Sara Pittenger-Reid

Our experience with Dr Reid was positive so far. We are about to start the 1st cycle in a few weeks, so it's too soon to rate further. However, I can provide something about office. RSC at San Ramon office was very well run (which is where all the major work is done), while Foster City office is only a satellite office to serve patients in the peninsula. Foster City office was not well run at all, my blood sample was bad and I had to redo at San Ramon; this happened again for my GC a few months later. It also looks like they have let go some of the staff in Foster City, and hopefully this office will improve.

Our cycle has not yet started, so I'd rather not giving feedbacks yet. I can have one feedback. Please see why the Foster City office ruined both my blood sample and my GC's sample, a few months apart. Update: our first transfer was not successful. Our second transfer was 2 days ago. Our positive impression on Dr Reid is still the same. Would still recommend her.

We walked away both having positive impression of our initial chat with Dr Reid. She was elaborate and able to explain everything clearly. We felt free to ask any questions we planned to. She was on top of her material and able to answer every single question. Update: Our first transfer was not successful. Our second transfer was 2 days ago, so it's still too soon to tell. So far, she communicated well and everything is aligned with our expectation.

My GC would be a better person to answer this.

I liked her as a person. However, my blood sample was ruined and not explained properly. A few months later, my GC's sample was again ruined. Thankfully it happened in Foster City. If it had happened in San Ramon (their main site), I would've changed the clinic.

- Local to Bay Area. They said I only needed to show up in person 1-2 twice, so I thought a local office was not that important. I've shown up numerous times so far, so I'm very glad that we picked a local clinic. - RSC was in Progyny, my insurance network. However Progyny coverage is unclear. - RSC had good reputation. A friend of mine had a baby thru RSC not long ago. Despite some hiccups, RSC so far hasn't majorly changed my opinion yet. - Foster City office had some hiccups, and they've changed my nurse without letting me know and I had to specifically ask. At least I think they quickly fix problems before the problems get out of hand.

The first consultation with Dr Reid was $375 (I got this for free through Surrogacy conference). So far I've spent at least $40K on RSC-related services. I got 11 tested embryos, so I guess I'm happy so far.

Most doctors I've talked to were against multiple transfer, while Dr Reid was very well aware of IP motivation and explained this clearly and unbiasedly in my opinion. This is among reasons we like Dr Reid.

Dr Reid works with a great te if doctors and they all took great care of me through both of my retrievals. I appreciate Dr. Reid and her guidance throughout the IVF process and our journey to have a baby.

Ask a lot of questions. Ask about the different options. Be open to Dr. Reid’s advice. Be sure to weigh out your options before making any decisions.

Dr. Reid is very personable and when I speak with her she always makes me feel like she has my care in her hands.

The very first cycle started with bcp protocol before starting stimulating hormones but that didn’t work because I developed an ovarian cyst and so we skipped a cycle until cyst disappeared. The 2nd cycle I started with estrogen priming. I was on stimulating hormones for 14 days. My first retrieval yielded 14 follicles, 8 fertilized, 5 made it to blastocyst, 5 sent for PGS testing, all came back abnormal. The 3rd cycle was exactly the same as the 2nd except I I had 17 follicles, 10 fertilized, 5 made it blastocyst, 3 sent for PGS testing, 1 embryo came back normal. After retrieval I had myectomy to remove fibroids and hysteroscopy to removed scarring. Next step is mock transfer then FET transfer.

Laura made all of my appointments fit my work schedule. I had a favorite sonographer (I can’t remember her name) but she was the best! She took the time to explain what she saw in my ultrasounds. I loved every time I had her and would ask to have her for each ultrasound if she was at my location and on schedule.

Be on time. Be respectful and kind to the employees. They are here to help you on this journey. Be honest, open and most of all patient. The journey of infertility and IUI/IVF is an emotional one.

We applied for a double retrieval and paid $36k. We opted for PGS testing which was a separate cost of about $4k. Medicine/hormones were also an additional cost of about $10k.

Dr Reid will only do a single embryo transfer because of the removal uterine fibroids.

She's very thoughtful and comprehensive in her thinking. She tries to set expectations and gives some rationales when things don't go as plan. She's willing to think outside the box and incorporate ideas from other physicians within her practice as well as from her previous clinics and any research you bring in. She may not always follow or endorse things, but she's willing to consider it and give a rationale why she thinks it will or won't be beneficial in this scenario.

Become friends with your nurse, who will be your primary point of contact.

She's kind, thoughtful, and funny. It feels as though she cares if you're pregnant-- not just for her success rates but because she wants to help grow families.

We started with an estrogen priming antagonist with hgh protocol and that cycle was converted to iui due to lack of synchronization. Then we went to micro dose Lupron with hgh and had a chemical pregnancy (11R, 8M, 4F, transferred 2 at day 3, nothing to freeze). We did some further work up to make sure we weren't missing anything. Our next cycle would be a micros dose Lupron with hgh again, but was canceled at baseline due to a cyst. Final cycle was exactly like the second (MDL with HGH). We had 8 retrieved, 7 mature, 7 fertilize, 7 fabulous at day 3, all gone by day 5. Nothing to transfer or freeze. While she does not know why we don't make blasts, she's not pushing us to cycle again. She assumes it's poor egg quality as all sperm tests came back completely normal (including DNA frag). She's now recommending donor eggs or donor sperm.

Sandra is prompt on responses, and gives great updates. Sometimes it's frustrating to have questions be filtered through her-- it's hard to get an answer "straight from the horse's mouth", but Sandra does a great job interpreting answers.

You don't get a ton of face time with your doctor. You may or not see them at all once your cycle starts. However, every physician with whom I've interacted has been kind, reassuring, and competent.

12k for ivf (not including meds) 17k for freeze all with PGS (not including meds)

They prefer eSET, but we transferred 2 day 3 embryos. I'm not sure what they would have said if we had gotten to day 5 blasts or had any left to freeze in our case.

Dr Reid was amazing throughout this process. We started our treatment with IUI and after 2 unsuccessul rounds we wanted to change courses. Dr. Reid throughly explained our other options and supported us with all options. She was neutral throughout the decision making process and did not push us one way or the other. We ended up choosing to do IVF and were so happy we did. She was kind and patient with all of our many questions and helped us understand what to expect along the way. She made sure to schedule us on a day when she was doing embryo transfers so we could see her familiar face. At every step of our journey she impressed us with her compassion for what we were going through and knowledge of her field! We are now expecting a healthy baby boy and are thrilled with our decision to seek treatment from Dr. Reid.

The clinic is very well organized. All the nurses and staff are very friendly and willing to answer questions. When we started each different course of treatment (IUI vs IVF) we were required to watch videos explaining the treatment. At first I was a bit resentful of having to watch videos about our treatment but they were actually very educational and helpful! The only drawback of this location is that although M-F I was seen at the Foster City location, you have to go to their main location in San Ramon on weekends and holidays. That location is very nice though so all in all not a bad drawback.

We had an insurance benefit through Progeny and Dr. Reid's clinic was one of the clinics they recommended and was covered through our insurance benefit.

Dr. Reid explained that they support eSET in most cases especially ours. After understanding the risks that accompany multiples I can understand their support of this practice.

From our very first appointment, my husband and I felt like we understood the plan Dr. Reid had for us. Any questions we had were answered clearly and completely. Throughout my treatment she was there to answer any questions quickly for us and we never felt like we were wandering blindly. We lost our twins from our first transfer at 23 weeks, and truly felt like she cared for us and them, going as far as providing us with some information about what happened so that we could understand th medical side better. We started our FET protocol 3 months later and she was so supportive and helpful. We could not have asked for a better doctor.

The same as I would tell anyone considering fertility treatments, ask questions. Lots of questions. Do you own research and understand what you are putting your body through.

She provided my husband and I with answers for any questions we had, support when needed, was there for us 100% of the way through our treatments. We truly felt like she was rooting for us. Further to that, when we lost our twins (23 weeks into my first pregnancy from our fresh cycle) she truly cared and tried to help us find a reason, even though she didn’t need to.

I don’t remember much about our fresh cycle, only that I had a great response to all of the medications I was given and my body produced plenty of healthy eggs. I did have nausea as a side effect, but in my opinion, that was par for the course. My egg retrieval went very well, 21 eggs retrieved and ICSI was used to inseminate. Because of poor sperm quality we had 4 good quality embryos, 2 of which were transferred on day 5, while 2 were frozen. The two that were transferred, resulted in perfectly healthy boy/girl twins. Unfortunately, due to preterm labor and rupture, they were born far too early at 23 weeks. We began FET protocol roughly 3 month later, once I was cleared by my OB. I was on estrogen to suppress my ovaries and boost my lining. I was also started on progesterone suppositories but switched to progesterone in oil shots, as I was finding the mess from the suppositories too much. My Frozen embryo transfer resulted in a healthy baby girl, born at 39 weeks exactly.

Laura is an incredible communicator and quickly returns phone calls. She answers questions easily and will quickly get back to you if she is unsure of an answer. She also did our injection class and the information she provided was so helpful and made our nightly injections go so much smoother. She is compassionate and caring and incredibly excited for us during our cycles and subsequent pregnancies.

There are multiple doctors at this clinic, with multiple locations. They have a main office located in East Bay, where all of their procedures and done. This means that your primary doctor may not be the one to do your egg retrieval or transfer. This wasn’t a worry for us, all of the doctors were wonderful to us, but may be to some. Dr Reid was able to schedule our FET when she would be working in the clinic, which as lovely.

Single transfer was much more preferred by Dr Reid, using multiple transfers for specific reasons such as egg and/or embryo quality and maternal age. She explained that multiple pregnancies come with high risks that need to be weighed out carefully.

Dr. Reid is the best doctor I have ever worked with. Her care and concern for her patients is incredible. She has a great ability to connect with her patients and clearly understand things in a way that is easy to comprehend. I feel lucky to have been/continue to be in her care. I know she will always be routing for the best outcome for me and my family.

My piece of advice would be to request her directly. The RSC practice is set up to have patients see a number of care givers throughout the bay area - my advice would be to select Dr. Reid as your doctor, even if that means driving to Foster City to be her patient.

Dr. Reid (and her nurse Laura) personalized and humanized the entire process. They were patient with me and took the time to understand what I was needed and how I could best be supported during the processes. During my first cycle (which had to be canceled), their follow up was so genuine. You could tell in their conversations that my set back was also theirs based on their words and actions (emails, phone calls, office visits).

First Cycle was intended to be an egg preservation cycle. I used Menopor/Gonal F; by day 11 of injections my follicles were not growing anymore and the decision was made to cancel this cycle. Second Cycle was interned to be a fresh transfer/embryo freeze. I used Lupron Injections during the cycle and stimulated with Menopor/Gonal F and then added a growth hormone during the last 6 days of injections. Result - 11 eggs retrieved; 8 mature; 6 fertilized; 4 became embryos - 1 Fresh Transfer (Miscarried after 7 weeks), 3 embryos frozen. PGS done. Third Cycle; Frozen Transfer - haven't done yet.

Laura is incredible. She is caring, organized, compassionate and very easy to talk to. You truly feel like she wants her patients to become pregnant. When things got difficult, I felt nothing but support from Laura. She is literally the best!

The staff is so great at RSC in San Jose. My one suggestion would be to upgrade the facility (especially in comparison to the other RSC facilities) if possible.

Very easy - I was told up front that I would have to schedule between 7-9 AM and the calendar I was given by my nurse told me when you begin to block my personal calendar to prepare accordingly. Each time I needed to schedule, I was able to get the time I needed without a problem.

There were set fees for each process and I was set up with a financial counselor to discuss the fees/structure. She was very helpful.

Dr. Reid has been a compassionate and trustworthy doctor. I always felt that she fully listened to me and my concerns, and took me seriously as an intelligent patient who wanted more information. She treated me as an individual and was willing to alter protocols based on my concerns if the research indicated it. She shared research with me and was willing to say that she needed time to think and research different methods to individualize my treatment and got back to me with results. She never rushed me out of my appointments (which means she often ran late with others, but I was ok with that). She was the one to call with any results and was available to answer questions and talk me through results. I appreciate her perspective as a female fertility specialist after seeing many male specialists who never quite answered my questions or wanted to explain things on a deeper level. I have not yet had a live birth but will stay with Dr. Reid until we decide to stop IVF treatments and change course.

The doctors at RSC are in different clinics on different days and rotate weekends. That meant that Dr. Reid was not necessarily the one to perform a retrieval or transfer if it fell on a day where she was not in the main clinic. However, all of the other doctors I have worked with at RSC so far (Dr. Wachs, Dr. Rosenbluth, Dr.HInckley) have been wonderful. If you only want to see one person for all appointments and procedures this may not be the place for you. I really appreciated that the doctors meet every afternoon to discuss results for each patient as a group, so you are getting the perspective and experience of many different doctors, not just one.

My care team always treated me as an individual and never confused me with someone else or as a "product". My care was always individualized and I always had calls and emails returned within a day or two. Dr. Reid was always the one to call with results of egg retrievals, fertilization reports, genetic testing results, and pregnancy test results.

Very organized and great and responding quickly with detailed answers to any questions. I appreciate Laura's compassionate manner and always felt treated like a human with feelings when talking about difficult results.

Monitoring appointments are only done in the mornings. I have to drive a ways in heavy traffic to reach the clinic, so the early morning appointments worked well for me as it helped me miss the worst traffic.

Quite kind, delicate and quiet bedside manner. Limited access to her. Aside from initial consultation, will only see her at egg retrieval (if scheduling fits) and embryo transfer (if I specifically schedule it for a day that she works at my site.)

* do all your homework ahead of time. It'll help you not feel lost in the process. * do not expect undue hand-holding. You won't be seeing the doctor very often.

Mixed bag. Most appointments are with nurses except for the initial consultation and major procedures like egg retrieval and embryo transfer. (Even these are not necessarily with your primary doctor depending on scheduling.) Most of the personnel are quite kind, but it's obvious you're just the umpteenth person trying to conceive that has paraded before them. Dr Reid has quite a gentle bed-side manner, which is appreciated. Yet the parade of different medical professionals I see at appointments does not feel very human focused. It's a very well run machine, though.

antagonistic w/ lupron trigger

I found the exclusive use of email and voicemails to communicate with my nurse care coordinator off-putting.

* well oiled machine * competitive pricing - especially stacked against bigger names such as Stanford/UCSF * you'll mostly be treated kindly by a parade of different care providers you'll barely know. * the process is dehumanizing but not demoralizing.

$ 7,500 ivf w/ icsi $4000 - frozen embryo transfer $1000 embryo freezing $1500 PGS

eSET strongly encouraged by doctor (especially with PGS tested embryos) and advised or increased complications during twin pregnancies.

Dr Pittenger-Reid is a very positive Doctor, which I think is very helpful during fertility treatment. She always made me feel like things were going well. When they didn't during our first cycle, she was compassionate, but still very positive in looking ahead. She makes her decisions driven by science and is great at explaining everything. When I had extra questions she was quick to call to answer all of them.

The group is a large group and all procedures are done in San Ramon. Depending on your cycle and schedule, she may not do your procedures, but all of Doctors I met were great.

Dr. Reid-Pittinger is very friendly and easy to talk to. She never made us feel rushed and answered all questions. She was always familiar with me as a patient and I always felt like I was in great care.

The nurses make most of the phone calls to let you know about changes and plans. They have a very specific schedule so you know when you will hear from them. They also have a secure email system so send everything by email as well. I had a 2 nurse team and they were both great.

The San Jose office of RSC is small so it is easy to get to know the staff. Suzi at the front is so welcoming and warm. They are very good at drawing blood and are open early. I almost never waited more than a minute for my morning blood draws. The sonographers are all warm and seem experienced.

I had insurance so this is not relevant

She's up to date on current advancements in fertility and highly knowledgeable about all aspects of her field. She didn't coddle me (which I liked) and was genuine in all communication. I felt respected and validated as a patient and relieved to be confident I was in good hands.

If you're impatient about the IVF process, calm down. If there are setbacks and delays, they're for your own good.

She was real and told us all news and updates in a clear and to the point, realistic, but warm manner. Excellent balance which I found necessary for our experience.

I'm polycyclstic, so all meds and procedures were closely monitored to deal with my eggs. We'll tweak the process for the next round so we have more, better quality embryos.

Very good communication skills and knowledge of ferltity treatments and my situation.

They're a well oiled machine at RSC. You may not see your assigned doctor for all procedures, but you're in good hands regardless. They all work as a team and are competent, experienced doctors.

My insurance covered a lifetime maximum of $10,000. We went above this amount.

They advise eSET, but allowed us to transfer two given the roller coaster of a cycle we had gone through to increase my chances. I appreciated them allowing us to transfer both.

Dr. Reid is incredibly thorough. She helped me stay calm and positive. I really appreciated her honest approach and proactivity. She really cares about you as a person and help to dispel my self diagnostic fears.

Be as open and honest as possible. It's not always an easy subject to broach, but it's important that your physician has all of the information, even if you think it's not pertinent.

Dr. Pittinger-Reid is fantastic. She is patient, and very calm, cool, and collected. She is happy to answer questions, and understands that this can be emotionally and physically demanding.

The nursing staff is okay. Not as communicative as I would have liked. I think sometimes they forget this is new for most patients, and we need a lot of guidance and coaching.

The physical building in foster city is nearly impossible to find. There's virtually no signage and I had to ask multiple people to help me find it.