Pregnancy guaranteed ! Our Fertility Insurance Program
Everyone knows IVF has a limited success rate and that there are no guarantees in medicine. If that's the case, then why do we offer an IVF guaranteed pregnancy program ?
Everyone knows IVF has a limited success rate and that there are no guarantees in medicine. If that's the case, then why do we offer an IVF guaranteed pregnancy program ?
Is this just a marketing gimmick ?
No ! There are lots of benefits to this option, both for our patients and for us.
For one thing, this option bolsters the patient's confidence levels ! Patients who have failed IVF cycles elsewhere have lost confidence in doctors - and in themselves. Before starting the IVF cycle, most clinics promise the moon. However, when the cycle fails, the patient becomes a leper and the doctor becomes inaccessible ! Finding a doctor who is is willing to put his money where his mouth is helps them to rebuild confidence in the medical system !
This option also helps patients to have realistic expectations of the IVF treatment. For many patients, IVF is their last resort. They are fed up and frustrated and do IVF with a lot of hope that this high-tech expensive method with such a high success rate will finally give them the baby they have longed for for such a long time ! When the IVF cycle fails, this is often the last straw which breaks the camel's back, and they are shattered, disheartened and dis-spirited. This is why the drop out rate with IVF treatment is so high - very few patients have the emotional stamina to do more than 2 cycles. It's true that IVF can be an emotional roller coaster ride, but when patients think of IVF in terms of a single cycle "sure shot" technique, they are setting themselves up for unhappiness. Even worse, by not repeating the cycle, they are depriving themselves of their best chance of having a baby !
The guaranteed pregnancy option is very useful as it helps them to reframe their perspective . They look at the treatment more realistically and realise it's not always a 100 meter sprint. The are willing to work with the doctor - and give the technology enough time and opportunity to maximise their chances of success.
It also helps them to regain control of their life. This option helps them to establish a timeline , so they have a clear road map of what they will do ; when they will do it ; and when they will move on to Plan B. Otherwise, when an IVF cycle fails, many patients are paralysed into inactivity - and they do not have the heart or the stomach to try again ! When they make a 4-cycle commitment upfront, they realise they are in it for as long as it takes , which is far more realistic !
This option also helps them to move on with their life. Even if they do not get a baby at the end of it, at least they have peace of mind they did their best, in a systematic and well-organised fashion, so they do not have any regrets when they are looking back at the age of 50 !
It also helps to reduce disputes between husbands and wives. Men are from Mars and think only with their heads. Women , on the other hand, think with their heads and their hearts, and this just ends up confusing their husbands. This option ensures both are on the same page - and that they will remain there, even if the cycle fails ! This makes it easier for the husband to console his wife if the cycle fails, because they have something positive to look forward to !
Everyone knows that IVF success rates improve with repeated attempts - and the cumulative conception rate in our clinic after 4 cycles is 87% ! I usually tell my patients - I am very sure we will be able to give you a baby - it's just that I don't know when this will happen, as I am not a fortune teller !
This option is very helpful from a medical point of view as well. It allows us us to learn how the patient responds to the treatment, so that we can continually improve and fine-tune the treatment protocol until we achieve success ! After all, every woman is different, and we need to tailor or protocol to her response - a process which can take time ! This option allows us to learn from each cycle, so we can move closer to the desired goal !
Can we offer this option to all patients ? Sadly, no. We restrict it to patients with a good prognosis, allowing us to create a win-win situation.
Does this make any financial sense for us ? In case the 4 cycles fail, where does the money to pay back the patient come from ? Do we lose money ? No, we don't. In what I think is a way of sharing risk amongst patients by pooling them together, the patients who get pregnant (and " overpay" us) end up subsidising the treatment of those who fail !
Does this make financial sense for the patient ? Yes, definitely ! For one, it protects you against a future price rise, as you can do your 4 cycles any time you want over a 2 year period. Also, there is no additional cost for freezing your embryos and transferring them. This means that if you have frozen embryos, you get a number of additional free "bonus" cycles - at no extra cost to you !
We do sign a legal binding contract before we start the treatment, so the patient is protected and secure. While the actual medical protocols we use are the same for all patients, whether they use the standard single cycle pay as you go option, or the guaranteed pregnancy option, over the years we have observed that patients who select this guaranteed pregnancy option have a much higher success rate !
One of the hardest things about being infertile is having to deal with the uncertainty of the reproductive cycle ! While all of life is uncertain, and biological systems can never offer mathematical precision, this uncertainty can make a life a living hell for many couples.
Infertile couples have to learn to cope with this uncertainty very early. Ovulation dates vary; as does the " fertile time" . Sperm counts fluctuate; and periods get cruelly delayed , creating false hopes which get dashed often, until infertile couples no longer dare to hope and dream.
To add insult to injury, even the outcome of infertility treatment is uncertain. No matter how good our IVF technology, and how "perfectly " the IVF cycle progresses , we still cannot be sure of what will happen to an embryo once we transfer it into the uterus. This is what make the two week wait ("2ww") so dreaded and hard to deal with.
The medical risk of undergoing IVF treatment in a good clinic is very low. The major risk is financial and emotional. Many more patients would be willing to accept the financial risk, if they could reduce their emotional downside - if they could be assured they would get pregnant after investing all the time, money and energy an IVF cycle demands.
However, if outcomes are uncertain, how can we offer our patients a guarantee ?
While we still cannot guarantee everyone a baby, we do have a solution for some of these couples. We can offer them our special "Guaranteed Pregnancy " option, which guarantees peace of mind ! What does this involve ?
You pay the treatment fees for 4 cycles up front. Our costs for a single IVF cycle are here. If you get pregnant within these 4 cycles, we have earned the fee and everyone is happy ! (A pregnancy is defined as one which crosses 18 weeks of gestation). You can do these 4 IVF cycles when you please, over a period of 2 years. In the event the 4 attempts are unsuccessful, the entire fee is refunded. This means that you either get pregnant , or all your money back ! This way you have peace of mind that you did your best at trying to achieve a pregnancy, so that when you are 40 years old and looking back at your life, you do not have any regrets !
We offer this option to women less than 35 years of age who have normal AMH levels.
If you want to find out if you qualify, please fill in the Second Opinion Form !
This option reduces your stress levels, because you are prepared for the fact that it may take more than one IVF cycle to achieve a pregnancy, which is much more realistic. This options also helps us to maximise your pregnancy rates, because we learn exactly how your body responds to the treatment. We learn from each cycle, and can tweak your protocol to maximise efficacy. Of course we will do our best to get you pregnant in the first cycle itself, but while it's important to hope for the best, its best to prepare for the worst !
It also allows you to make more efficient use of time because it improves the pace at which you proceed with treatment. If you pay cycle per cycle, you will have long debates as to when to do the next one. "Wait three months, lets try on our own again and if that doesn't work, we'll try another round." Time is often critical in IVF treatment, and the shared risk option helps you to make the commitment to doing a reasonable number of cycles in a defined period of time.
Many of our patients find that the shared risk option decreases both their financial stress (since the expenditure is capped); as well as their emotional stress (since you don't need to get on the roller-coaster of single attempt IVF cycles which are done on an ad-hoc basis, and you already have a safety net in place).
How does this work from a financial point of view ? It just means that the patients who do get pregnant subsidise the treatment of those who don't ! Is it cost-effective ? Yes - a baby is priceless !
This fee covers all your medical expenses, treatments, tests and procedures ! The only thing it does not cover is the cost of your medications, which is approximately US $ 1000 per cycle.
We can offer such a program, because the success rates after IVF in our clinic are so high !
