Kindbody - Atlanta

I've only had one conversation with the doctor during my consultation and some communication over email. The consultation itself was okay except for when I expressed that I was committed to having a known donor. The doctor engaged less with this fact and spent most of the time explaining the process of using the sperm bank. And while having information about the process of using sperm bank was informative if I ever go that route, I had to reiterate towards the end of the conversation that I was committed to using a known sperm donor. She sent me to the family team to discuss more about the process of using a known donor, the usual protocol which I didn't have a problem with but the experience felt a bit fragmented. So while I don't think the doctor's engagement with me was inadequate at the time, working with Kindbody has felt like pulling teeth to get the information and understanding early enough to be proactive and make the most informed and cost effective decisions. Because of this experience, I've since learned through the many clinics I've had consultation with, that many clinics seem to be better setup to support people who want to use the sperm bank versus sperm from a known donor. All of this could be due to the structure, system, and industry regulation and standards across clinics and less to do with specific doctor or clinic. But I do think though, consultations and doctors holding the process should be able to communicate or acknowledge upfront where the process- due to things in or outside their control- may not align with their patients values and vision around family. As a queer person who is trying to be a single parent I think what wasn't understood was that my vision of family is more expansive than just simply having a donor who could provide genetic material. I'm considering my known sperm donor as an extended family member and that was the most important factor in my case. An individualized plan should have been setup with me based on this and discussed with the doctor and not just the family team before I started to pay for diagnostics, counseling sessions, and other services. So even if they didn't intend to treat me just as a number, the way they're setup is not empowering for the patient especially without prior knowledge and understanding about how this industry seems to operate.

Come prepared to really advocate for your vision of family so that they understand early enough the deeper why and can be more supportive upfront in you getting all the information you need early to make cost effective decisions.

tl;dr The Kindbody staff and clinic director is very helpful, however, Dr. Cain is the absolute least professional doctor I have ever encountered and would tell anyone trying to learn about their fertility to steer clear. I went to Kindbody hoping to learn about the egg freezing process and potential surrogacy down the road. The staff and nurses that helped me were friendly and prompt and made the experience easy. Once I got in the room with Dr. Cain it was a completely different story. We sat down and I explained that I was looking to have my eggs frozen for surrogacy down the line as my husband and I were looking towards family planning several years out. The entire session she had her computer open and was looking at message notifications she was getting. She shared with me a little about what my options were, a very very high-level review of what egg freezing process was like, and made a few notes on a handout that summarized egg freezing. I then asked a question about insurance and coverage. (Some background, I had previously called my insurance company asking about coverage and they said that depending on the code the doctor inputs, my procedure may be covered.) With this knowledge, I asked Dr. Cain what code she might put me under. She then went on to tell me how she "wasn't going to lie" and that she doesn't handle anything with financing. I was immediately taken aback as I had made no mention of lying and was trying to understand more about insurance coverage. I understand that the doctor may not be the right person to speak to about financing or insurance, which she could have stated without accusing me of asking to lie. She then said she wanted to have me get some bloodwork done, I asked her what the cost of that was and she said "it is a standard lab test that insurance will cover". I got my blood taken and left with no next steps, no timeline, and not feeling good about my experience. I ended up speaking with the clinic director to share my negative experience and she was understanding and apologetic and offered to put me with the clinics other doctor. I called a week later asking about my results and a very nice nurse practitioner spoke with me for over an hour explaining the actual egg freezing process (the timeline, medications, what to expect from my body, pain level, etc) All of which Dr. Cain never even touched on. After that call, I felt a little better about the experience and was still considering moving forward with Kindbody. That is until I received a separate bill from the lab that did my bloodwork that Dr. Cain said "would be covered by insurance". When I called the clinic director to ask about this charge she said that Dr. Cain should not have said that and she apologized for the miscommunication but she was unable to remove the charge because the bill came from the lab. That ended up being my tipping point of not moving forward with Kindbody.

Do not consider Dr. Cain a viable option for your fertility care. She has no redeeming qualities as a medical professional.

I received no strategies or protocols from Dr. Cain as she did not follow up or show interest in treating me.

Dr. Garvin was amazing. I saw her the first day that I stepped into the clinic and she gave me a ton of recommendations regarding egg freezing and what I could expect. We also went through the current state of my uterus and ovaries. Once it was time for the retrieval, we were reconnected and the process was seamless. She also followed up to ensure that all went well about a week after.

If any questions come up, ask. She is happy to answer them.

Approx. $12,000

The doctor behaved very well, always kind, very worried, all the time saying and explaining everything very well and I am very grateful to her since we achieved our dream and double since I bring twins. Thank you doctor for helping us have our babies.

Always trust that the doctor will do her best to help you and never lose faith