Serena Chen

She takes the time to listen to you. She doesn’t let any questions go on answered. Every question has an answer, she doesn’t make you feel like any question is to silly or too small. Even when she’s talking about very technical things, she’s professional about it but make sure you understand what she’s saying.

You’re going to want Serena Chen to be your best friend! If you are searching for a fertility doctor that is going to make you feel good and not make you stress more about the process, she is the one!

From the moment I met her she felt more like a peer then a doctor. She took the time to really get to know me. And to make me feel comfortable. She asked insightful questions and really listened to my answers. She made me feel comfortable through every single step.

I came to her with unexplained infertility. I only just turned 35 and I’m not 100% ready to get pregnant just yet. She did a very very thorough work up. Everything from ultrasounds to bloodwork to an HSG. Where we go from here will depend on my most recent results.

Everyone in the practice is incredibly professional, kind, and compassionate. It’s such a touchy situation but everyone makes you feel so good. Jennifer, the nurse who worked with me most was very helpful and made me feel comfortable that each step in the process. Alicia in the office is so organized and help you schedule each and every somewhat complicated step.

Clean and professional. Very welcoming. Every single person you come in contact with is a woman and they all are professional and compassionate.Everyone from the person who drew blood, to the person scheduling you, to the doctors and nurses, make you feel like you are in a safe place. When I left my referring OB/GYN I was in tears, and I have left every appointment with this practice with a smile on my face.

I have extremely good insurance. So at this point, I have only paid my own co-pays.

I haven’t gotten to the stage just yet.

The doctor is very nice and very detailed, though it's expected that you learn the process through on-line videos and some questions you know to ask only after the treatment is finished. E.g. we did 1 cycle of IVF and during the visit it was expected that the meds would change due to poor response first time. During next cycle I received prelim chart with the same dosages and no comment from the nurse/doc. It took me some time to force a nurse to give me chart of IVF with expected timing, procedures and dosages since she didn't want to make me feel that everything will go as expected. The billing is messy unless you control it, there are no paper bills coming in mail, if billing person is on vacation there is no communication between the person on vacation and replacement person. So at the start of one of my first IVF they forgot to get my authorization from insurance. With meds: sometimes the authorization for the medicine is not sent to the pharmacy and the other time the prescription should be changed due to wrong med name. As usual some nurses and docs doing ultrasound are nice, but there are a lot of them who are very rush and abrupt, 50% of time i got bruises after routine bloodwork . People on the phone are most of the time talk to you like they've never were trained to talk to the clients on the phone, never mind patients. The only professionally sounded people are on the general Livingston number and nurses on call. Technicians doing ultrasound usually are not very warm (especially there is one in Hoboken and one other patient in the room said that her experience was not warm as well) and they don't talk to you/your partner what they are doing at all. Even doctors who do the ultrasound are not commenting on what they see. Dr.Chen only does ultrasounds during the initial visits and never the ones during the cycles. More times than needed I felt as a number and as a part of the huge standard fertility factory that making standard protocols and not addressing my particular situation. Dr. Chen is nice, but overall experience with the facility is not making me feel welcomed.

Be prepared to control everything in the cycle, insist on getting the schedules, read a lot on-line, read other reviews. Be prepare to have it rough.

Dr. Chen was very attentive during the sit down visits and took time to answer the questions. In between the communication was a bit lacking, the doctor only called to deliver negative pregnancy results and it was difficult to get a hold of her on the phone with questions.

IUIs were on chlomid, all looked very good, no problems with number of folluculs, but all 3 - negative. First IVF was on follistin 300 and menopur 150. Due to the planned facility shutdown, we had to time the next period and I was taking contraceptive meds. After that there was 1 follicul leftover and there were not enough of other so the cycle was cancelled. The doctor recommended the prep cycle, but i refused since i didn't know how my body will respond to extra meds and the studies show mixed results. The second cycle there is another leftover, and the meds added the ganorelix 150. the doctor recommends growth hormone (mixed studies), accupuncture and CoQ10 and Vit D (all - no proven medical results). Questions to doctor 1) what to do with leftover follicules - doctor recommend to do nothing, 2) the doctor never texted if I have an ovulation by my own - it's assumed that the meds provoke it.

Please see my comments on the doctor

Waiting time is BAD - expected bloodwork at Livingston (weekends) and ultrasound b/w 6:30 and 7:30 but we rarely left before 8 am. Hoboken is very bad as well, Hoboken reception has trouble having their PC be switched at the time of the start of the shift, so you wait extra time to make a copayment as well. Hoboken reception is extremely slow. Hoboken manager on the floor is responcive on complaints, I've complained about the technicial and next time I had same technician but accompanies by some nurse, taking notes.

it was round $2000 for IUIs and now with IVF - growth hormone alone is $2000, visits - $150

There is recommendation for only 1 embrio - since multiple pregnancy could be more risky for both mother and potential babies.

Our experience with Dr. Chen has been invaluable. Her knowledge and willingness to educate others has been essential to our process. Dr. Chen consistently made herself available to answer any question we had during the process. In addition, Dr. Chen always made the effort to supply us with resources that extended beyond her clinic.

Be prepared to take it all in! Dr. Chen is extremely thorough from the onset of treatment throughout the entire process. She is extremely knowledgeable in the field and loves to share the latest information.

Dr. Chen is an amazing doctor. Thorough out the process Dr. Chen made time to speak with us personally to keep us up to date on our process as well as making sure we were knowledgeable about each step of the process.

Our nurse coordinator has been attentive throughout the process. We never had any issues with communication. The nurse made herself available to us when we needed her. In addition, she was very well organized and kept the team up to date with any information that needed to be shared.

The overal atmosphere is very inviting. Everyone from the front desk employees up to the doctors are the most pleasant people to work with. Communication would be a strength for this clinic. Everyone is always kept up to date with any changes or appointments.

At this point I wish I had more details to provide regarding fees. We are still in the process of completing the IVF process. We also were very lucky that insurance covered most of the IVF.

I should have trusted my gut, after the first time my name was mispronounced. But, I looked at it as not as important if her aid was going to ultimately lead me to the success that I was looking for. I emailed the nurse pretty much every day and would repeatedly ask for the Dr. I would say the only time that I really heard from was after the retrievals and when I had to come in after the transfer and after the last cycle ended. They didn't test my thyroid the first cycle, but she discovered for the 2nd that "oh, we should have tested this the first time around". There was also the way I felt they were pushing donor eggs on me; knowing my hesitance with that choice, right out the gate. I believe she is probably a great doctor for other patients; I just don't believe she was a good fit for me.

Just take the time to listen to your patients; and maybe make yourself a bit more available.

I went in there a bit naive. I figured because the first visit was so welcoming that my experience across the board would be as such. I was unaware of how many other women were experiencing the same challenges, as I was. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect with the nurses ( who at times seemed burnt out and just over it) and the Doctors. The Doctors also mispronounced my name each and ever time I spoke with one of them.

I honestly don't remember the overall protocol for either cycle. I know for the first cycle (where we were able to transfer) it was a more aggressive protocol. For the second cycle, there was not as many meds. Estrogen Patch Clomid Follistim Ganirellex Letrozole not in that order, were the main meds that I took

My first Nurse was a lot more mechanical than my second nurse ( who I asked for specifically because of the first nurse's disposition) I also had an issue with one of there Phlebotomists, who constantly would leave me with bruises. The women at the front desk were really wonderful about making sure that I didn't have to see her after the first couple of times I was bruised.

You should come in prepared with questions and don't feel afraid to ask them. Be your own advocate as this struggle is never as important for anyone else as it will be for you. This clinic has a lot of patients and perhaps if they had less patients the ones who visit would feel a bit more at ease.

I had issues with one phlebotomist in particular, but they changed her out & sometimes the nurses that would do the Ultrasound didn't seem very versed on how to administer them.

in total over 22k.

Dr Chen was quite busy most days, sometimes arriving a little late or cutting our visits a little short. But I believe that was due to her being the director at the facility. But she has a good knowledge base and always remained positive during the 3 years I was under her care.

If you can’t have a face to face meeting with Dr. Chen, know that she’s also available via phone or email to answer questions or concerns. There were many of times that I called her clarity and she was very helpful. But you should also know, while she’s your main doctor, you likely will not get her for your retrieval or transfer, as that’s based on the rotating schedule they have between the doctors at IRMS. So if you want to be seen by her exclusively, that will be tough.

While the IRMS clinic seemed to be a machine with respect to the patients, the doctor listened to my concerns, provided recommendations that get “better” results during the second retrieval, and she remained highly positive (while I struggled to believe) that we would have a baby under her care.

My first egg retrieval yielded 9 eggs and for my age at the time that seemed low. During the next cycle, the doctor and nursers provided recommendations to possibly boost egg quality to get better results. While my injectables remained the same, I also took dhea and cq10 for a few months before my second cycle to potentially yeild better egg quality. It was also recommended that I utilize acupuncture, which I did.

The nursing staff was great! As a type A person, I needed to know the status of things at all times and they were very accommodating to my requests and needs. No question or concern was ever too small or silly.

IRMS is a machine. The waiting room at the Livingston office can be intimidating as you may feel like a number until you have one on ones with your nurse/doctor. During my second retrieval, they’d updated their website to allow you to track your progress during the cycles and notated all of the information on the site regarding your progesterone, estrogen, and beta levels. It was good to have that information readily available at your fingertips.

Through the 3 IUIs, 2 egg retrieval’s, and 3 transfers, he cost was approximately $25,000 (inclusive of meds)

Seeing Dr. Chen was a terrible experience. We started IUI and failed several times. Meanwhile, every single time I went in for monitoring, one of the Dr.'s commented on the giant cyst on one of my ovaries, but no one ever mentioned doing anything about it. After feeling confused by conversations with Dr. Chen, my husband and I decided to get a second opinion. When we went to the other fertility clinic (RMA - which I highly recommend!), the Dr. refused to start any type of fertility treatments until the cyst was surgically removed. He said it was dangerous and could potentially pop, harming the baby if I were to get pregnant. I went back to Dr. Chen with this information and she responded with "That seems like a reasonable plan of action". YET she never mentioned it herself and was actively trying to get me pregnant!

Run! Go to a different Dr.

Dr. Chen was scattered and flighty. No matter how many times I saw her or spoke with her, she never seemed to know who I was.

I did not receive any positive results with Dr. Chen

Nurse was nice and provided reasonable explanations for treatment plans, medications, etc.

The clinic was a nightmare! They would open the doors at 6 am, but the Dr.'s wouldn't show up until 7. So if you were in the first 5 people through the door, you waited a minimum of 1 hour and 15 minutes. If you were after the first 5 people, you were there 1 hour and 30 minutes or longer. You were treated like cattle. The feeling was always one of "how many people can we squeeze through the door in one day".

Everything was covered by health insurance, which is what made it so attractive.

We have had minimal progress to date but are taking a cautious treatment plan to avoid overstimulation. Dr Chen sits with you and enjoyed the potential plan and answers any questions you may have. On the days that I have my ultrasound, the physician that is on call performs the ultrasound which may or may not be Dr Chen. I have had no problems with any of the other physicians in the practice although I would be more comfortable discussing the progress with my primary MD than the oncall specialists (even if they are more senior). I call Dr Chen or she calls me to update me on the revised plan our if we are going to stay on course.

Trust her and ask questions. She's open to dialogue!

Dr Chen gets to know me like a person and offers options and new research. She doesn't try to push unnecessary tests or treatments. Always gives you the options with pros and cons

The day I was supposed to start my injections, the pharmacy had not delivered them to me at my home. The nurse arranged for some medications to be held at the front desk for me so I did not have to delay my treatment. I received my pharmacy shipment 2 days later and have not missed a dose because of her

Dr. Chen is excellent. I have and will continue to recommend her. She is kind, smart and came up with a course of action tailored specifically to us. We always felt she had our best interests in mind.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions.

Dr. Chen was always available, listened to our concerns and answered every question. She inspired confidence and was wonderful to work with.

3 IUI then consider moving on to IVF considering we were using frozen sperm

I can’t say enough good things about Anne. She was smart, kind and compassionate.

Doctors and nurses are excellent. Some members of the finance team are very difficult to work with. Our assigned financial coordinator was the only negative person throughout the experience. She was not well informed and gave false information often

My embryos were very healthy and given my age they would only transfer one embryo to lower the chance of twins. We were happy with this decision.