Malika's experience

To Istanbul with Human First, April 2012

After 4 failed ICSI attempts in the Netherlands and 1 attempt done in Belgium, we were told in the Netherlands, among other things, that we'd exhausted our treatment options. My husband has slow sperm, and thankfully everything is fine with me, and we really wanted to try one more attempt — but not in the Netherlands, because in the Netherlands we never felt at ease; you're more of a number there, and since we had to pay for it ourselves, we started looking further afield. After a colleague urged me to check out the Human First website, I was completely sold. Because yes, Turkey — that's where you go on holiday, right? — our interest was sparked. And 2 months later we were on the plane to Istanbul.

We booked our own trip and accommodation through a travel agency, but you can also take a Comfort Package through Human First where everything is arranged for you. The second day after our arrival we were picked up by our hostess Dayon and Evren (director), who happened to also be in Istanbul for a quality check. Together we took the boat to the Asian side where the clinic is located — a really lovely trip, by the way, I always looked forward to the boat ride. Arriving at the clinic we were welcomed warmly, and I had an ultrasound to check that everything inside was fine, and we both had to have blood tests done. The medication was delivered to the clinic (we didn't have to go to the pharmacy ourselves).

The days after that were quiet: I injected my hormones every evening, and during the day we were out in the city — walking, shopping, eating out. You don't get bored in Istanbul, there's so much to experience. It was the second time in a row for us going to Istanbul, but you never get tired of it.

The day of the egg retrieval arrived, and since my retrievals in the Netherlands were always painful, I agreed with the Turkish doctor that I'd go under full anesthesia, because yes, in Istanbul you don't have to suffer any pain! 12 egg cells were retrieved, we decided to have IMSI performed, and that really showed at the embryo transfer, because the quality of the embryos was better than in the Netherlands. 2 days before departure the embryos were transferred back, and then the waiting began.

13 days later I had a blood test done at the GP and unfortunately, negative...

All in all we are very positive about Human First — the time Evren took to answer our questions, the time, effort and patience our hostess Dayon gave us, and even once we were back in the Netherlands she still texted us to see how we were doing. The clinic did excellent work, the doctor chatted with us and listened to our wishes. It was an experience we'll never forget... and who knows what time will tell... and if we ever want to try again, we'll definitely go back to Istanbul, without a doubt.

THANK YOU Human First.

Warm regards,

Malika

This story was translated from Dutch by our team. Read the original Dutch version →