multiples, financial considerations (e.g., high likelihood of bedrest with twins), and inability to stay at home to care for two babies (we both have to work).