Sandy Li

Doctor to patient I would love to see her face to face more. I think in a total 2.5 years we have seen her 3 times. I haven’t seen her yet this year and I’ve done a IVF cycle, retrieval and ERA with transfer approaching. I understand with covid-19 now but I don’t think we met up her her face to face last year either. Would love more of that.

To compile all questions and concerns up front in your consultation because even though Dr. Li has a team of nurses it’s always better to hear your concerns coming straight from your doctor.

The overall strategy was what came from my baseline and test of bloodwork. I believe my baseline for estrogen is not high enough so I was on Menopur 75 which moved up to 150 on the 7th or 8th day, Gonal stayed at 250 both retrieval’s. For my second retrieval Menopur went up to 150 right away (maybe on day 3) this was successful I believe because we got 17 eggs, 15 mature. Whereas first cycle was 12 eggs, 9 mature. My protocol for my second IVF was to do a ERA and PGS testing since we had 2 failed transfers on good lookin embryos. Waiting on ERA results and PGS testing gave us all 5 genetically normal embryos. So happy and would say my protocol has been successful.

My monitoring appointments are always consistent I know what to expect and know I will always get my results within a few hours of the appointment.

Global package IVF #1 $8,000 Storage $1,800 last year fee plus $35 every month FET #1 $4,600 Shared risk program IVF #2 $20,000 Medication total $5,000

No I completely understand, I’m under 35 I know the risk.

I started my fertility journey with Dr. Sandy Li for consultation and workup. As I learnt more about the treatments (through research), I gained more knowledge to be able to understand the nuances and varied options available (eg. 3 day vs 5 day testing, single vs multiple embryo transplant). I understand that the fertility doctor has the experience, but I wanted to feel comfortable and assured that the doctor has the best interest for me as an individual rather than just another patient. I did not get that sense as my concerns were not heard and answered. For someone who wants to trust the doctor completely, she would have been fine but not for me considering that I do not have time to keep trying many cycles.

If you want the doctor to take all the decisions, then Sandy Li could be a good choice. Everything else went fine with the limited number of visits I had.

The treatment strategy was not shared. The medication order was sent directly to the pharamcy

Did not proceed with treatment, but blood work was reasonable after insurance, around $20. Genetic testing costs are still in consideration.

Single embryo transfer was preferred as discussed during our conversation.

Dr. Sandy Li was polite, kind, and knowledgeable. Having said that, Dr. Li prioritizes the success rate of BostonIVF over the individual success rate of the patient. Every decision Dr. Li made prioritized the highest success rate for BostonIVF; she did not explain the options at our disposal and I had to do extensive research after our first IVF round failed. For example, we had over 20 eggs but less than 5 fertilized; Dr. Li pushed PGT testing repeatedly (I understand the benefits, but with under 5 fertilized embryos we did not have the luxury), and Dr. Li insisted on checking on the fertilized embryos after 5 days only to find all stopped developing after Day 3. I found it disturbing that with over 20 eggs, and less than 5 fertilized embryos, Dr. Li was unwilling to consider or even inform us we could do a 3-day transfer. I requested embryology reports and discovered several of our fertilized embryos would have been candidates for 3-day transfer and/or freezing - it was devastating to learn Dr. Li had essentially wasted a round of IVF for us when we had usable embryos. After our first round of IVF failed, Dr. Li was not proactive and made no recommendations to adjust our treatment - I had to research on my own. While Dr. Li might be a good fit for others, she was not a good fit for us in terms of providing tailored treatment or closely monitoring our labs and fertilized embryos. Again, her priority was securing the best rates for BostonIVF; since we had no embryos to transfer, we never impacted her success rate.

Prior to meeting with Dr. Li, research all of the options at your disposal because Dr. Li likely won't make you aware of them, such as Assisted Hatching, 3-day vs. 5-day transfers, and 3-day egg freezing.

We used antagonist protocol. While we were able to retrieve a high number of eggs (>20), I sometimes wonder if the medications could have been calibrated better - I was on 275 Gonal F and 75-112 ML Menopur.

About $5,000 for IVF through egg retrieval (but no transfer)

Dr. Li only offered single embryo transfer; I had to research to ask if multiple embryo transfer was an option.

Dr Li was very up front with her recommendation given our medical profile, and was confident IVF would yield the best outcome for us. She educated us on the data and the treatment protocol that was recommended. She answered all of my questions and used visual aids to help explain the science and process of IVF and PGT-A testing.

Go into every meeting with questions prepared for her.

Antagonist protocol with PGT-A testing due to diminished ovarian reserve, recurrent pregnancy loss and age factor. Gonal-F and Meopur at max dosing, added in Centrotide day 5 due to concerns of pre-ovulation. Lupron Trigger 36 hours before retrieval. Produced 8 eggs, 4 mature, 1 fertilized and frozen but came back abnormal from PGT-A testing.

I have insurance but it did not cover IVF. My out of pocket costs were 12,571 which included monitoring, egg retrieval, and PGT-A testing. Medications were 5,000 and if I have an embryo transfer that would have been 3,400.

It was clear and agreed up from the beginning that we only want a eSET!

I would recommend Dr Nair to any close friends or relatives. She is an expert, but she is also very compassionate. She cares about her patients like her own family, not some cold numbers on the balance sheet. We had one failed transfer, but she encouraged me, adjusted the whole protocol, and was on top of each procedure. I respect her opinion and trust her judgement and professionalism. I finally got pregnant under her care after almost four years of trying. My husband and I thank her with our whole heart.

If you are looking for a down to the earth, no fluffy and compassionate doctor with great expertise, she is your doctor to go.

I was put on antibiotics to repress my immunity before transfer. She also used Lovenox to help with implantation. I think these two things finally helped me conceive.

The monitoring appointments are generally easy to schedule and on time. Occasionally it runs late.

My insurance covered main costs, but I still paid about $12,000 including treatment and medication.

I was advised to do eSET because I had a high-risk pregnancy before.

Strengths are that she makes herself available to her patients. Weaknesses is that she doesn't review charts appropriately and has patients repeat the same tests multiple times. She also allows her personal bias to cross ethical boundaries. She essentially delayed my treatment because I refused to approve genetic testing. I am African-American they screen for sickle cell anemia at birth. She heard my husband say he has a history of it on his side of the family and took it upon herself to tell me she wouldn't select an embryo with sickle cell trait or sickle cell anemia for transfer. This is beyond medical advice and crossed into telling a client what they should and shouldn't do with their own embryos. At this point imaginary embryos that have not possibility of developing sickle cell anemia. I essentially was discarded to the side because I didn't sign a consent form for genetic testing.

Advocate for yourself.

Didn't make it this far. Dr. Li and her nurse gave me the runaround and then disappeared before the lab closed for quality assurance.

Initial workup was 2000 for the testing and repeated tests. Mostly covered by insurance. They quoted me 10000 for IVF.

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