LGBTQ+
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2020 - 2021, Successful
Dr. Chiware is by far the most caring, patient and understanding doctor we've encountered in our lives, and she's beyond generous with her time...As a lesbian couple, we felt respected from start to finish in our every interaction with Dr. Chiware and with Genesis...wasn't afraid to think outside the box when it came to supplementary medications...She wants you to succeed, and won't blindly reassure you that what you're doing is enough...
The nurses [at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine] were uniformly attentive, compassionate and patient. They returned our calls quickly and were generous with their time in answering all of our questions. We never felt rushed off the phone. They never made us feel that our concerns were trivial, and despite the fact that there seem to have been many nurses on staff, there were never any miscommunications about my protocol...When we got our good news, all the nurses called us together and congratulated us--it was really a beautiful moment.
How was your experience with Tendai Chiware at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine?
I've always been a difficult patient--low pain tolerance, apt to pass out, squeamish. Dr. Chiware was the perfect person to ease my anxiety, and is so gentle in both word and deed that we wouldn't be surprised if she simply willed our now-fetus into existence. This is the opposite of our previous experience at a larger, more well-known fertility clinic where we felt overlooked and later learned that indeed some of the stats of our case weren't being fully monitored. Once we switched to Genesis, Dr. Chiware created such a comfortable atmosphere for us that we felt we'd known her from a previous life. We owe the growth of our family to her, and can never repay her for her unyielding devotion to our commitment to get pregnant. We literally miss her now that we've graduated from Genesis.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Tendai Chiware at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine?
Get ready to never be able to let her go! We would've loved it if she could be our OB. Also, don't be afraid to push the envelope--if you are so unfortunate as to have a failed IUI or a failed embryo transfer, ask Dr. Chiware how you can supplement or change your treatment for the next cycle. She wants you to succeed, and won't blindly reassure you that what you're doing is enough.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Tendai Chiware at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine?
Dr. Chiware is by far the most caring, patient and understanding doctor we've encountered in our lives, and she's beyond generous with her time. We truly believe that a key reason why we're pregnant is that she stayed on top of our case and wasn't afraid to think outside the box when it came to supplementary medications. It's abundantly clear that Dr. Chiware's heart is in her work. She's also super-personable--after every phone call and appointment, we remarked to each other that we wish we could be friends with her. (That said, we're not sure if we're cool enough!)
Describe the protocols Tendai Chiware used in your cycles at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and their degree of success.
We first did an egg retrieval using Gonal-F, Certrotide, Menopur, and an Ovidrel trigger. That yielded 15 eggs, 10 of which were mature, and all of which fertilized with ICSI. By Day 7, we had 6 remaining, which we sent off for PGT testing. 2 came back normal, 2 abnormal, and 1 low mosaic.
Since we had 5 failed IUIs at our previous clinic, we did an ERA before our first transfer and then transferred 1 of the normal embryos. The cycle consisted of Estrace pills and Progesterone injections. Unfortunately the transfer wasn't successful.
I took a few months off for acupuncture and a mental health reboot, then transferred our remaining normal embryo. For that cycle, Dr. Chiware offered to have us add Lupron, Lovenox, Prednisone and baby aspirin in addition to Estrace and Progesterone. (I'd been taking a prenatal multi and Metformin for PCOS all along.) We chose to go with all the 'extra' meds except Lovenox, whose side effects scared us.
We were fortunate that this transfer yielded a pregnancy--we're over the moon to now be 18 weeks.
How competent was Tendai Chiware at LGBTQ+ care?
As a lesbian couple, we felt respected from start to finish in our every interaction with Dr. Chiware and with Genesis. Not once did any staff member (from receptionist to lab tech to nurse to doctor) inquire about a "husband"--we just showed up to Genesis as ourselves, and considering the extreme stress of IVF, that meant the world.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine.
The nurses were uniformly attentive, compassionate and patient. They returned our calls quickly and were generous with their time in answering all of our questions. We never felt rushed off the phone. They never made us feel that our concerns were trivial, and despite the fact that there seem to have been many nurses on staff, there were never any miscommunications about my protocol. Shout-outs to Marina, Tzivia, Jen, Irene, Christina (ultrasound tech), Gail (embryology lab), and Kathy (receptionist). When we got our good news, all the nurses called us together and congratulated us--it was really a beautiful moment.
Describe your experience with Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine.
As a whole, the team at Genesis seems to really enjoy its work and genuinely care about patients. There's a family-type vibe.
During our time at Genesis, they had ongoing IT issues with their email system. We don't understand why this couldn't have been remedied more quickly.
Morning monitoring at the Forest Hills office moves like a well-oiled machine--I almost never waited more than a few minutes, and was sometimes even the only patient there. That said, beware that the hours at that site are extremely early.
There were 2 times during bad weather when the ultrasound tech (there's only 1 on staff at a time at Forest Hills) did not show up to work and patients weren't notified prior. This led to multiple patients waiting, frustrated, while I called the nurses' line. We were met with plenty of compassion and regret, but we're still not sure if Genesis has amended its morning monitoring communication system so that patients who are expected will receive alerts in the event of sudden closure. PLEASE NOTE, this issue should not reflect on Dr. Chiware whatsoever. Also, if you use Bay Parkway as your monitoring site, know that it's much more bustling, with more staff, which makes it unlikely that this would occur there.
Lastly, be aware that while Genesis has multiple locations for monitoring and consultations, procedures (ERAs, SHGs, retrievals, transfers) are only done at Bay Parkway. For us, this meant renting a car to drive to all of the above. If you're located closer to there, you're good to go.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Tendai Chiware at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine.
Retrieval, including 1st transfer: $12,225
Surgery Center fee (for retrieval): $1000
2nd transfer: $2800
PGT for 6 embryos (sent to Igenomix, a partner of Genesis): $1250
ERA: $700, but this will depend upon your insurance
Sperm storage (6 months): $300, $50/mo refunded for any unused months
Embryo storage: can't recall
Monitoring: free on my insurance
Copays for seeing Dr. Chiware: $40 copay on my insurance
SHG: can't recall ;(
Ultrasounds: $80 copay on my insurance
IVF meds: would've been about $5000 had we not found ways to, err, circumvent some of the traditional purchasing avenues
Trips to 7-11, across the street from morning monitoring: PRICELESS
Keep in mind, these numbers aren't inclusive of everything, and certainly could vary widely depending upon whether you have fertility coverage.
Describe Tendai Chiware's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine.
She suggested that since our 2 normal embryos were both highly graded, we avoid transferring both at once in case they yielded quadruplets or triplets. We are infinitely grateful for this advice--since our first cycle failed, if we'd used both embryos on it, there's a strong possibility we could've lost both. It was out of the question financially for us to do another retrieval.
How competent was Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine at LGBTQ+ care?
As mentioned in another section, Genesis was the cream of the crop when it comes to LGBTQ competency. We were accepted as married lesbians from the get-go, and even more impressively, various staff members managed to remember that I (the patient) am married to another woman, and they'd ask how my wife was doing.
Describe your experience using 3rd party reproduction (donor eggs, donor sperm, or gestational carrier) at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine.
Gail was the one responsible for coordinating the move of our donor sperm from our first clinic to Genesis. The process was overwhelming on our first clinic's end, but Gail reassured us throughout, and met us with warmth and excitement when we finally dragged that ugly beige tank out of the elevator at Genesis. Our first clinic put up lots of red tape when it came to taking our sperm to another place; Gail was having none of that. ;)