IVF: Queen Mary private clinic Vs. Sanatorium

E

Ellyphant37

New member
So my husband and I are planning to start IVF with ICSI this fall. We've had consultations at both the private clinic at Queen Mary and at the Sanatorium. Now we're trying to decide which clinic to use. I'm posting both to see if anyone has any experience with both/either that might help us, and to share the information I've already gathered.

Cost:
Queen Mary: I was quoted $80-90k per cycle, "almost everything" included
Sanatorium: I was quoted $100-110k
Winner: Queen Mary

Doctors:
Queen Mary: Saw Dr. Joyce Chai. She seemed very good, patient, answered all our questions. Like most university hospital doctors, she does research as well.
Sanatorium: Saw Dr. Tang Oi Shan. Again, she was patient and clear in answering all our questions.
Winner: Draw

Flexibility/patient-centric-ness
Queen Mary: being a public hospital, they seem to have stricter/more cautious standards. They only recommend a single egg transfer for patients under a certain age (I'm 33), which is in line with current international recommendations. They do their egg retrieval with sedation only.
Sanatorium: I was told I could have a single or double egg transfer, whichever I chose. They have four choices for anesthetic for egg retrieval, from nothing to full general anesthesia. Again, patient's choice.
Winner: unclear. Patients should have some choice in their care, but it's also important to follow best practices, which are not always flexible.

Wait time
Queen Mary: I was told there's about a two-month wait for IVF.
Sanatorium: They said I could start immediately.
Winner: Sanatorium.

Atmosphere:
Queen Mary: while the clinic itself is in a quiet corner of the 5th floor, the hospital itself is somewhat...Dickensian. Busy, crowded, sometimes smelly. When I was signing up for an HSG test on the radiology floor, a male nurse loudly asked me about my menstrual cycle in front of the whole waiting room.
Sanatorium: looks like a swanky Brazilian plastic surgery clinic. Free coffee. Smells like lilies. Nurses are smiley.
Winner: Sanatorium.

Success rates:
This is the big question, and this is the area where things are least clear. Unlike most US and UK clinics, nobody in Hong Kong seems to publish comprehensive data about their success rates. I get the sense that both the Sanatorium and Queen Mary are "well-respected," but this is pretty amorphous. Sanatorium has been doing IVF for 30 years and is known for having a good lab and cutting-edge equipment. Queen Mary is a teaching hospital which implements the latest international protocols.
Winner: I have no idea!

I hope this might be helpful for other people, and I'd love to hear if anyone has any experience that might help us make a decision.
 
Hi [MENTION=98086]Ellyphant37[/MENTION]

I haven't personally experienced either QM private or Sanatorium. My IVF clinic was Hong Kong Reproductive Health Centre in Central with Dr Tracey Yeung but I thought I'd give you my thoughts...

We also looked into QM private but there was a 6 mth wait to see a consultant - being impatient, we decided to go somewhere with less waiting time. That was the basis of our choice really - we'd been trying for a couple of years so another 6 months just seemed like a lifetime. QM should have a great lab - as you say it's a training university. In fact, our Doc was a consultant at QM before going private.

However, having been at QM for my maternity checks - I know what you mean about Dickensian. The whole IVF process can be fairly stressful and for my two cents, I'd say it's better to go somewhere nice, with good atmosphere and you get treated like a person....it will make a difference to your outlook if things don't seem to be going well.

Success rates are difficult to find out for HK but in the end it will really depend on you as a couple and the factors that are affecting your ability to get pregnant naturally. I haven't heard about QM but from what I've read - Sanatorium has had both good and bad results for people and I think that will be the same for every ART centre/Lab.

For our two cycles, we had two embryos transferred to give us a better chance at one taking (I'm pregnant with a singleton from the second cycle). We had issues with egg quality for both cycles though and had an option to have three transferred. Again, it would depend on your results. If you can only have one egg transferred at a time at QM, your chances have already gone down and the marginal cost savings won't be a factor since you'd have to do more cycles...

In regards to egg retrieval - I went for local anesthetic...and it was still painful. I wanted to be awake for it all though so it was local for both times. If you're not good with pain, I really think general is the way to go but it does cost substantially more as you'd need to have an anesthetist present for the procedure - I think we were quoted HK$6-10k.

Not specifically QM and Sanatorium related but hope some of this info on my experience helps you in your decision making!
 
Ellyphant I have to agree with mini I would go with sanitaroum. Nicer atmosphere, flexible and am sure better success.

Have been to QM for other issues and the wait times and processes can be really frustrating.
 
Thanks, both! And congrats, MiniB, on your IVF success.
Yeah, I'm pretty torn between the Sanatorium's nicer vibe and Queen Mary's lower cost (not a huge deal for one cycle, but would add up for two or three). In any case, appreciate the advice!
 
Hi,

I found this thread on after "googling" Queen Mary Vs Sanatorium, your question and other info was very informative. Big help for someone like me
Considering IVF here in HK.

I was just wondering, did you start your IVF procedure? If yes, what hospital did you end up doing it with? TIA
 
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