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Success Rates with Transparency
Hot to Ask the Right Questions to your Clinics
IVF Daddies
December 09, 2025
In partnership with
Choosing Your IVF Clinic:
The Five Factors That Actually Matter
By Julio Gaggia — IVF Daddies
Fertility Truths · LGBTQ+ Family Building
Twelve years ago, I stepped into fertility care without a map.
Today, I’m sharing the clarity I wish I had: a way to evaluate IVF clinics with confidence, transparency, and emotional steadiness.
Prefer to listen instead of read? This guide comes from our IVF Daddies episode on clinic success rates, lab quality, and how to decode the marketing noise. Start here if you’re overwhelmed and just need a human voice.
Choosing an IVF clinic is about clarity, not charisma.
Prioritize doctor fit, real success rates, full-team experience, transparent costs, and how donor/surrogacy programs are screened and supported.
- Your chemistry with the doctor is a clinical asset — not a luxury.
- “Success rate” means nothing unless you know the outcome being measured.
- The embryology and nursing teams shape more of your journey than you expect.
- Full cost transparency prevents hidden stress later.
- Donor programs vary widely in ethics, safety, and screening rigor.
Why This Matters
Most intended parents enter IVF in a tender emotional moment.
Clinics often advertise confidence but not clarity.
A clearer framework reduces fear, surprises, and the sense of “I hope I’m choosing right.”
For queer families and anyone using donor conception or surrogacy, clarity becomes protection.
The Big Picture
Twelve years ago, I knew one couple who had built their family through surrogacy. A single documentary became my entire reference point. Today, intended parents face not a lack of information — but an overflow.
“Top clinic” lists, glowing influencers, and polished marketing often blend sales with science, leaving you unsure what is real.
This guide distills the factors that consistently matter across countries and clinics:
trust, data, experience, cost clarity, and third-party reproduction support.
What the Data Actually Says
Clinics love large percentages. But they rarely measure the same thing.
A “90% success rate” might reflect:
- embryo survival after thaw
- positive pregnancy tests
- clinical pregnancies
- live births
Here are the only two numbers that matter:
1. Successful Transfer Rate
How often a transferred embryo implants and reaches a clinical pregnancy.
2. Live Birth Rate per Transfer
How often a transfer results in a baby going home.
If a clinic does not specify which outcome they mean, the statistic cannot guide your decision.
Transparency is not a courtesy — it’s a clinical standard.
What This Means for You
Choosing a clinic is not about chasing the biggest percentage. It’s about asking:
“Does this data reflect my path?”
Your age.
Your gametes.
Your donor decisions.
Whether a gestational carrier is part of your journey.
A clinic is also a system:
- the lab,
- the coordinators,
- donor & third-party reproduction teams,
- communication rhythm,
- timelines.
Science can be strong while communication is weak — and that mismatch creates unnecessary suffering.
Questions to Ask Your Clinic
- Which success rates apply to my situation, and can you show them clearly?
- Who are the embryologists, and how many cycles like mine do they manage yearly?
- What is the full cost breakdown — medications, donor fees, PGT-A, storage?
- How do you support LGBTQ+ patients and intended parents using surrogacy?
- How are donor profiles verified, screened, and kept current?
Red Flags
- Success rates quoted without defining the outcome.
- Inconsistent communication or constant staff turnover.
Green Flags
- Transparent data by age group, embryo type, and outcome.
- A consistent coordinator guiding you through the process.
The Emotional Layer
Starting IVF can feel like learning a new language during a moment of immense emotional weight. Every delay feels personal. Every statistic feels prophetic.
A good clinic supports your nervous system as much as your biology:
clear updates, predictable timelines, transparent pricing, and emotional steadiness.
You are supposed to be supported.
Real-World Example
A gay couple once chose a clinic based solely on a recommendation. Midway through, they learned the clinic rarely handled surrogacy and had no dedicated coordinator.
The embryos were strong.
The infrastructure was not.
When they moved to a clinic with a dedicated third-party reproduction team, everything shifted: faster communication, clearer timelines, less emotional strain.
Same embryos. Different system.
“Choosing your clinic is not a transaction — it’s a relationship built on trust.”
— Julio Gaggia
The IVF Daddies Take
Perfection is not required.
Clarity is.
A clinic that explains numbers plainly, respects your identities, and supports your decisions will carry you further than one with polished branding and vague promises.
This is your family’s beginning. Choose a clinic that honors it.
With clarity and care,
Julio Gaggia — IVF Daddies
Glossary
- Embryo transfer — placing an embryo into the uterus; not the same as pregnancy.
- Clinical pregnancy — a pregnancy confirmed with a heartbeat on ultrasound.
- Live birth rate — the most meaningful success metric; actual babies born per transfer.
- PGT-A — screening embryos for chromosomal abnormalities.
- Gestational carrier — someone who carries a pregnancy using an embryo not genetically related to them.
Disclaimer
Educational purposes only. Not medical, legal, or financial advice. Always consult qualified professionals.
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