'We flew to Greece for fertility treatment and saved £1K'
A couple have told how flying to Greece for fertility treatment after eight years of trying to conceive saved them £1,000.
Tracey Mell, 36, a research fellow, and her husband, Martin, 40, from Hull, East Yorkshire initially started trying for a baby a year after getting married.
But after two years with no success they were diagnosed with undiagnosed infertility and told they needed IVF - a medical procedure where an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body.
They underwent their first round on the NHS, which unfortunately resulted in an ectopic pregnancy.
Tracey and Martin, a bar manager, then spent around £11,000 on private treatment but after a chemical pregnancy and a miscarriage the couple were beginning to lose hope.
After hearing that some couples struggling with fertility were opting to go abroad, they decided to head to Serum in Athens for treatment.
The couple flew out at the end of July to have further investigations into their fertility while also enjoying some down time by the pool.
So far they estimate they have saved £1,000 on their treatment - including flights and accommodation.
"In between treatment times we lay by the pool - having nice food," Tracey says of their experience.
"I kept forgetting that we were there for IVF treatment.
"We've spent £1,700 on investigations and about £2,700 including travel.
"We're £1,000 better off than at clinics in the UK."
Tracey and Martin were excited to start trying for a baby in 2016, but they were disappointed to find that "nothing happened".
"We did ovulation tracking - still nothing happened," Tracey explains.
At the time the couple were told they had to try for two years before being eligible for investigations.
After testing everything came back normal and they were told they were experiencing unexplained infertility.
The couple were told IVF would be their only option and after further checks they were due to start their first round in March 2020 when the pandemic hit.
They started the process again in August 2020 and got a positive pregnancy test but at a seven-week scan Tracey discovered she'd had an ectopic pregnancy.
"I had to wait six months before we could try again with all of my frozen embryos," she explains.
Sadly the other rounds weren't successful and Tracey and Martin had to look into private IVF.
With the help of funding and Martin's mum they started a round privately.
"We got a positive pregnancy test," Tracey explains.
"At the seven-week scan we were thrilled as we were shown the baby and a heartbeat. But the baby was measuring behind the size it should be.
"A week later I miscarried."
The couple didn't have any other viable eggs to try but after Tracey found out her AMH levels - which relates to egg count - had dropped they went for another round.
"I got a very faint positive test," she says.
"Then I started spotting and I was told I'd experienced a chemical pregnancy (a very early pregnancy loss which usually happens just after the embryo implants, before or around 5 weeks).
"We decided to take a break for our sanity.
"I was pretty ready to give up," Tracey continues.
"It was bleak."
Tracey then found a charity in Hull called Chasing Rainbows and met some other women who had gone abroad for treatment.
She had previously thought it would be expensive to go out of the UK.
"The women spoke really positively of their experience," she says.
Tracey put together a spreadsheet on the pros and cons of different clinics in the UK and abroad but the couple settled on Serum in Athens after getting a personal recommendation.
"They were willing to do more testing to find out why something has gone wrong," she explains.
"We filled out a questionnaire and within 24 hours we had an email from the doctor."
They had a free consultation over the phone and advised to have the microbiome of her womb tested.
She was then started on antibiotics and the couple flew out in late July for a three day trip to the clinic.
They underwent deeper analysis and Tracey had a hysteroscopy - to examine the inside of her cervix and uterus - and a scan which revealed she had a cyst on her ovary.
She has since now being advised to take the contraception pill for a few months to see if that shrinks the cyst and if not she will have an operation to remove it.
Speaking about the clinic in Greece Tracey says: "They have a holistic kind of approach.
"It's so organised.
"If it shrinks we'll start a round of IVF with them.
"It finally feels like we're in the right place."
Fertility treatment abroad: the facts
A fall in the number of NHS IVF procedures, and the cost of private fertility treatment in the UK, means many Brits are now looking overseas in their quest to conceive.
Recents findings in the Infertility Awareness Report by Fertility Family found that as many as 35% of those polled have considered going to another country as part of their path to parenthood.
While lots of couples and singles have safe, effective treatment abroad, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) says it is important you do your research.
"We have no powers overseas and whilst some countries will have a similar government body or laws to oversee fertility treatments, not all of them do," the website advises. "Ask your clinic if there’s a national regulator or what laws they are required to follow."
While there is legislation within the EU which sets standards for quality and safety, not all EU countries have implemented this legislation and clinics in these countries are not necessarily accredited by a national body.
The HFEA also advises asking about your clinic’s multiple pregnancy rates as twin and triplet pregnancies are the single biggest risk to the health of both mothers and babies.
"In the UK, it’s best practice for most women to have a single embryo transferred to reduce the risk of a multiple pregnancy, but not all countries take this approach," the site continues.
You can find out more about the laws in different countries as well as practical information on the costs of treatment on the Fertility Treatment Abroad website.
Fertility read more:
Couple welcome baby after only retrieving one egg during IVF (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
How does the IVF process work and who is eligible? (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
Single woman welcomes sperm donor baby at 38 after getting tired of waiting for Mr Right (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
