Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2021 - 2022, Successful
Review of
Dr. Al-Safi took time to review our specific situation, provide a realistic prognosis, and adjust our protocol as necessary. His bedside manner was great. He never guaranteed a positive outcome, but he gave us hope during a really difficult time. He was always responsive to emails and questions...He also personally called us with important information or to provide reassurance as needed. While the appointments were sometimes rushed, he never left without responding to all of our questions and we knew that he was available by email for any follow-up questions
Strengths [of UCLA}--Ease of scheduling appointments; 24/7 on-call physician availability; evidence-based care....They are providing competent medical care in a serious, no-frills environment. Weaknesses--we occasionally had a longer wait time on the few occasions where we saw a provider other than Dr. Al-Safi. There were sometimes confusion/communication issues between the insurance company and the clinic.
How was your experience with Zain Al-Safi at UCLA?
We saw Dr. Safi after undergoing testing and consultation at another clinic. We were told by our previous doctor that our chances of natural conception were low, and that we were not good candidates for IVF due to my low ovarian reserve. When we met with Dr. Safi, he thoroughly reviewed and interpreted our diagnostic tests from the other facility and gave us a different opinion. He believed we were good candidates for IUI, and if that didn't work, we had a decent shot at success with IVF.
We got pregnant after our second IUI, which unfortunately ended in an early loss. After our third IUI, we moved onto IVF, and my medication protocol was tailored to account for my low reserve. We had much better results at egg retrieval than I had expected, and we were extremely fortunate to get pregnant after our first embryo transfer.
We could not be more pleased with our experience with Dr. Al-Safi and UCLA. Unlike our previous clinic, we were promptly seen by him at every visit with little or no time in the waiting room. We also had no issues scheduling appointments--weekends, holidays, vacations, whatever--there was always availability with either Dr. Al-Safi or another doctor on-call. This meant that we were able to undergo a round of IUI or IVF during each cycle with no scheduling delays in between, which is rare for a fertility clinic. Many clinics "batch" patients with birth control to accommodate the doctor's schedule, which results in weeks or months of delay to the patient. In our experience, UCLA does not do this. Instead, they accommodate the patient's schedule, even if that means scheduling an IUI on Thanksgiving or Christmas.
In addition, we felt that Dr. Al-Safi took time to review our specific situation, provide a realistic prognosis, and adjust our protocol as necessary. His bedside manner was great. He never guaranteed a positive outcome, but he gave us hope during a really difficult time. He was always responsive to emails and questions, usually responding within a couple of hours. He also personally called us with important information or to provide reassurance as needed. While the appointments were sometimes rushed, he never left without responding to all of our questions and we knew that he was available by email for any follow-up questions. Even before we found success, we were very pleased with the care we received.
Overall, we would recommend Dr. Al-Safi and UCLA to anyone.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Zain Al-Safi at UCLA?
Don't underestimate the importance of being able to easily schedule appointments around your cycle. Not many clinics have a provider on-call 7 days a week. UCLA does, and this can dramatically reduce the amount of time you spend in treatment.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Zain Al-Safi at UCLA?
Dr. Al-Safi was attentive and extremely responsive to our questions. We also never had trouble scheduling an appointment.
Describe the protocols Zain Al-Safi used in your cycles at UCLA and their degree of success.
For IUI--Clomid during the first cycle, then changed to Letrozole in subsequent IUI cycles due to thinned lining on Clomid.
For IVF--Antagonist protocol (Gonal-F, Menopur, and Ganirelix) with higher medication dosages to account for low ovarian reserve.
Describe your experience with your nurse at UCLA. (Assigned nurse: Megan Niles)
Nurse Megan was very helpful in coordinating our IVF cycle and answering our questions.
Describe your experience with UCLA.
Strengths--Ease of scheduling appointments; 24/7 on-call physician availability; evidence-based care. This is not an Instagram fertility clinic. They're not trying to sell you a product or lifestyle. They are providing competent medical care in a serious, no-frills environment.
Weaknesses--we occasionally had a longer wait time on the few occasions where we saw a provider other than Dr. Al-Safi. There were sometimes confusion/communication issues between the insurance company and the clinic.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Zain Al-Safi at UCLA.
IUIs were approximately $1000 each cycle for cash-pay patients.
Unsure about exact IVF treatment costs, as we had insurance coverage by that time.
Describe Zain Al-Safi's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at UCLA.
Doctor recommended eSET due to age and first transfer attempt.
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