Success rates - the right way to read them
Live-birth per embryo transfer is the only success metric that matters. Beware clinics that only publish pregnancy rates (positive HCG), per-cycle-started rates, or cumulative rates over unlimited transfers. Ask for last-year live-birth per transfer, split by age band and by own-egg vs donor-egg.
Accreditation and regulation
- Is the clinic ESHRE-registered and does it submit annual data to the national registry?
- Is the embryology lab ISO 15189 or equivalent accredited?
- Which national regulator oversees it (SÚKL for Czech Republic, HFEA-equivalent for each country)?
Embryology lab standards
Ask how many embryologists work in the lab, how many cycles they run per year, and what culture system they use (time-lapse imaging matters). A clinic doing 200 cycles a year with two embryologists is a very different proposition to one doing 2,000 with a team of ten.
Donor screening (if relevant)
- Age range and full medical and genetic screening protocol
- Karyotype and expanded carrier screening - which panel?
- Psychological assessment of donors?
- How many donors on the active database right now?
- Matching criteria - physical, blood group, education?
Cost transparency
A trustworthy clinic gives you a written, itemised quote before you deposit anything. Ask for the full list - consultation, cycle, anaesthesia, embryology, transfer, freezing, first-year storage, medication estimate. Compare that quote to the headline price. If the gap is more than 25%, keep looking.
Coordination, language and aftercare
- Named English-speaking coordinator, 24/7 contactable?
- How quickly do they reply to email during working hours?
- Written protocol for cycles started with your home clinic (shared care)?
- Named contact for follow-up if you get a positive test?
Red flags
- Refuses to share live-birth-per-transfer data broken down by age
- Guarantees success without a money-back framework in writing
- Pressures you to pay in full before the first scan
- No named coordinator - different person replies each time
- Reviews only on the clinic's own site, none on independent platforms
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