Sama Fertility

This clinic has great communication! Their texting service makes it easy to ask any question you need at any time of day - even with a time difference. Dr. Olcha is readily available to answer any questions you need. Additionally, they are very advanced with new technology. This allowed me to do all of my appointments (ultrasound, blood draw) at home. I was able to maintain a full work schedule up to my retrieval. This also allowed for my total procedure to be more affordable. Weakness might be not enough west coast locations.

The clinic is quick to respond, organized, works well together, and kind. I do not have any weaknesses to report. I would encourage a new patient to ask questions and ask for more information if she does not understand everything.

The clinic took an individualized approach to our fertility needs. We saw significantly better results both for our donor egg retrieval cycle and for our own embryo transfer. We were able to drastically increase the yield on our donor eggs retrieval as compared to the previous clinic. Further with this clinic, we transferred a mosaic embryo of ours, that resulted in the birth of our baby boy!

I appreciate the convenience of the virtual clinic model, especially with the in-person availability of my OBGYN. The accessibility and ease of navigating the process make it a seamless experience for me.

It's feels like a smaller clinic with the advantage of being close enough to focus on your specific needs. They understand the process throughly and provide clear guidance on the different aspects and possible paths.

Strength: at home ultrasounds! I choose to do my ultrasounds at home and I found it very easy and less disruptive than going into a clinic every other day. It was empowering to be able to see the follicles myself.

Strength is responsiveness, convenience (they were experts at conducting as much remotely as possible), and medical knowledge. I felt like I was in really good hands. I felt like there was a lot of red tape that I didn’t have to go through at this clinic that I had to deal with at other clinics. I didn’t have to wait for anything - everything was scheduled what felt like immediately. It was really a pleasure to deal with each staff member.

I honestly don’t have any complaints about Sama. I had a fantastic experience. When you’re dealing with fertility issues, it’s great to be at a place where the doctor and staff see and hear you. It’s great that patients can text any thoughts and concerns and get a response within a hour. I’ve texted several times and always got a response.

The SAMA clinic was 3 hours from my home in the middle of NYC. Driving to the clinic and dealing with parking in the city was the difficult part of using this clinic. The clinic itself is welcoming and clean. During my procedure I was the only patient scheduled and had plenty of privacy and time to meet with the embryologist, Dr Olcha, and the nurses. The clinic was technologically advanced but small enough to feel like each patient matters.

SAMA is an outstanding fertility clinic with a dedicated team that goes above and beyond to support their patients. The staff's expertise and compassion are truly unparalleled, making a challenging process much more manageable. One thing to note is that communication is primarily through email, so there are times you might feel a little lost in the process. It's crucial to speak up—if you have questions or concerns, ask! They aren't mind readers, so proactive communication is key. Overall, SAMA provides exceptional care and support, helping dreams of parenthood come true.

Sama's model is mostly remote, which is super convenient. Our only time in a physical clinic with the Sama team was during retrieval and transfer - those times were great, and we felt safe and well cared-for.

The “clinic” is remote but procedures are done in NYC at Global Fertility and Genetics Center which is where the embryologists are also located. Location is very easy to get to (get a Spot Hero reservation to park across the street at 110 E57th!) Some patients can also use at-home ultrasound machines as part of their treatment (I don’t qualify because of fibroids) which seems very convenient.

Pros: super organized, check-in whether through phone calls or emails, on top of the the prescription. There are no surprised in terms of them changing the date of a procedure. The financial team does not blinds you. Other clinics sometimes would be blindsided you with extra cost. It has not been my experience with Sama.

Strength - the staff and doctor - truly a world class team even among the many known doctors in New York City area Weakness - none to be honest. I would've gone to his team the first round as well if I knew better.

Of course, it would be great to have all of your appointments in one location but given the challenge of me being located in Nashville, TN and the clinic being located in NY/NJ, it could not have gone smoother. I think the biggest strength is the STAFF (!!!!), and organization/communicated. They really know what they are doing and it shows. They were a dream to work with. I really don't have any weaknesses to mention as my experience was very seamless. The only thing I would mention to a new patient is that you really need to be flexible in terms of work/appointments/days off. We were able to schedule all of my appts between 7-9 AM so that I didn't miss any work but the retrieval date was not confirmed until four days before. As a Type A person, this was stressful for me but I would know going into next time to block all the days, assume I am taking them off and book refundable flights/hotels. Obviously this is a complication working with a clinic further away but it was worth it for me to work with Sama. I would do it again.

Sama Fertility excels at communication. The entire staff is warm and inviting. Even at my most anxious moments, they made me feel safe and listened to. Dr. Olcha is amazing (I cannot praise him enough) and I genuinely wouldn't be comfortable with another reproductive endocrinologist after how well my experience went with him. Because the clinic is remote, the prices are more affordable since monitoring is done locally. We had to travel for both the egg retrieval and the transfer, but even adding travel costs, Sama Fertility was still cheaper than my local clinic. Instructions are sent through an app. The app is new and because of that, Giana would email me to make sure I received the instructions. There were a couple times they didn't show up properly. When this happened, I reached out to the team, and they were able to resolve the problem in minutes. The only negative thing I experienced wasn't the clinics fault at all. Our local Labcorp doesn't offer STAT results on hormones so it took some researching to find out which facilities offer it. The actual procedures are done at their partner clinic's location, Global Fertility and Genetics in Manhattan, NY. The trickiest thing about using a remote clinic is you will find out a few days prior to when you will have to travel. For us, we didn't have any issues with requesting off work last minute but I can understand how that may be difficult in some careers. It's good to get an estimate of the window you'll be traveling in. That way it's easier to prepare for travel.

The strength; I was given Dr Olcha’s number and I could communicate with him whenever I needed. The communication between the nurse/clinical coordinator could have been more clear when I need to use my insurance for the ultrasound / blood work.

I didn’t personally go to their clinic, but if I needed to contact any of them they were responsive. My bloodwork and ultrasounds were done at labs/center near my house. Our communication was via text/email.