Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Dr. Abusief is very patient and understanding. She always gives me the time to ask questions and takes her time to explain anything I don't understand. At one point I was considering doing IVF overseas for significant less cost (prior to having IVF covered under my insurance) and Dr. Abusief was very supportive and offered her care that I might need before and after the actual IVF procedure. I've experienced several setbacks during my IVF treatment and Dr. Abusief was very sympathetic during it all. One minor drawback with Dr. Abusief is that her office is in Palo Alto, while all other doctors from the clinic are based in San Jose. So during the IVF cycle where I needed to get an ultrasound every other day, I saw 4 different doctors in the San Jose but not Dr. Abusief. There just wasn't enough appointment slots with her being the only doctor in the PA office. In hindsight I might have gone with a doctor located in the San Jose office, purely for convenience and greater chance that I would actually see the doctor during the IVF cycle.

Dr. Abusief seems to have limited appointment slots so while it is normally fine during the consultation phase to schedule appointments further out, during the later part of the IVF cycle where ultrasound is taken every other day, most of the available appointments are with other doctors located in San Jose. So I would advise those who live/work in the San Jose/South Bay area to choose doctor based in San Jose, and those who live/work in Peninsula to expect to have to travel to San Jose as there are more doctors available.

We started easy with oral medication and timed intercourse, as I have had one natural pregnant/birth before. But after two miscarriages, Dr. Abusief strongly encouraged us to consider IVF with genetic testing. We wanted to try non-invasive protocols first so we spent couple more cycles with injectable medication with IUI before moving to IVF. Dr. Abusief was considerate about the cost of the procedure and our past history of natural pregnancy, so she didn't order anything that wasn't necessary. In the end, based on my age, my body responded relatively well to the IVF protocols and produced acceptable # of eggs. Unfortunately all of the embryos have shown chromosomal abnormalities and are not viable for transfer.

So far the cost of one IVF cycle including retrieval, but NOT including genetic testing and transfer, is about $23K. Genetic testing is done by a 3rd party lab. Transfer is estimated to be around $4,000. These are billable costs, and may not reflect actual "out-of-pocket" cost if going through insurance or any cast discount if not covered by insurance.

We loved working with Dr. Abusief. The only downside is that since it's a large practice there were appointments where I saw one of her colleagues instead. She did not perform my egg retrievals or transfers because she was not "on-call" that day. She took over as the medical director and seemed stretched a little thin. I would have liked it more if there were less doctors involved and I was able to work with Dr. Abusief more exclusively.

Be prepared for the fact that even if you like her a lot, you may not enjoy her colleagues as much and will often be in their direct care instead of hers. Although she was my primary RE, I was seen by many other doctors during my cycles with her.

It was my first IVF cycle and we used a standard long-lupron down regulation protocol. They retrieved 9 eggs, however only 6 were mature. No human growth hormone was used, just the lupron, gonal-f, and menopur. She stated that she started me on a higher dose of gonadotropins due to my low AMH, however I've always had an even higher dose with subsequent cycles with other doctors.

I bought a package through ARC that covered one retrieval and fresh transfer and one frozen transfer. The package was around $12-13,000 and did not cover ICSI or more than a set number of ultrasounds in a cycle. I paid extra for needing extra monitoring appointments as well as a whole lot of blood work, ultrasounds, and endometrial pipelle procedure for a chemical pregnancy.

They will only transfer 2 embryos if you use day 3 embryos for my age bracket (Under 30). If you are using day 5 embryos, they will only transfer 1.

I felt they were professional and the actual surgical experience was amazing. Best procedure I ever had- I was alone, going through a divorce and a scary procedure with no one there for me. but I had a heated bed, kind words etc. It was great.

The desk staff and phone systems are a huge labyrinth of confusion. Just persevere and you will get through.

Both were to freeze eggs: First Cycle which only yielded 4 frozen eggs lupron 10 then Gonal F300 +minopur then HCG trigger Second Cycle yielded 12 frozen eggs: GonalF300 + minopur+dexameth pill Ganriliex HCG trigger

I was self pay. The fees are pretty set and standard. The fee for the full egg retrieval process was about 10K plus I had insurance for the drugs part so I'm not sure how much that was.

Dr. Mary is kind and compassionate. She spent good time reviewing our case and created a clear plan going forward. She has been available for communication thus far and has not run over 20 minutes late for any of our appointments.

You may not be able to see Dr. Mary for each treatment. She acknowledged that she does not specialize in autoimmune infertility, but makes appropriate referrals to a clinic nearby that does with whom she works closely.

The plan so far is: estrogen priming followed by a lupron downreg protocol. St in meds include: Follistim or Gonal-F and menopur. We will use conventional fertilization.

We're still figuring this out. Estimated to be $15,000 for IVF. Additional for our FET.

With PGS testing , the recommendation is a single embryo transfer

Dr. A told us what the normal protocols were, but was also flexible and patient when I asked about possible deviations. It took a lot of effort for me to go to a fertility doctor, and at first I was very scared. Dr. A was incredibly understanding and supportive of me going at my own pace. I never felt pressured or like a number in any way. A year ago I would have never believed that I would be brave enough to undergo a hysteroscopy and do 4 medicated Luis. Dr. Abusief's support all the way through was really key in helping me overcome my fear.

Be honest and ask a lot of questions.

Letrozole, progesterone, orvidrel

The Dr has great bedside manner and seems to care for her patients. She's a good first RE for couples new to fertility clinics as she is very good at sympathizing with you. At times I felt my underlying issues weren't consider in deciding on a protocol and that the team was taking more of a blanket approach to my care.

Get a consultation but also speak with 1-2 other clinics before jumping in as it's hard to jump ship later on.

$16,000 fresh IVF with ICSI, $5000 for medications $1500 for IUI (I think)

The office has a policy to only transfer one but on occasion they may make an exception but it had to be a team decision.

Overall he is a caring physician. However, if you have a slightly complicated case he may not be the best fit. He placed me on a protocol that over-suppressed me and was not indicated for my condition. After switching to another physician who confirmed that he placed me on a bad protocol (two other physicians actually disagreed with the protocol he placed me on), I was able to get double the number of eggs at retrieval and quadruple the number of euploid embryos. He also gives you false hope and will tell you stories of specific patients who cared for who were able to get pregnant with twins despite only two eggs being retrieved, or another patient at Kaiser who failed multiple rounds and was able to get pregnant naturally after he did just a saline sonogram for her. These are definitely the exception and not the rule and I wish he would stop telling these stories because it creates unrealistic expectations. He also seemed to not know my case well. Most of our visits were him looking through the chart asking me questions for things he should've known if he just spent 5 mins before the visit skimming my chart. There was a lot of wasted time because of this. This did not instill a lot of confidence.

Dr. Dobson is very nice and has good bedside manner, but if your case is not straightforward I would recommend looking elsewhere.

I have DOR. He placed me on the lupron downregulation protocol which over-suppressed me and I had bad results with egg retrieval.

I spent over 19K on one cycle of IVF with embryo transfer, about 6K on medications (over 1K was wasted because they changed my protocol). Genetic testing, initial consult, SHG, and other testing was about 5K. Spent over 30K in total for a miscarriage and a lot of trauma along the way.

Dr Dobson is a very capable fertility physician. At our first appointment, he went into great detail about the factors affecting fertility and conception, hormonal changes during each cycle, potential timing problems, possible points of intervention etc. He also explained age-related factors, chromosomal abnormalities and probabilities. This was very informative, and helpful in understanding why conception at advanced maternal age gets harder. He also asked relevant questions about our overall health, as it pertained to ability to conceive, and reviewed some issues from a previous pregnancy. With this backdrop, we expected to have specific troubleshooting, cycle monitoring and diagnoses, of whether there were the aforementioned issues. However, aside from an SHG - there wasn't much effort spent, on trying to determine the rootcause of our failure to conceive (presumed to be chromosomal abnormalities due to advanced maternal age). Overall, the approach was to follow established protocol of (possibly several) cycles of treatment, with hormone supplementation / injection as part of protocol (regardless of need), and without necessarily customizing it to each couple's circumstances. While this might actually be the most efficient path to achieve pregnancy, it wasn't necessarily what we were looking for. Too often, it seemed to us that the treatment was shooting in the dark. Dr Dobson was willing to work with our reservations about extensive interventions, refusal to consider IVF and PGT-A. He was understanding and respectful, and suggested instead to proceed with IUI cycles. As the cycles proceeded, it would have been better to have a consultation where the plan of treatment was clearly discussed, chances of success for various alternatives explained, and a recommendation made. I found myself having to make rushed choices, while filling out forms with the NP / patient coordinator. Likely due to time constraints, the doctor would often only review charts during the appointments, and have to be reminded about findings, NP's suggestions etc. The plan of treatment for the next cycle, was also communicated on-the-fly, and it seemed without much analysis of prior data. This is likely an artifact of the oversubscribed PAMF-REI practice. Other than that, Dr Dobson had good bedside manner, compassion and a great sense of humour, which was a relief during otherwise awkward procedures.

If you want to get more information - ask questions. The doctor is knowledgeable, but doesn't necessarily explain the tradeoffs, and calculations behind making informed choices. (Again, not every couple may want to know those details, but we did). When we did, we got detailed, accurate and honest answers.

IUI with Clomid, progesterone supplementation.

Diagnostics (SHG ~ $1204 , some ultrasounds $322) were covered by my insurance. Fertility treatments were not (IUI without medication ~$1384).

He is kind and caring. He takes the time to talk about treatment, next steps, and what each step will entail. My first visit, he spent 2 hours talking through IVF and what I could expect. He took the time to answer my messages at 10:30 at night and was always willing to talk when I had questions.

Get on his list! He cares deeply about each of his patients. I would also recommend asking as many questions as you feel you need to understand the process. He’s willing to answer them

For my retrieval, they used ganarelix, follistom, and menopure. I was on low dosages of each because of my PCOS and I could be easily over stimulated. I stimmed for two and a half weeks. I had 44 eggs, and did an ICSI split. 19 fertilized with ICSI and 1 the traditional way. I ended up with 9 day 5 blasts. We transfered one fresh on day 3. This did not result in a pregnancy. My first FET we did oral estrace 3 Times a day and then vaginal estrace after 10 days to increase lining. Also used Lupron for two weeks. PIO shots began 5 days before transfer. This resulted in a blighted ovum at 7 weeks. Since this protocol was successful in getting me pregnant, we used the same protocol with the addition to estrogen patches for lining support. This resulted in a miscarriage at 5 weeks. My final FET was similar with the addition of baby aspirin and 2 estrogen patches. When beta was confirmed, he started me on lovonox for 12 weeks. This resulted in my 5 month old daughter

Initial cost for retrieval, fresh transfer, and one FET was $14565. Cost of meds was $1500. For each FET after that, it was approx 4,500 and meds were $400-500.

He suggested because I was 29/30 at the age of transfers, one embryo was our best shot because I had a high chance of multiples with more than one embryo

Dr. Abusief was very kind and compassionate. She even called me the night that my fresh transfer did not work to make sure that we had a plan I felt comfortable with going forward. She goes above and beyond.

PAMF Infertility Group is a collection of REIs, so expect to see her colleagues along the way. The good news is that you have many people thinking about your case, the bad news is that you won't see her every time. I didn't mind because I understand that she has a family too and cannot be there every day.

Don't remember the details.

Covered by insurance, except meds.

PAMF's primary goal is a single healthy delivery as this is the healthiest for baby and mommy. I did only single embryo transfers.

Doctor was very hopeful and confident in her ability to give us the results we want. She was very informative and answered every question I had. I wish she was more compassionate and gentle upfront, but was once I expressed my concerns and fear with her.

Ask tons of questions!

With my DOR- she wanted to start with iui with clomid and fsh injections.

Dr. Ezzati is warm and capable, and we've been very happy with him. We haven't always been able to see him, but the clinic tries hard to schedule me with him as often as possible, and always for surgical procedures. He usually does not respond to emails personally, but his nurses respond from his account quickly and satisfactorily. He is clearly invested in our success without crossing any boundaries or making any promises (he has always been very professional). We have always felt that we were in very good hands, understood our treatment plans ,and were able to ask questions.

He is in different offices on different days, so be prepared to be flexible if you need to see him on a certain day (you may need to drive to an office farther away from you) or in a certain location (you may need to wait a week or two for an appointment).

We did a stimulation and egg retrieval in 2016. I don't remember the details of the protocol, but I do remember that he introduced a growth hormone partway through that helped a number of additional follicles develop. He noted that if we ever did another stimulation, he would include this from the start. He gave us a very good explanation of PGS and ICSI, and ultimately we decided to do both. Our daughter was born the next year after an FET, and we are now preparing for our third FET (our second - last month - was not successful).

$4500 for FET $20000 for IVF stimulation, retrieval, ICSI, and PGS Medications additional

Our doctor's preference - and ours - was to transfer a single embryo, given that we had undiagnosed infertility, and had never experienced any pregnancy loss or complications.

I felt as if Dr Kim spent too much time on IUIs. I already came in with a diagnosis of balanced translocation so the hard part was figured out. With PGT SR genetic testing I got pregnant after the first transfer. Other than that he is really nice, timely, and approachable.

Advocate for IVF sooner. Try not to do so many IUIs. 2 or 3 is enough. I did 5.

I feel like I had a very basic protocol for egg retrieval. Gonal F and Menopur then adding cetrotide to prevent ovulation later. I had pretty good results. For transfer I could chose natural or medicated. I chose natural and I cannot recommend it enough. The vaginal suppositories bid vs pio shots make a big difference. Also associated with less risks of preclampsia later on. The only risk with the natural cycle was a higher chance of it being canceled because of missed ovulation however with the amount of IUIs I went through, I got pretty good with pinning down the day of ovulation.

The office staff knew my by name which was nice so I didn't even need to check in. Wait times were minimal. Maybe about half the time it was my assigned doctor.

I had a 15000 dollar infertility budget with my insurance. I worked with a financial counselor named Nadia who really maximized the spending. I paid out of pocket for meds to take advantage of the 50 percent self pay discount. Overall I spent only 6000 for 5 IUIs, 1 egg retrieval, and 1 transfer thanks to Nadia.

I was trying to push for a multiple embryo transfer but considering my age and diagnosis Dr Kim would not let me. I respect his advice.

It was a very long journey but Dr. Kim and his team ultimately delivered (I graduated from the clinic after my fifth transfer which resulted in a pregnancy). Dr. Kim is kind, calm and patient. He has a really steady and gentle hand in procedures - other doctors will ram a probe painfully but Dr. Kim avoids that. He takes the time to explain things too. He doesn’t over promise and is science based. What I appreciate about him is that he doesn’t push outlandish IVF add-ons, but he is still willing to try things when you specifically request it (for example, I asked to do karyotype testing even though it wouldn’t be super helpful or didn’t seem particularly needed, and he was willing to let me do it upon request). At many points during the process, I wanted to change things up or do things a certain way, and while Dr. Kim indicated that we didn’t have to do things that way but was willing to accommodate, a lot of his advice (especially around luck of the draw) ended up being true in the end. One thing that I appreciated too was that given some of my complicated history, he made it a point to see me every time, even on his surgery days and for basic monitoring. (That is pretty rare at other clinics.) I was happy in the end with my treatment.

Dr. Kim is solid if you fit in a box or are an easy case. If you are a hard case, it may be harder to find the cause quickly because PAMF doesn’t automatically do things like DNA fragmentation tests, karyotype testing, ERAs, Receptiva testing, etc. You have to be an advocate for stuff like that. But if you raise it, PAMF will entertain the request but discuss the facts and science with you (and if the benefit is only marginal, they may be discouraging of pursuing it).

Ultimately what worked was antagonist and Day 5 transfer with no PGS testing.

I had unlimited IVF coverage through my employer so I have no idea what anything cost. But I was impressed that they processed my insurance efficiently and never tried to unfairly bill me for things covered by insurance.

PAMF is pretty strict if you are under 35 with single embryo transfers.

I went into this like most women in this situation: excited, anxious, and a bit scared of what lies ahead. From the first visit and so far throughout this process Dr. Kim has been more than reassuring and honest about what to expect. He took time to develop the rapport we needed. As I stated previously he was upfront about everything from the process, options, labs, and even costs. I have yet to feel alone or lost in this process.

I would say, “you made it this far, keep going!” I know the frustration of trying to conceive and feeling unheard, but Dr. Kim will help alleviate that as much as he can. I don’t profess him to be able to resolve all issues, but he is in the business of helping give others miracles in form of humans. Come with your questions and be open to what you may hear from any provider.

I’m currently awaiting my cycle review for my injection schedule. However I had a lot of the imaging and labs completed from my previous doctor. My husband and I had to have a new set of labs completed, I required a SHG to assess my uterine wall/cavity, and the plan is for IVF. I have a blocked fallopian tube and my spouse’s sperm motility is low so we have to have the sperm injected into the egg for fertilization, hence the only reason IVF is our only option.

The IVF estimate is $10k the medication/lab estimate is $5k. The labs and test so far have been covered by my insurance.

From our first appointment dr Ezzati was very good at explaining fertility and the process. He was very patient and easy to understand and follow. He explains odds and use analogies and visuals to explain things better. I never felt rushed during our appointments. He was genuinely happy and sad with us throughout the va process. He has been curious about us and kept in touch even now 7+ month pregnant. He has gone out of his way to accommodate us when treatments were not going right but ovulation was happening. Helping with a unscheduled ultrasound and guidance for timing.

Ask questions and mention your fears and worries to Dr Ezzati. The will be able to explains things to you to keep your optimism up.

I don’t remember all protocols. I know with the first IVF treatment some eggs were growing too fast and about to ovulate so it got switched into an IUI. Dr Ezzati then changed the treatment so I do stimulate my eggs too fast. This resulted in 5 5-day embryos with 2 fresh transfer and 3 frozen embryos. Unfortunately this pregnancy didn’t work out. Because of timing we got another IVF turned into IUI and we also got an impromptu IUI because I was ovulating at the right time... after a couple of miscarriages we got two successful IVFs with genetic testing. 1xday5 embryo and came back genetically good but turned into a chemical pregnancy and the other one with 4xday5 embryos (2 bad dna, 1 good and 1 inconvlusive). I’m pregnant (7+mo) with the good embryo now. Things are a bit blurry with all the treatments and ups and downs now.

Don’t know, insurance covered most of it. Used HSA for drugs but can’t really remember the cost. Genetic was expensive too but can’t remember the final cost.

Dr Ezzati talked to us about the benefits and risks of multiple transfers. Our first IVF we transfer 2 (untested). I always felt confident with the proposed transfer.

Dr. Dobson is excellent. He is caring, thorough, honest, straightforward, and experienced. He takes his time, explains everything, and answers all questions. Thanks to him, we have six frozen embryos using our own eggs and sperm waiting for transfer, nearly impossible given our age. His colleagues are equally outstanding: Dr. Abusief, Dr. Ezzati, Dr. Okeigwe and Dr. Kim. They work as a team.

He is truly one of the best. With each cycle, he fine-tuned our protocol resulting in more embryos with each retrieval, beating the odds at my age.

For all cycles, we did Estrace 6 mg priming. For IUIs, we used Clomid, Follistim, stims and progesterone after. For IVF, the first round included aggressive protocol with micro Lupron, Follistim, Menopur, Dexamethasone, Prednisone, and prog in ethyl oleate. For all other IVF rounds, Clomid, Follistim, Menopur, Ganirelix, Omnitrope, Dexamethasone, Prednisone, and progesterone in ethyl oleate. This change in protocol increased eggs retrieved and embryos with each round.

Appointments were fine.

Unfortunately our insurance didn't cover treatment. We used two ARC Fertility packages for six rounds of IVF. We were also provided with several specialty pharmacies, and two were incredible with lower prices and special discounts.

He was open to both, and we chose to go with his recommendations each cycle.

From our first meeting with Dr Ezzati, we felt confident that we picked the right doctor. He took the time to explain everything to us fully and answered all of our questions. He always greets us with a smile and puts us at ease during our treatment by explaining things to us in layman’s terms. It feels great to know what’s going on through every phase of treatment instead of going in blind.

Don’t be afraid to ask Dr Ezzati your questions. He is more than happy to explain things to you and give you the time you need and deserve.

I’ve tried two cycles of clomid with my obgyn (which were unsuccessful) before I started seeing Dr Ezzati. Dr Ezzati wanted to track my baseline measures with clomid and iui before adding any other medications. We used 100 mg of clomid days 3-7, which produced two dominant follicles, but the iui was unsuccessful. The second cycle he added gonal-f injections in addition to the clomid and made sure to track my progress. Unfortunately, the second cycle also did not work. He recommended continuing with iui for 1-4 more cycles, but I wanted to proceed with ivf, which after explaining the risks and benefits, he agreed to if we were ready. I am currently in the middle of my ivf cycle and am happy with the care that I am receiving.

I do not remember

Dr Ezzati and the other PAMF Doctors are all about single embryo transfers and making a single healthy baby. He understands that there are increased risk with multiples, which could be a danger to both mom and the babies, and does not want to take any risks. There are exceptions including age that might change that, but generally they seem to aim for one healthy baby at a time.

During the embryo transfer, with me strapped into stir-ups and nervous, he asked me if he could fill up my bladder. I was thinking that I had just had 3 full glasses of water, couldn't he just wait? I hesitantly asked if it was necessary. He answered that if I wanted a successful result I would have to. He roughly shoved a size 20 catheter into me and I screamed. He proceeded to fill up my bladder, yanked it out and I screamed again. He made no apologies, and proceeded with the transfer. To make a long story short, he denied responsibility later for my urethral damage. I continue to have constant pain, and have to pee every 10 minutes or less, every couple of hours all night long. I am still out of work due to constant pain and urination and am awaiting my pregnancy test.

Unless you are into medical rape, avoid this doctor at all costs.

I had never met him on the day of embryo transfer. He had one simple but very important job to do and he messed it up.

15,000 donor eggs, 1,000 donor sperm, 10,000 for attempted embryo transfer

I was not offered the option of multiple embryo transfer.

Dr. Dobson has overall been a good doctor; I'm glad we have stuck with him; he is the head of the PAMF-FPNC department, so he has a lot of knowledge and experience. In my very first visit with him, he spent 2 hours looking through all of mine and my husband's health history, and gave us insight/ideas for moving forward, and let me know if I disagreed with any suggestions along the way that I could let him know and we would compromise. So far, although we have not gotten pregnant yet, they have done everything well as far as treating us and starting with least invasive first (my request). The only reservations I have are that; 1) PAMF is one of the more expensive facilities, 2) It can be hard to get a hold of them by phone/make appts when you want due to them being busy and closing at 3:30pm, 3) They are not too keen on natural treatment such as vitamins/supplements (unless labs show they are needed), 4) They tend to ask me a lot of the same questions each time I am seen. With all of that being said, they do their best to make you comfortable and you won't get tossed around to different providers each visit.

If you are wanting to go a more natural route with fertility treatment, I would suggest seeing a different provider, as he is a provider that tends to treat patients that need more aggressive treatment.

He is intelligent and sincerely wants to help me with my end result. Sometimes I didnt want to hear what he was saying; he was caring and compassionate and kind. This was reassuring. If I had questions he was patient and took the time to listen to me. I was very appreciative!

He is honest and direct yet kind and supportive. Listen and ask question even if you feel the questions will are a repeat of what was discussed earlier.

We used estrace priming protocol due to low ovarian reserve. We did a 3 day transfer.

$10,000 without meds

I will be trying donor eggs moving forward. I was monitored heavily to see if follicles where ready for egg retrieval. 3 of the six eggs retrieved where immature and 3 were fertilized. Only 2 fertilized correctly.

We’ve only gone through consultation and baseline testing with Dr. Ezatti but he has done a great job explaining every step of the process, thoroughly reviewing our test results, and setting expectations and timelines for next steps.

Would highly recommend him. He is caring and compassionate and wants to do everything to ensure treatment works for you.

~$25k for IVF with PGT

Dr. Ezzati was excellent, very thorough and kind.He explained everything and was realistic and optimistic at the same time. He answered all my questions. He put me at ease and made me feel comfortable.

I would recommend seeing him. He's a good doctor.

I am still in the IVF process using frozen eggs. We discussed the reality and cost of doing another IVF round with my own eggs but ultimately the donor eggs are a better fit for me. Right now everything is on hold due to Covid 19 but once things reopen we'll proceed to the embryo implantation step.

16,000 for frozen eggs , 13,000 IVF treatment without insurance.

His approach with the transvaginal ultrasounds is extremely gentle! However, with two failed transfers, he and the coordinator didn't have much input except that it was within the expected odds. I felt like I really had to advocate for more testing and changes in protocol.

Do some research and be your own advocate.

Fresh embryo transfer resulted in a live birth. Dr. Kim performed the transfer but was not my main doctor for that round of treatment. Frozen Embryo Transfers - estradiol and progesterone only. Two failed transfers.

Egg retrieval and fresh transfer: $17K insurance billed, $11K self pay Frozen transfer: $5.3K

He strongly recommended a single transfer due to the unexplained infertility diagnosis.

He's very methodical about this being a numbers game. Dr. Kim was straightforward with us, but also seemed a bit at a loss in the face of my emotion. He also doesn't seem comfortable with advancements in the field (supplements, PGS, altering retrieval protocols)

be prepared for a lot of waiting time between calling for an appointment, consultation, and beginning treatment

retrieval and fresh transfer were covered by insurance, so only medication copays and $35 copay per visit. Frozen transfer was ~$4k, hysteroscopy was ~2.5K

He was very "here's what is allowed by the guidelines," and even offered to transfer 3 embryos given my age. But the decision was 100% up to us.