Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine – Reviews and Prices

We’ve been with BCRM through our entire IVF journey – using my own eggs unsuccessfully and eventually using donor eggs which has resulted in the birth of my beautiful baby boy in Nov 23 and another baby on the way due in 2025. The knowledge and expertise this clinic has is world class and has made me feel that we were in the best hands. I can’t thank them enough for making my dreams of having my own family come true.

Awful experience. After the intial consultation, we were pushed on to someone who was rude and just seemed to expect payment without explanation. Following on, no one seemed to understand the extremely complex pricing structure. When explored with finance, they did not know either. Packages appeared more expensive (than component parts) and the total cost turned out to be nearly double the £13K ‘package’. Appointments are totally disorganised and we received a huge invoice without any description whatsoever as to what it is for. I called and was told it was a mistake and would be credited. A further invoice was issued at the same time for services we may not require. I called and asked for explanation as to why payment up front is required and if it is refunded. I was told it will be refunded, but it sounded like it might only be partial refund. I asked for someone to provide terms, explaining what it is for and under what circumstances it is refunded. I was told that would follow, but it did not. This is a sensitive subject and it really is unacceptable performance from admin / finance. Every single appointment we have had was late. Costly drugs were over-prescribed, but be sure to ask about the purpose of each and alternative options, as it turned out there were better options, which we were not informed about when we had an nhs funded round. There didn’t appear to be any interest it that being successful. We have been overcharged and discovered extra services, which we thought were standard. The focus appears to be to make as much money as possible, out of desperate people. The medical staff are good, but it seems the knowledge and tech are still limited in this field. We are making extensive notes. Since talking with others, their experience is similar. These organisations need regulating.

We unfortunately didn’t have the best experience with BCRM. We stayed with BCRM from Dec 22 up until our last treatment in April 24 as we decided to change clinics.

The reason for three stars, is Carrie, part of the nursing team. Me and my husband often discuss how wonderful she was and what an absolute credit she is and what she does to support her patients. We can honestly say, we haven’t met another nurse like her on our journey.

Other things to note, cleanliness, great hygiene and egg collection was always carried out seamlessly. (I had 3 collections)

We, had a unique case where we were never getting to egg transfer our eggs were arresting. So we spent alot of money on rounds that never got to the end. I decided to have a break from IVF and try some IUI which again procedure was completed fine. I have no issues with how patient care is involved when doing procedures at BCRM.

The thing that was disappointing;
Appointments were rarely on time.
My first round I was told I wasn’t allowed a fresh transfer by a nurse, then was told by the doctor I could, then further being told I couldn’t by a nurse so that was confusing and concerning. (Albeit we never got to transfer)

As other people have mentioned, We never really felt the clinic really wanted to help us understand why we were failing each time. And were never really given any answers. We knew we had a sperm issue, but they also couldn’t tell us we had an egg issue. Which lead us to having. Three rounds of ICSI that never got to transfer. We paid for extras, calcium, fancy incubators, sperm DNA fragmentation which was then said we couldnt use because of the sperm quality. I’m pretty certain if we had decided to do another round with my husbands sperm they probably would have said yeah ok, even with the circumstances.

Our first post treatment review with one of the doctors… Was rubbish. No real feedback, just basically asks what do you want to do next. Thankfully, the other two times we seen a Dr who actually seemed interested in our situation and gave advise.

From having so many treatments, there were. Some things that were inconsistent. Some rounds I had a few blood tests and then others it felt like I had none? I hate to compare with our current clinic but everytime we visited for scans they were taking bloods. Which I know not all clinics are the same but it just seems odd to me. Also, my last IUI was medicated which I was supposed to be given ovitrelle trigger, this was forgotten and I had to ask the clinic for it. After one of my IUIs we never had a follow up after the fail which I found odd. But we had a follow up after the 2nd IUI?.

I know our situation is unique and not everyone is as unlucky as us. Partly, we should have parted ways long before we did, but I think we had a bit of false hope when ideally we should have moved onto using a Donor for IVF a long time ago. (Which isnt on the clinic we ultimately have to make that call) But I felt we were steered in the wrong direction, trying things that ultimately cost alot, and holding onto false hope. Which I think through tinted glasses I realised was never going to happen this way.

From going on this journey for years, I can honestly say we learned alot from BCRM some good and some bad!. It’s just unfortunate that it’s taken us this long to actually have a full round of IVF (not ICSI, and not at BCRM) and get to transfer and have eggs frozen and have a positive outcome.

I was working with a different clinic but they are in collaboration with BCRM for the procedures. Both my collection and transfer were conducted with the upmost respect and care. All staff are extremely kind and knowledgeable. They did a great job. My collection was painless apart from some cramps just after, I was asked how awake I wanted to be, I chose to be asleep. The transfer was calm and I felt in good hands. A wonderful feminine energy in general. I know how important these reviews are, I can assure you they were five star.

I have say the nurses are fab. But this clinics main focus seems to be about making money. I always felt rushed by the doctors and they never seemed to be interested attempting to uncover why my treatment didn’t work. It was so disappointing.

Highly recommend BCRM for anyone experiencing fertility issues/needing fertility treatment. We found all the staff and processes faultless from the outset. In what were very difficult times, the staff had great compassion and showed such professionalism. We were guided through the process and always felt we could ask questions. We had 1 cycle of IVF ICSI and we were very fortunate to have success. We welcomed our baby boy in March. No words can express how grateful we are to the team for all of their guidance and support.

Practical things:
– easy to find and park at the clinic
– spacious and welcoming facilities
– procedures/processes well explained verbally, when commencing treatment they also send you PowerPoint presentations of information
– faultless communication via email and telephone
– 24/7 nurse on call whilst undergoing treatment if you have a query etc.

We have the ultimate outcome, and we recognise that not everyone will be as fortunate, however the team at BCRM are incredible, knowledgable and supportive. In an environment where every word seems to confuse you, they make it easy. It wouldn’t be right not to mention Carrie, who was with us from the first appointment to the final scan. An unbelievable asset to BRCM and just an incredible person. The whole process is scary but the team are on hand and no question is silly. We used the phone line a couple of times during the process and they put you at ease with their ability to answer your questions or calm you. We couldn’t have hand picked a better experience. A huge thank you to every single person that we encountered.

We had a private donor IVF round at the end of 2023. Staff are friendly and helpful, but unfortunately, they’ve made some mistakes that cause me unnecessary stress, resulting in unsuccessful outcome. Our donor was 31 years old, not a proven donor, and our doctor Alex didn’t let us do PGT test the embryos. Our nurse Jess forgot to include a necessary blood test for my thyroid level. This has only been found out at my first lining check appointment as I was wondering when they are checking. I was told this has been missed and had blood drawn this appointment. I was informed that if the test results are not optimal, I need to stop the treatment and start again another time.
Previous blood test for TSH were abnormal 6 months before, and they know I was on medication, and that’s why I’m very surprised this been overlooked and didn’t have any investigation further at this time.
I had an embryo transfer, and the staff were absolutely lovely and very kind. I was told two different nurses how long I need to take progesterone.
I’m really sorry for a two star review, but as a private patient, we left nearly £13K, and I was expecting a much better service for this.
We had an unsuccessful outcome and left us confused and took me months to get over it.

Now, I had further investigation for my thyroid and was diagnosed with Hashitomo, so I felt that further testing could be done at this point.
I also had consultations with other clinics, and I think BCRM could improve in their services and hopefully will lead to much more positive outcome for other patients.

I cannot express how grateful we are for BCRM, especially Carrie & Dr Davies. We had an nhs funded cycle and were treated no different to those who went private. Every meeting was very informative and all the staff were friendly including the receptionist who always greeted us with a smile. They managed expectations and we didn’t have much hope due to my situation ( low ovarian reserve), but it was clear they did everything they could & wanted it to work for us. The level of care and support was fantastic and I’d always get a response back within an hour no matter how silly my questions were. We are now 16 weeks pregnant and over the moon it worked first time. Thank you so much to everyone we truly are grateful and couldn’t recommend you enough. X

I had a wonderful experience with BCRM. The facilities are excellent and I felt very supported by the nursing team during the entirety of my IVF journey. During my egg collection, I was made as comfortable as possible and from talking to people who have used other clinics, this is not always the case.
A huge thanks to Dr Mariliz and in particular, to Sarah who carried out my frozen embryo transfer. I got the result I dreamed of – my perfect baby boy, born Nov 23.