Nam Tran

I worked with Dr. Tran to conceive my son via IUI when he was at a different practice. It happened on the first try. I remember being impressed with how realistic and almost sober he was about the expected outcome, but how precise he was with my treatment. And it worked - we got pregnant on our first IUI and had a healthy child. Three years later, after several failed IVF cycles at that same practice in an effort to conceive a second child, I learned that Dr. Tran had actually founded his own practice in the city. I switched and began working with him. We are still in progress with the first IVF cycle at Spring, transferring the embryos from my first retrieval. Unfortunately we have had two frozen transfers that have been unsuccessful so far. I do understand that I have egg quality issues due to age that are limiting my chances of success. However, my previous fertility doctor offered no new ideas after each failure and only suggested that we repeat the same thing over and over. I trust Dr. Tran more to guide us through the process, taking into account each setback and adjusting the approach accordingly. He is very precise and seems to pay attention to each small detail of my hormone levels and responses to different medication, more so than my other doctor. Plus I somehow feel like he is more invested in the success of my outcome. I trust him to do the very best for me.

Dr. Tran is very candid about what a patient can expect from treatment based on age and other contributing factors. His approach is kind but verges on being blunt. I actually appreciate it and prefer it to the vague politeness of my former doctor. However I can see how very sensitive patients who may be new to the process could potentially not respond as well.

Compared to another fertility practice I've worked with, I feel like Dr. Tran understands and empathizes with the person behind the treatment. I think it's why he founded his own practice - to be able to offer a more caring environment to patients who are going through all the trials and tribulations of fertility treatment. He's candid about what results I can expect, but I personally find that more caring than a RE who is vague. He always remembers my name and status of treatment, and makes time to call me back personally when I call the on-call doctor line with a question.

In my successful IUI cycle with Dr. Tran, we used Clomid and a trigger shot injection (can't remember which). I remember thinking that the Clomid dose sounded high and questioning it with the nurse, but obviously it was the right dose because it produced a successful outcome. In my current IVF cycle with Dr. Tran, we used Aygestin, Gonal-F, Menopur and Cetrotide with a Novel trigger shot for the retrieval. We did not do a fresh transfer the first time because my progesterone levels were too high for a successful outcome. With the embryos from that retrieval we've done two frozen transfers with a protocol of birth control pills, Lupron and Vivelle patches. Unfortunately neither have been successful. We have one more embryo to transfer to finish out this cycle.

Compared to my previous practice I've found the nursing team at Spring to be more compassionate, better communicators and more detail-oriented with the medication orders. I've enjoyed working with them. They seem to enjoy what they do.

I appreciate that Spring really does try to provide a boutique fertility clinic experience that counters the experience of being "just a number" that I had at a larger fertility clinic. The atmosphere is welcoming and feels like a healing environment. I feel calmer there than I did at my previous clinic, and I've felt calmer and more cared for during the procedures. Everyone I've interacted with so far has been nothing but professional. The billing team has been very professional and proactive, giving me a much better sense of the financial commitment of each treatment up-front.

My IVF retrieval was approximately $12,000, and each transfer has been approximately $3750 (with a self-pay discount).

When we were with our former practice, we insisted on transferring one embryo at a time because we want to avoid twins. Dr. Tran on the other hand educated us up-front on the statistical probabilities of different outcomes for me. It helped my husband and I see that due to our ages, transferring single embryos is unlikely to result in a successful outcome. When explained in terms of the statistics, this helped us get more comfortable with transferring several embryos at one time.

Dr. Tran is an excellent clinician and scientist. He is well-informed in his craft, careful, and practices strong, evidence-based medicine. I trust him completely to get the best outcome for us, and I feel very secure that I'm getting the best treatment I can from him. I also think he is sensitive to patients' resources, and doesn't recommend a lot of extra bells and whistles if he doesn't think they're necessary. That said, he is lukewarm about newer treatments (ERA, HGH) because they don't have as much evidence behind them, and if you're looking for a kitchen-sink approach, he may not give you what you want (or he may only do so after you do some convincing of him yourself). He is not the strongest on bedside manner (which doesn't matter to me), but if you're looking for a warm-and-fuzzy doctor type, you might consider one of the other doctors at the practice. He is also incredibly busy, so don't expect him to spend a ton of time with you. That said, I felt like I got all the time I needed to have good care (just not one second more).

Go in to appointments with a list of questions ready. He will answer them, but you need to be prepared to know what you want out of the visit. I even went into monitoring appointments with a single question on a post-it so I could be ready to ask him as I was getting an ultrasound!

Tran is not a touchy-feely type, but I still always felt like he was giving me care directed at me, specifically. He is very aware of the extreme fertility hardships faced by me and and my husband (azoospermia), and is sensitive to that and tailors his recommendations to our specific situation. He remembered what it is I do for work, my thoughts on my particular diagnosis, and even that I like to see the follicle measurements on the screen after a scan-- small things that make me feel like he cares about me, even if he is very, very, very busy and moving very fast.

Dr. Tran started me with a mid-luteal start antagonist protocol, which he seems to really like, especially for DOR patients. This involves having a baseline 5 days after you ovulate, then you do a standard antagonist protocol (Gonal-F and Menopur, with Cetrotide added 5-7 days in). The rationale behind this protocol, as I understand it, is to catch the antral follicles before they start to develop at the beginning of your next cycle. I had expected results for my biology, and I am using the exact same protocol for my second cycle, but with a controlled start after a short course (10-day) of birth control.

Spring has an excellent nursing staff. They are very communicative, and respond quickly to my calls and emails with the information I need. I sometimes worry they're a little overworked, because I've had a few completely inconsequential errors happen (calling the same birth control prescription into my local pharmacy twice because she forgot she did it the first time). However, anything that was important was handled flawlessly, and it seems like they've been adding staff to deal with demand.

Spring has a lot going for it. Excellent doctors. Top-notch staff. Gorgeous clinics. Maybe the best lab in California, if not the entire west. I trust them with the most important medical care I've ever received in my life, and that is saying something. They're open seven days a week, and nearly always available (I honestly don't know how they do it!). My only complaint is that they seem almost too busy. Doctors are often rushed (for example, my doctor didn't have time to come back and check on me for even a second after my egg retrieval, which would have been a nice sign of compassion). Occasionally the waiting room is so crowded there is nowhere to sit. Non-urgent appointments can sometimes take a while to schedule. That said, once you're getting treatment from Spring, if you need an appointment, they will make it happen. I just hope they continue to add staff to meet demand, and that they don't take more patients than they can handle.

Egg Cryo Cycle (2018 price) - $8,750; subsequent cycles are 10% off.

Dr. Tran strongly prefers a eSET for me, due to previous surgery on my cervix. He has encouraged us to do PGS testing and to transfer one embryo at a time, when we get there.

Dr. Tran is extremely experienced and well-respected. However, there are times when I didn't understand the drug protocol or certain choices he made and I felt like I had to really push him or the nurse to explain to me what the drugs were supposed to do, why I was being prescribed certain things, if there were risks or side effects with the drugs or procedures. It's important to be vocal with him in order to get questions answered.

Come to the appointment with a list of questions, be prepared to push to get your questions answered. He is respectful of questions but can come off as dismissive. This isn't personal, it's just his manner. He believes in evidence and facts, he isn't swayed by hearsay, paramedical advice and naturopathic solutions.

Dr Tran and his team are very attentive, he is thorough and empathetic. When both FETs failed (one chemical and one negative) he was understanding but upbeat about our potential to get pregnant eventually.

Prior to Spring, I had one live birth (10 yr old daughter) and two miscarriages (at approx 6 weeks). Spring put me through the normal regimen of tests and scans which revealed my right tube is blocked from an appendectomy when I was a teenager. Dr Tran's advice was to try IUI first. We did one IUI which resulted in a negative and another IUI was cancelled as I was ovulating on the side that was blocked. My husband and I decided to proceed more aggressively with IVF (I'm 39, he's 42). Our first retrieval was smooth, we got 6 mature eggs, all fertilized and grew to day 6. PGS, returned 3 normal embryos. We had the option to know the gender but decided not to find out. Dr Tran gave me a 70% chance of live birth. We did two FETs with one embryo each (Spring is firmly against transferring more than one Day 5 PGS tested embryo). Understandably, we were very very disappointed when both failed. One negative and one chemical pregnancy. I pressed Dr. Tran for answers. He didn't see any reason to change the FET protocol. I asked for an ERA, but he disagrees with this procedure. He offered to do an endometrium scratch, which I went through with but don't know that it helped much since the second FET also failed. With only one embryo left, we did some research and asked him to do another retrieval and FET at the same time (something they call a Switcheroo - not the medical term). We're currently heading into our second retrieval. He has prescribed Lupron, the Gonal F/Menopur and Omnitrope.

Allie is very responsive on email and phone. She's compassionate, patient with questions and knowledgeable. She seems to be very well-educated and sensitive to both Dr. Tran and his patients.

Spring SF is in a convenient location, a nice office building and they've created peaceful space. The front desk staff is considerate and organized. The lab is top notch (based on our retrieval results). All of the doctors I've seen there have been excellent - Dr. M, Dr. Klatsky and Ursula.

Retrieval is approximately $17,500 + $5,500 for medication. (Includes PGS testing). FET is approximately $4,500. IUI is approximately $1,500. Saline Ultrasound $950. HSG $900. Endometrium Scratch $300. Office visit $175 (if it's an additional visit)

Dr. Tran was very clear that multiple embryo transfer presents many risks and he'd prefer to only transfer one embryo. We agreed so we didn't ask for more specific information.

Dr Tran was very nice on the first visit. It went thoroughly with us on the treatment possibilities and we felt comfortable in proceeding with IUI treatments. He advised us for me to check the Fallopian tubes to check that was not a reason for infertility and also did an ultrasound to check that my uterus was well. The next time I saw him was during the Fallopian test, he was very kind and give me comfort knowing how uncomfortable and painful the test could be. The first IUI he wasn't available so his collegue performed the IUI, which he was nice, reassuring and careful. I am hoping to see Dr Tran on the next IUI.

Dr Tran was knowledgeable and honest on what to expect from the treatments and very nice to start with. However, if things go wrong as it happens to us, it seems like they have more patients than doctors in the clinic, so their follow up protocols lack in attention, so you have to make sure to follow up when you feel you need answers. Be prepared for the journey to be emotionally draining and don't expect emotional support from Spring.

After our first IUI I didn't get my period for 2 months. I contacted the nurse that was assigned to me from Dr Tran's team at the time to let her know from the beginning that there was something wrong, but there was never a follow up from the nurse or doctor even afterwards after the IUI. After 2 months of us following up and asking what was wrong with us, we had to suggest for them to do test as I was very regular in my periods before the IUI. Then I had to let them know how disappointed and frustrated we were as as went to that clinic specifically as they advertise how they treat patients like human and we felt over the 2 month period. No follow up from Dr Tran or his team was done and we didn't hear from them unless we contacted them. They apologized and promised to be put more attention and follow closely our progress, that is why we decided to carry on with them.

IUI with Clomid. He decided to do IUI vs IVF as he thought it was a good point to start based on our history and the results from the blood and sperm test they run. The IUI was negative and I had a cyst , they told me that Clomid could produce cysts. I also didn't get my period for 2 months. I am in the middle of my 2nd IUI with Letrozole , which I suggested myself as to use something different from Clomid.

I had to point out to the clinic coordinator how I was not feeling care by the nurse I was assigned as she didn't do any follow ups after contacting her couple of times due to my lack of period for 2 months after the first IUI. I asked to get another nurse assigned that could match our needs but they reassured us that in the future she will be more attentive. Dr Tran's Dr assistant , which performs the baseline and follow up ultrasounds was always very nice and attentive.

Strengths: modern and very nice and clean facility . No waiting time they call you in very soon after arrival. Weakness: you have to deal with many people so it gets confusing. You only see Dr Tran on the initial visit and then the rest is managed by coordinators, nurses and doctor assistans so if you are a person that like personal treatment this may not be the best place.

Initial Consultation $560 Blood test /Sperm $100 (with Insurance) Genetic test $1000 IUI $600/IUI Ultrasound $400/ ultrasound

I sought to do one round of egg retrieval/ cryopreservatuon because my insurance doesn’t cover and it is all I can afford. I am 41 years old and have one child who is 1 years old. I am not in a relationship but I want to preserve my fertility for the chance to have a biological child with someone down the road. I was upfront with Dr Tran about my expectations, which are low due to my age. He was honest without being patronizing (as I’d maybe expected?) and he was even optimistic given my healthy prior AMA pregnancy. It should be mentioned that spring’s financing plan is what drew me to the clinic; but once there and after meeting Dr Tran I was very confident I was at the right place.

I think his bedside manner speaks for itself. He is approachable and kind.

From our initial appointment forward, I was struck by Dr Tran’s humility. He seemed to genuinely care and I felt like he was not motivated by money, but actually respectful of my limited finances. I’m not certain of his background (I had been referred by a friend; I only knew he was a great doctor) but I felt that he had a strong work ethic, an empathy, and a consideration for others that I don’t typically associate with doctors.

Dr Tran did a mid-luteal retrieval— I began injections midway into my cycle, so my body was in a suspended state of ovulation when he did the retrieval. As I understand it, this is a new protocol that was previously used in extreme cases (I.e., cancer patients) but has had great results. We did, in fact, get good numbers (10 mature eggs retrieved).

There was a cadre of nurses— I saw a different one each time I camein for blood draws and ultrasounds. Still, I got the impression they all knew my chart and worked in concert. There were only two instances of disconnect/ miscommunication. It was mostly in the phone process. If I needed to call in to make an allotment change, or with a question, I was routed through a tortuous phone system of extensions. In one instance my voicemail message for a changed appointment was never received. Sometimes you just need a live person to pick up the phone— particularly if it’s during business hours. Emails fairedbetter, and I generally received a response within 12 hours of my request.

I liked the clinic because its surgery center is state of the art. It’s waiting room and reception are comfortable and thoughtful without being over-the-top. In a previous clinic, a recent lobby renovation and the building itself - on the waterfront with sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay - was beautiful but made me feel as if my check was helping to fund their real estate rather than my service.

$15k over three years. Financing plan with 0%apr including freezing.

N/a

With my other healthcare professionals, I call him my favorite nerd. He goes into so much detail if you ask questions and explains everything we want to know. He gets excited about how the numbers progress and even has little jokes about what is going on. I really appreciate his approach and expertise in the area. From our first meeting, I knew he was the right doctor for us. He is so knowledgeable and easy to talk to. There aren't many doctors that we interviewed that make you feel comfortable in an IVF clinic. Dr. Tran does that. He just sits back and listens when he needs to and asks probing questions when necessary. When our transfer didn't work, he called to check in and was sympathetic to our needs at that time. He took the time on a Friday night to explain what our next choices were and what we could do vs. what he suggests we do. I feel very well taken care of with Dr. Tran.

Be honest with him. He will, without a second thought, tell you what he thinks. I really appreciate his honesty.

He takes the time to check in and see how we're doing at every appointment. He doesn't EVER seem rushed to move on to another client. He is funny yet also takes the time to explain everything to us.

Dr. Tran is a big believer in "less is more". We had a low dose of Menopur and Gonal-f for our stim cycle. He worked with my teaching schedule to plan our retrieval during my Christmas break. I felt less sick during my IVF cycle than I did on some of my IUI cycles. He would rather get 10 really great mature eggs and have all of them make it to freeze than 20 eggs, and an uncomfortable, broke patient, with similar results. We had a little set back when we began our cycle, I had two cysts and he immediately said it would impact our numbers and he was right. We were originally expecting 14-16 at retrieval. He explained to me how the cysts would impact the cycle and asked me how I would like to proceed. I always let him make the decisions as he's the expert we want to control our cycle. He went along with our cycle and we had 12 follicles, 10 mature, 8 fertilized-freeze. We transferred one at day 5. We still have 7 frozen and are going through a "natural" transfer cycle again on my timelines for spring break. He's amazing!

Although I've only met Allie once at a difficult blood draw day, she was amazing and helpful then and every time I email/call. The rest of the nursing team, especially Susannah (she's who I see most of the mornings), is amazing! They're all there to support you and have a smile on their faces. They reassure you that everything's okay and help you understand when things are not.

Spring has such a great team. They are great at patient support when you're there with them. It has been tough to get ahold of the finance department when we need support, but eventually, we get in touch with them and they're amazing and give you all the information you need. We especially love the transparency of the pricing. There are clear costs up front that allow you to budget and make decisions based on your health and your financial situation up front without having to think about the extra costs that might come up. If we had any recommendations around that it would be to get the med package. It was fantastic to not have to think about how much each vial cost, and when we needed more they supported that process even when the vial costs went up during our cycle.

$14,500 for IVF then a $1000 teacher discount. They handled our medication package which was $3700 since I respond well to meds through Alto so it gets delivered same day. Our current FET costs $3250 with a discount because our previous failed fresh transfer.

Dr Tran is one of the most brilliant doctors I have ever met. He is truly gifted in his area of care. I have several other friends who have seen him and none of us have had the same protocol, yet we have all been successful with him! He is up to date on all the latest advances, and truly treats every patient as an individual. He really assesses each persons situation and comes up with the best protocol to suit them. I always felt that he really cared about me.

He’s super direct, and you should appreciate that about him. He always gives it to you straight. Also, be super straight with him too.

The entire office treated me so well from the front office, the medical staff, the doctors, and the nurses. You never ever feel like you’re just a number. I really felt like they cared so much about me. They always did everything they could to accommodate me. I never waited more than 5 minutes for an appointment, even when I was super early.

We did a straight start with no priming or any kind. For a dor patient like me, he didn’t think priming was necessary, and he was right! I did a cycle at a different clinic with estrogen priming and max meds, and only got 2 embryos. With dr tran, he started me off with medium doses of follistim and menopur, and slowly reduced them as the cycle went on. I ended up with 9 eggs, but got 7 High quality blastocysts!

Allie is such a wonderful and kind nurse. On top of that, she is super competent and organized. I really felt that she cared about me. She is on top of everything and is really great at communication.

I echo all the other reviewers’ sentiments. This place really is like a spa. It’s beautiful, tranquil, and truly up to date on all the latest equipment. I really cannot think of anything negative to say. They’re also open 365 days a year and always available. I trust spring fertility 100%. I’ve referred other friends here as well, and they all end up loving Spring just as much as I do.

Honestly, I still haven’t received my final bill yet.

Dr Tran strongly suggested single embryo transfers, which we agreed was he best option. However, I ended up having 3 failed embryo transfers. I sought immune treatment and also requested to have 2 embryos transferred for my 4th transfer. Although Dr tran still advised us to do a single, he listened to us and went with our decision to do 2. We wanted to do 2 because of the cost and chance of higher success.

I first saw Dr. Tran when he was still practicing at UCSF and I was living in San Francisco. I went in to ask him if I had a fertility issue because I had had two miscarriages and was having very light periods. He assured me that I did not have recurrent pregnancy loss and that I had a lot of follicles so didn't have to worry about timing yet. I was subsequently diagnosed by another doctor in Dallas (where I moved to next) with Asherman's Syndrome (intrauterine scarring caused by a D&C after my first miscarriage). I flew back to San Francisco twice to have Dr. Tran perform hysteroscopies to remove the scarring. After I had my first child and was again diagnosed with Asherman's Syndrome (possibly recurring from a c-section or never fully resolved) and was living in DC at the time, I AGAIN went back to see Dr. Tran for yet another hysteroscopy because I love and trust him so much. I sometimes still wish I lived in San Francisco so I could go see him. He has also consulted with me over email and the phone about my thin uterine lining issues and saw me for an emergency ultrasound when I happened to be in San Francisco during my pregnancy and was having a lot of bleeding. He is my gold standard of doctoring. His office sent our family a holiday card and I put it up on my fridge because I like looking at him. He provided hope to me when a doctor in Dallas told me there was nothing he could do for me and I needed a gestational carrier (in a twist of fate, I am now pursuing the gestational carrier route for a second child!). I really cannot say enough good things about Dr. Tran.

If you don't understand what Dr. Tran is saying, ask him to repeat it or write it down. He actually made me a really cool diagram of what was going on once and I kept it for a long time. He's very patient so don't feel like you can't ask your questions.

Dr. Tran is a wonderful person. I always felt like he remembered everything about my case and was very reassuring. He wrote personal emails to me right away and also was always available to talk. He is very good at being optimistic while also discussing risks and downsides. He gives wonderful patient-initiated hugs.

I think I covered this previously. Dr. Tran has tried to help me over the years with my intrauterine scarring issues (Asherman's Syndrome) and my resulting abnormally thin lining issue. He performed three of the six total hysteroscopies that I have had to date. After the first three hysteroscopies (one from a doctor in Dallas and two from Dr. Tran), I actually conceived my first child (using a protocol set in place by another doctor). Dr. Tran was the doctor who said my lining looked good enough to try getting pregnant again and he was right because I did get pregnant on my first try using injectables and timed intercourse. For baby number two, I am pursuing a gestational carrier because after three more hysteroscopies (one of which was performed by Dr. Tran and two of which were performed by a doctor in New York) and two failed FETs, I am worn out by the whole process and my lining is both abnormally thin and fluid filled - both things that are hard to treat. Plus there are a number of other risk factors from the first pregnancy. In short, results are mixed because I had a successful pregnancy after two hysteroscopies plus estrogen therapy under Dr. Tran's care, BUT I am now pursuing a gestational carrier because I don't think anyone, including Dr. Tran, is able to fix my lining this time.

Everyone at Spring Fertility (and UCSF when Dr. Tran was there) is wonderful. Seriously. It feels like a spa. Everyone is so nice and respectful.

I was a "weird" patient who was traveling from out of state and not going in for routine things like bloodwork and ultrasounds. As I mentioned, the clinic felt like a spa and everyone is really nice and respectful. Can't think of any weaknesses.

Most of my treatments with Dr. Tran were medical treatments covered by my insurance (as opposed to fertility treatments that are often capped or excluded). So the costs were not a big deal. I think my first two hysteroscopies with Dr. Tran were totally covered. My third one was out of network and I think I paid $1,000 for it.

I didn't see Dr. Tran for this issue, but I can tell you that he is pro eSET. My successful pregnancy was a triplet pregnancy resulting from taking injectables plus doing timed intercourse. It was a dichorionic triamniotic triplet pregnancy (identical twins sharing a placenta and a singleton) and Dr. Tran very strongly counseled me to have a multi-fetal pregnancy reduction of the identical twins due to the risks of multiples and particularly multiples in this configuration. So I cannot imagine him promoting multiples! Obviously these questions depend on age and quality of the embryos, but I'm pretty sure he would encourage singletons.

I was referred to him by my acupuncturists who said he deals with the "toughest cases." He is friendly, professional, patient, compassionate, and amazing at his job!!! I had two failed ivf cycles elsewhere. If I had come to him first, I would have saved a lot of time and money. My first cycle with him was a success!! I plan on going back when I'm ready for baby number 2.

They know what they're doing! They are open to your ideas if you have a certain plan in mind, but you can trust them!

Everyone in their office is so friendly and professional! The nursing staff is top notch and always positive. Their office is beautiful and comfortable. Dr Tran will work with you, on your terms, in a way that makes you feel confident. He will let you trybwith your own eggs and not just push donor eggs to up his success rates. But the biggest thing- they sent flowers to me during the tww to send "good vibes during this time". Way different than my first clinic who basically told me my eggs were garbage!

I started letrozole after ovulation for 10 days and did a mini stim cycle to calm down my endometriosis. I was in way less stim meds this cycle and I think that helped my egg quality immensely. We did a fresh 3dt with 3 embryos. One stuck!

She is so nice! Compassionate! Always responded to my emails and voice messages very quickly, and if there was ever an issue- with insurance etc, she handled it quickly

They're a boutique clinic with only two doctors, so you really get specialized care and feel like a VIP. I saw my doctor at every appointment except for one, but they have to have days off! I really doubt he takes very many. I've been to other clinics. To me, they just seem more knowledgeable and more compassionate than the others. They don't have weaknesses. The only issue I had is that the clinic is a 3 hour drive from where I live, but absolutely worth the commute

13,500

He will do one or more depending on the patient's wishes, the quality of the embryos, and the patient's age.

I felt like I was in great hands. I knew he lectured around the world on fertility treatment, so it was clear he understood the science but also genuinely wanted to apply the science and help each patient. He never rushed us during visits and had a good sense of humor, which my husband really appreciated :) He was responsive to my needs, e.g., allowed me to talk to an IVF therapist free of charge after my second failed transfer. I can't recommend him highly enough -- it's hard to be an IVF patient because you're always wondering "will it work?!" but I had a great experience with him and never questioned his care.

Don't hesitate to ask questions; his answers are spot on!

Dr. Tran explained our situation with clarity and compassion during the entire process (retrieval through first trimester, after which I was transferred to OBGYN). My hormone treatment felt very customized and I felt like he was invested in our success, e.g., didn't do a fresh transfer because my hormone levels weren't optimum; waiting was hard, but I trusted his judgement. After two failed transfers, he suggested a uterine scratch because it was worth a shot and wanted me to feel like we were "doing everything we could." When I felt like a failure, he reminded me of the probabilities and the role of genetics (versus what I did or didn't do during the cycle). He was always willing to work with us and we'll be using him again for sure!

Egg retrieval (birth control, Follistim + Menopur, Ganirelix) - 19 eggs --> 6 5-day embryos Frozen egg transfer (birth control, Lupron shots, Vivelle patch, progesterone shots)

Olga was very responsive. She answers lots of my questions about the protocol along the way and assured me I was doing things right.

I worked with Dr. Tran at UCSF and it was a modern, friendly place; I know he's started his own clinic (Spring) and I imagine it's equally nice.

Egg retrieval ~$13,000 Each frozen embryo transfer $3,000-4,000

We loved his approach - patience is a virtue! We really only wanted a singleton (otherwise we could have done hormones + IUIs), and it was tempting to want to transfer two embryos to have success more quickly, but because our embryos were of good enough quality, we stuck with one embryo per transfer and were glad we did -- one baby is plenty of work :)

I think Doctor Tran was actually a great doctor. He was honest and upfront and compassionate. I felt I knew what to expect and I appreciated after both IVFs failed that he was honest about how we probably shouldn't bother to continue and waste money and go through the emotional trauma. My issues are mostly with the clinic and caseload and feeling like a number. He has since left UCSF so not too much to say.

Be prepared to deal with UCSF.

With IVF there were frequent issues with mixing up my file with someone else's, forgetting to send me calendars for cycles, late to phone appointments, mistakes on my calendar (dosage says one thing in print, different in their voicemails). My good friend used the same doctor and nurses and had a very different experience so I think perhaps my expectations were too high. In her case they called her every afternoon with daily blood draw results, etc. In my case, I had to call them for that after not hearing from them. As a doctor in the room with you he and his staff are great, but logistically, I didn't feel like I was getting the care that the epic cost warrants. Doing IUI was even worse, they would wait too long to order the trigger shot and it would be hours of phone time fighting with insurance and the mail-order pharmacy to get the necessary shot mailed to me in time. Way too stressful.

Both IVF cycles I used the Demi-Halt Protocol which seems to be common for women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve. This means definitely no birth control pills, but instead doing 10 unit Lupron injections for a cycle, followed by stims in the next cycle. First IVF I was on 225 Follistim and 150 Menopur. Trigger shot was Pregnyl 10,000 units (I believe with another big dose of Follistim). After stims I was on Progesterone in Oil injections as well as Estrace. I got 6 eggs from that cycle. 5 were mature. They did Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) on all 5 and 4 of them fertilized. We went in for a day 3 transfer and were told that all our embryos stopped dividing except one and it wasn't great quality. We transferred the one and it failed. IVF was the same protocol except we added two things. First, we added Omnitrope injections which can sometimes help with egg quality. Second, we did co-culture which can help with the division issue. Unfortunately, this actually seemed to hurt rather than help. We got 7 eggs, but only 4 were mature. 3 fertilized with ICSI and two of them made it to day 3, but they were of worse quality than our first cycle. Since they were too poor of quality to freeze we ended up transferring both. Again, negative pregnancy test.

Olga was a lovely person and seemed like someone who is HYPER organized but just had too much going on. She'd forget to call me with results, forget to send me the calendar when we scheduled a phone call to review my calendar, and our second cycle seemed to forget we had already done a previous cycle with her (she tried to sign us up for the orientation class). This stuff really upset me because I wanted to feel cared for. I've been with my husband for 19 years and this was our last shot at trying to make a baby (and we delayed even trying because we wanted to get out of debt...this put us back into debt and I wanted to get the very best). Every nurse I met with for monitoring, retrievals, etc. was kind, patient and really wonderful. I just had issue with the logistical side.

Strengths: Beautiful new offices overlooking the bay in a GREAT facility that seems top-notch. Awesome doctors. Constantly researching. Great nurses who are lovely to deal with. Weaknesses: You're literally just a number and have to stay on top of your own care (make sure you call them for results, request materials that were promised, insure your meds are ordered). There are so many moving parts in IVF between the pharmacies, the insurance, the financing company, the doctors, etc I appreciate how many things they did get right, but I definitely have a bitter taste in my mouth when I think about the experience. I think they are just overwhelmed with cases.

All my IUIs were covered by insurance so I just paid co-pays. For IVF nothing was covered, so we purchased a financing package through ARC both times. It was $12,216.98 for a one fresh cycle package (included a frozen cycle but we never got to use it). Then we paid out of pocket $2000 for ICSI. We did the same thing for cycle 2 paying an additional $850 for Embryo Co-Culture. We paid for all the medications out of pocket. Cycle two's meds were $3575. Cycle one was a little cheaper because some friends gave me their leftover medications AND I found some manufacturer coupons online. I can't remember the totals though.

Dr. Tran was a gem. Direct, kind, compassionate, and patient. I felt like I was under his care the entire time--though UCSF has a shared practice and I occasionally saw other doctors for my various visits and check-ins, I always felt like Dr. Tran was the one overseeing my care, and I appreciated the continuity. He was proactive in my treatment, and always communicative about why he was recommending next steps. My husband and I both felt like we were in excellent hands.

I can't think of a thing -- he is great!

I appreciated Dr. Tran's direct and kind manner. He was matter-of-fact when discussing our situation with us and I think set very realistic expectations. He was readily available by phone when we had questions and extremely reassuring when I got anxious about a few different things.

I had already tried several cycles (eight, I believe) at Kaiser of letrozole with timed intercourse and IUI, and two cycles of injectables with IUI with no success. When I finally asked about IVF at Kaiser, my doctor there discouraged me from doing it at Kaiser for a few reasons; namely that their IVF facilities are very limited and they wouldn't be able to see me for a few months. So by the time I got to Dr. Tran we knew we were there for IVF and began with that protocol. My first cycle on injectables in preparation for IVF I had no response--I produced either one or two eggs. So we did another IUI (so as not to waste the cycle) with no results. Discouraged, we had a good phone call with Dr. Tran where he encouraged us to try again, saying as much as they can do for us it also always comes down to a bit of luck and the unknown. After taking a couple of cycles off due to travel and the holidays, we tried again and had a successful retrieval and implantation.

After a less than stellar experience at Kaiser SF, I cannot praise Olga enough. I felt SO WELL TAKEN CARE OF. Everything from the initial paperwork (which can be quite daunting) to scheduling appointment to obtaining medications, etc., could not have been easier. Olga and the rest of the folks at UCSF CRH do an amazing job of making what is a yucky, annoying, complicated process as smooth and easy as possible. Olga herself was proactive in calling to schedule appointments, returning calls and answering questions, putting me in touch with Dr. Tran directly when necessary, and getting me moving through the whole process. I really really felt like I was in good hands.

The brand-new Center for Reproductive Health at UCSF is fantastic. Beautifully and thoughtfully built and laid out, it has what can only be described as a spa-like atmosphere (as far as you can, in a medical setting!). There are different waiting rooms for patients waiting for different procedures. The exam rooms have all the latest bells and whistles, and everything seems to have been designed with the patients' comfort and privacy in mind. Prior to signing on, CRH offers informational sessions on what to expect / the basics of reproductive health and assistance, and they put you in touch with someone in billing who can help you sort out your coverage (if you are lucky enough to have it) and answer questions. Unlike at Kaiser SF, the CRH specifically asks patients not to bring young kids to the practice, as a gesture of sensitivity to what the patience are going through. I appreciated this.

Unfortunately, I had no coverage for IVF. Costs for my medications were around $4,000 to $5,000 per cycle, and cost for the procedure itself (monitoring appointments, retrieval and anesthesia, fertilization, and transfer) was around $11,000.

I had an excellent experience with Dr. Tran. From the very beginning and throughout the treatment procedure, he was courteous, patient, and caring, and very respectful of my time and questions. I walked in freeling a little overwhelmed by all I had read on the Internet, and within 10 minutes after my ultrasound, I knew exactly what my options were, and what my personal treatment plan with projected outcomes would be. The whole procedure went exactly as planned. Dr. Tran even came back early from vacation to personally perform my retrieval. I am very glad I trusted him with my treatment and recommend him highly.

Try not to be anxious and take advantage of this time to pamper and take care of yourself. I also spoke with many friends who were either had frozen their eggs or were undergoing related treatments, and that sense of camaraderie and community was so helpful.

Dr. Tran made me feel like a human because he thoughtfully and carefully talked me through the process and explained exactly my personal probability of success. He made sure all my questions were answered and that I was comfortable with my decision. I would recommend him to anyone seeking care.

I tracked all of this in a treatment diary spreadsheet and have the exact doses, dates, timing. At a high level: primed with Lupron 11 days, then Menopur, Omnitrope, Follostim for 13 days, then the hCG trigger shot.

Olga is great. Throughout my experience, I found Olga very organized, responsive, and reliable. She even helped me run prescriptions through two pharmacies because I was mindful of out-of-pocket expenses. She has such a warm personality too, and balances friendly support with her clinical professionalism.

I saw Dr. Tran at UCSF. It's academic reputation and proximity to my work made it very appealing. However, as great as my primary care team was, I was surprised by the disorganized and perfunctory way they look after patient cases. There were two times when an automated voicemail would say come in for a visit but then the personnel I was supposed to see thought we had a phone consult. It was rare that an appt started on time - usually I had to wait 15-20 min. Plus the orientations and workshops they gave on treatments and medications mixed us egg freezers with IVF patients which was confusing and awkward at times given the differences in our situations and goals. Even the orientation binder was this overwhelming book of photocopies and admin paperwork not clearly organized with patient needs in mind. I think they get great volume but at times sacrifice the personal touch.

My insurance covered some of the medications. My costs: $6655 procedure plus initial consult plus 5 years storage $2167 meds $763 anaesthesia $303 labs $60 vitamins, ovulation kit Total was around $9500

Dr. Tran is a thoughtful and compassionate doctor. He explained things very clearly and was straightforward about the challenges he anticipated in our case, which I really appreciated. He updated us at every step so I never felt confused about what to expect. Overall he gave us very realistic expectations.

Ask all of your questions! He is well-informed on advances in fertility care and applying new data to individual patients.

Dr. Tran and his staff always treated me like an individual. They all knew details of my case, and seeing a Dr at all of my monitoring visits made me feel like they took my cycle seriously and wanted to individualize the treatment course.

I completed an egg retrieval using an antagonist protocol (Lupron followed by follistim/menopur) and day 5 fresh embryo transfer with 2 embryos. I am currently pregnant with one (due next month).

Allie was friendly, caring, and compassionate. She always responded very promptly to questions and was very clear in her instructions regarding medication dosing, etc.

The best thing about Spring was the care felt very personal. Everyone knew our names, and even the embryologist came to introduce himself before our egg retrieval. I felt very cared for throughout the entire process.

$16,000

Dr. Tran educated us thoroughly on the risks and benefits of multiple embryo transfer vs eSET and ultimately the decision was up to us.

He is pragmatic and to the point. We had a simple issue to address and he had the answers. He ordered the right tests to get us the answers. There was not a lot of hand holding, but I didn't feel like I needed it. He kept it simple.

Ask the questions you want to ask. He will have a good answer.

He spent a good amount of time with us in the beginning. And any time I ran into him in the hall during monitoring he remembered me and my case despite the fact that he sees tons of patients a day.

I stimmed for 11 days, then had an egg retrieval and had a fresh transfer on day 5. So far it was a classic straight forward IVF cycle.

She did a good job, was on top of things and called me back right away to answer questions. I get a little flustered that they called to tell me the dose change, I wish she just e-mailed me so I could double check later at night when I was given the shots. But I think this is more hospital protocol than her fault.

I had a good experience, but I have nothing else to compare it to. The clinic felt like a spa. Especially the egg retrieval area. I always felt like I was in good hands even with the other doctors I saw. It was actually nice to see multiple doctors during the stim phase. I had a chance to get different opinions of how the cycle was going. The nurse staff was all friendly and sweet. Payment was straight forward.

About $12,000

We has a complicated case of unexplained infertility and Dr. Tram talked us through so many potential options and things to try, always giving us a cost benefit analysis so we could make informed decisions. He was willing to try new things, experimental and things just being explored, and was open about them all, giving us the option to decide with his advise. We trusted him and maybe more importantly felt he trusted us.

He is straightforward and dry (sense of humor-wise ). Perfect for us, but not for everyone.

I loved Dr. Tran. He was always frank and we were an upsetting case for him...trying everything and finding no answers and no babies for so long. Our last few cycles, he did all our retrievals and transfers whether it was his week to do procedures or not. He was very invested in our care and our outcomes...cared about our mental health, our desires, our goals etc. I felt respected and understood as well as advised well.

All the nurses we worked with were compassionate and caring. They also knew their stuff!

It is a big busy clinic and you see a lot of different practitioners. After years of care here I felt known by them all, but if you like a more top to bottom by the same small team kind of care, this isn't a fit for you.

My experience was fantastic. It was a longer road than we anticipated but I always felt that I was well-informed, supported, and getting the best care. He's very personable and easy to talk to. He's also extremely smart and cares about the families he works with.

He's accessible- use that. Ask all your questions- whether in the appointment or over email. He's very responsive and understanding.

Dr. Tran is excellent at addressing the emotional aspects of the fertility process. He always checked in on how I was doing and I needed that.

I was trying to conceive with donor sperm. We did three IUIs and I had a chemical pregnancy and then a miscarriage. At 40 years old, my ratio of good eggs was likely low as I had no other diagnosed problems. I tried Clomid. I had another chemical pregnancy on the 6th try or so. Then we moved on to IVF. I did the egg retrieval, PGS-tested my embryos, did one failed transfer, and then one successful one.

I loved Olga! She was efficient and responsive. She was so excited when I finally got pregnant.

The new Mission Bay campus is a pretty different experience- very spa-like. But I find the front desk staff to be super friendly (Maria!) and all the nurses are great. Fantastic experience overall.

It was fine- always in a certain hour like 7:30-8:30

Dr. Tran was pretty adamant that I should only transfer one embryo at a time since I'm a single mom and definitely didn't want to risk twins. But by my second transfer, I talked him into transferring two. I was desperate for it to work. And it did. Now I feel like that was probably a bigger risk than I realized but he understood my emotional state and agreed.

Dr. Tran seemed to view me as an individual, and was willing to try unconventional protocols. He was also mindful of cost issues as I was self pay at his office. He was also very responsive to my requests, and was available for appointments with relatively short notice.

He is open to experimentation, and trying unconventional protocols.

Everyone in the office knows my name. When I come in the receptionist greets me by name. Dr. Tran knows me, and talks to me honestly and compassionately. He was also really honest about conditions that others had dismissed and made really good referrals to other doctors.

They were attentive to my queries. I generally received a response immediately or within a few hours. They also seemed to be informed on me as a patient, and were very clear about the information that they were able to provide, and when they needed to consult the doctor.

It is very easy to get appointments. All procedures are handled by the doctors. They are super responsive.

$7500 +meds

Dr. Tran was very professional and honest and helpful. He also checked in on us while he was on vacation (during our hormone injection cycle) which was not necessary but I truly appreciated at the time to know our unique case was being looked after. Forever grateful to this man for our beautiful, healthy child.

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I really delt that Dr. Tram was looking out for us but overall the whole experience still felt like we were part of a very structured, orderly system. Which I realize may be necessary and ultimately we were happy with our care.

I don’t really recall

Strengths — top notch clinic in san francisco, doctors with proven track records of success, well funded and organized. Weaknesses... overall it felt like we were one of thousand being treated at any given time and we HATED having to attend the crowded introduction seminar at the beginning. That felt really weird and impersonal to us.

Pretty sure we spent 30K when all was said and done. There were all the initial tests for both of us, then genetic counseling, IVF with ICSI plus TESE sperm retreval from an on-site urologist.

We were surprised when they recommended two the morning of transfer but by then we only had three embryos so we agreed with the rationale. Happily ended up with a singleton birth.

He is clearly very dedicated to the clinic. Always available (e.g. by email or phone) to discuss any questions we might have. He may not be the hand-holding type, but it was obvious that he really cared about our outcomes. He also has a wicked dry sense of humor.

Don't expect to have your hand held, but do know that you are in great hands.

Easy access to the doctor (e.g. by email or phone). Very caring doctor. He was very invested in our outcome and was genuinely disappointed when we had bad results. He has a wry sense of humor, which really helped us gel with him.

Demi-halt protocol (lupron, then FSH and Menopur). Results: about as expected.

Allie is the best! I think she's a bit over-worked now as response times have gotten slower, but for anything time-sensitive, she's always been right on the ball.

Very patient-centered. They actually do work around your schedule!

$18000 with ICSI/PGD + meds

I was already very pro eSET, so no conflicts there.

Dr. Tran is great, sharp, straight to the point and competent. He explained the treatment in detail and answered all questions I had. He tried a different protocol that worked really well for me and delivered a great outcome. He certainly exceeded my expectations.

He is not super warm and fuzzy, but he gets the job done. I'd still work with him.

Dr Tran is very direct, but very straight to the point and will answer any questions you have. I'm not big on asking detailed questions, just want to know about next steps. I really liked his style and the best was the efficiency.

don't know.

Great clinic, fast, clean, organized. I paid out of pocket and it's pretty expensive, but worth it.

8,500 for egg freezing treatement

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On my first visit, I mentioned that endometriosis had been found inside me during a surgery I'd previously had. Dr. Tran dismissed this, saying I probably didn't have endometriosis. I quickly lost trust in his abilities, given he'd only seen me once and had no reason to make such statements.

Dr. Tran is very straightforward and not warm at all.

Strengths: Beautiful clinic and technologically advanced Weaknesses: Just didn't click with Dr. Tran so I switched clinics. However, another friend of mine really liked that Dr. Tran was not warm.

$250 for sperm testing

He's very matter of fact. I liked his straightforward nature, but if you are looking for someone to hold your hand, he's not it.

Honest, direct feedback and recommendations. Acknowledging both the physical and emotional sides of the equation.

Patient navigators are great. New facility at Mission Bay is beautiful and parking is easy. You will interact with a lot of different caregivers.