The team at Life IVF Center - Arcadia are wonderful. My husband and I had previously undergone 3 IVF stimulation cycles and 1 transfer (resulting in miscarriage at 7 weeks I believe due to poor embryo quality) at another clinic and were seriously considering going down the egg donor route before we decided to switch to Life IVF to give ourselves one last chance.
Turns out, that one last chance came in a 'package deal' of 3 chances, which, if anyone has been through IVF, the financial appeal was too good not to pass up. Bear in mind, Life IVF and Dr. Yelian's philosophy is one rooted in minimal stimulation, focused on quality over quantity. While this is still debated within the medical field, and it could be argued that three 'mini IVF' cycles is equivalent to one traditional IVF cycle, all I can say is the results spoke for themselves. Rather than pump my body with the maximum amount of hormones to yield the highest number of eggs possible, we used a quarter of the medication than I was using at my previous clinic, ended up with higher quality embryos and I am now pregnant after our first transfer. I obviously can't speak for anyone but myself, as we are all painfully aware of how different our bodies are, but we cannot be more thankful to have found this clinic.
I picked the Arcadia branch as it is located closer to my home, which is where the majority of my monitoring appointments was carried out. It should be noted that all procedures are held in the Irvine branch and Arcadia doesn't open on the weekend so there will definitely be instances where you will have to go to the Irvine branch. The front desk at Arcadia is great - Kathy did my orientation & intake, was a great communicator and very organized. Invoices and Scheduling was easy and straightforward (shout out to Aubrey and Stacey!). Wait times are short and I often found myself with only one other patient in the giant waiting/seminar room. My phlebotomist, Aileen, was lovely and gentle with blood draws and my ultrasound tech, Carla, was the sweetest and most patient, taking the time to explain what we were seeing and was always positive and reassuring. My nurses, Isabel and Andrea, who I would check in with every visit, were also great. Results and instructions usually come in within an hour (via the online portal and a follow up text/phone call) and the best part: medication is dispensed and can be collected directly at the clinic rather than go through the often anxiety-riddled pharmacy game. If I had any questions, a quick call could be made to the nursing team or through the easy-to-use online portal. The Arcadia nursing staff is also available and has access to your records if you have any questions that may need Dr. Yelian's attention (Additionally, you can set up a phone appointment with Dr. Yelian for an additional fee or put yourself on a wait list to be called if he gets an opening).
The Irvine clinic is a much bigger operation with more staff and patients, which has its pros and cons. My experience there was limited to my procedures and the odd weekend monitoring appointment, but everyone encountered was professional, kind and polite. The finance department also operates out of Irvine and it is worth talking to them about all the various options and add-ons to your IVF package. The nurse in the procedure prep room, Eden, has a calm demeanor and is comforting at the times you need it most. All interactions with doctors, Dr. Wu (for my retrievals), Dr. Yelian (for consultations) and Dr. Okour (for my transfer), were rather short, but hey, they got the job done and absolutely can't be faulted for performing the miracles that they do.
A massive thank you to the entire Life IVF team for getting us through the most difficult time in our lives. We will hopefully be back when we're ready for our second!
TL;DR
Great staff, efficient clinic, minimal stimulation IVF (mini IVF) approach, will also need to travel to Irvine clinic, medications dispensed in-house, good doctors, lack of (but note not poor) bedside manner made up in efficiency, financial affordability and performance of miracles. Best of luck. read more