GW IVF Closing?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. PP20:49 - so sorry for your loss - and that on top of that they upended everything during same appointment! I don’t know if it’s too soon - but just in case it helps to have a hopeful story right now - I banked at GW too w/ D3s formerly and it took one MC/three FETs with D3 embryos before one stuck and became currently toddler DC. I hope you find a new clinic to take your banked D3s soon and try again - so sorry for your current loss and crossing fingers for you in future.

Thanks for that. I'm worried that they aren't tested, so I'm expecting this will be a chromosomal abnormality. But my PGT normals at SGF resulted in no implantation or a miscarriage with an empty sac. At least this time I got a heart beat. Dr. F believed SGF's protocol compromised my quality so even if they were normals, they were still compromised and considering the improved yields with him and the science he explained, I believe him. I calculated I needed 10 quality day 3 to get a live birth so I banked until I got there. This was my first 2 transferred. So I have 9 left. LOL GW shutting down on me in the middle of it wasn't part of the plan!

What about ST’s protocols compromised your embryos?

SGF wasn’t fully suppressing my LH surge near ovulation and stimulating me too long so there was premature lutenization. A somewhat common issue for DOR and one that he’d seen many frustrated DOR patients from SGF show up at his clinic with. I’d go into retrievals super excited with 10 big mature follicles on each side and they’d retrieve like 11 eggs of which only 7 were mature. What fertilized grew slowly so if I got blasts, it was usually day 7. My progesterone was regularly quite high on trigger day. Once Dr. F introduced cetrotide -often 2 and even if using lupron based protocols- as I was getting close and trigger before leads reached 21 and my progesterone got above 1.5, we got as many eggs and mature eggs as predicted from my estrogen levels and sizes. He also favored non-lupron based protocols so I could use a double trigger. I was getting more eggs and mature ones than expected.

[Anonymous]

Sorry should have mentioned premature lutenization compromises egg quality. SGF was triggering me based on a one-size fits all spreadsheet that they refused to deviate from when I suggested this is what was happening. Claimed it was my eggs just being trash. Dr. Frankfurter was doing it based on what biochemically was going on with me and adjusting based on his experience and my history to give me an individualized plan. I got better yield out of my follicles and better quality.

[Anonymous]

I completed all of my pre transfer testing in March and then couldn’t cycle because Dr was going on vacation. And then I thought I’d be able to finally do it this cycle and I find out they’re closing the clinic. I’m pretty pissed they didn’t find a way to accommodate me last month. Now trying to figure out where to transfer my embryos. Honestly this process is miserable enough without all of this in the mix.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone gotten any info on the continued embryo storage at GW or how to contact them for transfer to another clinic? Not a current patient but I’d think they’d contact former patients who still had embryos stored with them. Maybe I missed the envelope but I haven’t seen anything from them, although I believe the shutdown of the clinic is in progress (website says not accepting new patients).

[Anonymous]

Current patient currently moving to another clinic and working through the process to transport my embryos. As far as I know nothing official has gone out. But their embryologists are still there, are responsive, and have procedures to transport embryos/eggs/etc. to other clinics. I was told that legally they have to keep an embryologist on staff as long as they have frozen embryos/eggs. If you contact the office, they can get you in touch with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current patient currently moving to another clinic and working through the process to transport my embryos. As far as I know nothing official has gone out. But their embryologists are still there, are responsive, and have procedures to transport embryos/eggs/etc. to other clinics. I was told that legally they have to keep an embryologist on staff as long as they have frozen embryos/eggs. If you contact the office, they can get you in touch with them.

PP here. Thank you so much for the info. I’m still so saddened that they are closing. I would definitely have gone back to them.

[Anonymous]

Wow this is terrible news. Why is this happening? Is it because of work from home and they have fewer patients? GW was so good for us when we started dealing with secondary infertility. They actually helped me get pregnant naturally while starting all of the IVF work up and initial steps in parallel. What a loss.

[Anonymous]

Staff were not aware of the impending closure. It still has not been officially announced by GW, but the clinic is letting us know. You can call the lab to ask about shipments, they're super helpful. Nothing has been sent out to us yet and eventually something will be sent out. The lab director will be staying on to manage the embryos there. I understand that sometime after June there will be more answers.

[Anonymous]

Update as of 7/14/23: For what it's worth, I froze my eggs a year ago and e-mailed GW since I hadn't received my first bill yet. The embryologist/lab director was so kind he called me back. He's a gem and losing him is a huge loss for GW - I hope he finds work quickly! Same with their billing staff; I found them so kind (unlike their front desk staff).

Now, let's hope my $15,000 eggs aren't destroyed in the process of moving. I chose GW specifically because they're a hospital and I assumed they'd be more stable than Shady Grove, so I'm really anxious about having to move them

[Anonymous]

I had 12 frozen eggs transferred from GW to my clinic in Nashville and they ALL died in the thaw. I believe GWs thaw protocol or something they did compromised my eggs. If anyone else out there has a similar story please let me know. I know my egg quality is fine having gotten pregnant after freezing the eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had 12 frozen eggs transferred from GW to my clinic in Nashville and they ALL died in the thaw. I believe GWs thaw protocol or something they did compromised my eggs. If anyone else out there has a similar story please let me know. I know my egg quality is fine having gotten pregnant after freezing the eggs.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update as of 7/14/23: For what it's worth, I froze my eggs a year ago and e-mailed GW since I hadn't received my first bill yet. The embryologist/lab director was so kind he called me back. He's a gem and losing him is a huge loss for GW - I hope he finds work quickly! Same with their billing staff; I found them so kind (unlike their front desk staff).

Now, let's hope my $15,000 eggs aren't destroyed in the process of moving. I chose GW specifically because they're a hospital and I assumed they'd be more stable than Shady Grove, so I'm really anxious about having to move them

Do not move to Shady Grove.

[Anonymous]

I received an email today about the closing and options for transferring my eggs. Are there any options in the DC area other than Shady Grove that people would recommend? I actually live in a different part of the country now but don’t think it makes sense to try and get them sent to where I am. This gives me so much anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Update as of 7/14/23: For what it's worth, I froze my eggs a year ago and e-mailed GW since I hadn't received my first bill yet. The embryologist/lab director was so kind he called me back. He's a gem and losing him is a huge loss for GW - I hope he finds work quickly! Same with their billing staff; I found them so kind (unlike their front desk staff).

Now, let's hope my $15,000 eggs aren't destroyed in the process of moving. I chose GW specifically because they're a hospital and I assumed they'd be more stable than Shady Grove, so I'm really anxious about having to move them

Do not move to Shady Grove.

Poster from 7/14 here - not planning to do Shady Grove; but just curious - any reason why you don't recommend them? I always was suspect of the profit motive for them and that's why I chose GW as a hospital in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Update as of 7/14/23: For what it's worth, I froze my eggs a year ago and e-mailed GW since I hadn't received my first bill yet. The embryologist/lab director was so kind he called me back. He's a gem and losing him is a huge loss for GW - I hope he finds work quickly! Same with their billing staff; I found them so kind (unlike their front desk staff).

Now, let's hope my $15,000 eggs aren't destroyed in the process of moving. I chose GW specifically because they're a hospital and I assumed they'd be more stable than Shady Grove, so I'm really anxious about having to move them

Do not move to Shady Grove.

Poster from 7/14 here - not planning to do Shady Grove; but just curious - any reason why you don't recommend them? I always was suspect of the profit motive for them and that's why I chose GW as a hospital in the first place.

+1 same question.