How to find a clinic?

When I decided to do egg freezing and began researching clinics, there were quite a few and I felt overwhelmed.

What should be the basis for my choice?

In my opinion, the important factors to consider when making a choice are:

• Record and history (How much experience do they have in egg freezing? This is difficult to judge by numbers, so I referred to the amount of information in the clinic's service brochures.)

• Price (Since this is an unregulated treatment, the cost is a significant concern. We were also concerned about how much it would vary from clinic to clinic.)

• Convenience for commute from home (The closer, the better.)

• Atmosphere of the clinic and doctors

Thus, I narrowed it down to five clinics and decided to visit all of them for counseling.

“Gynecology” and “counseling”

These words can be intimidating and make people nervous. I am sure many people hesitate to seek counseling. But don't worry. The doctors are professionals in their field, and they warmly welcome those who choose to visit their clinics voluntarily. Some of the clinics I visited for counseling specialized in infertility treatment, so there were many couples who came to the clinic. I remember the warm atmosphere that gradually eased the initial discomfort of "going to a gynecologist" and "undergoing fertility treatment," which made me feel more relaxed and relieved.

Counseling

Counseling included a basic explanation of the egg freezing procedure, necessary tests, costs, and everything else I needed to know. Most of the clinics provided a simple pamphlet that was more accurate and easier to understand than the information I had gathered from my own Internet searches. It was very informative, so even if you are not sure about it now, I recommend you to just have a consultation first. By the way, the price and the plan are also detailed. This is how I finally decided on the clinic after completing consultations at five different clinics.

This is the clinic I have decided on. It’s called Hanaoka IVF Clinic Shinagawa

*The reasons for my decision were:*

• The atmosphere of the clinic and the doctors (ultimately, this was the deciding factor).

Fortunately, I never had a negative experience at any of the clinics. The individuals I interacted with were passionate and knowledgeable. Moreover, their cheerful personalities and conversational styles were a good match.

• Track record (in the long run, I chose a clinic with a proven track record in fertility treatment because I wanted the process of using the frozen eggs in the future to be as seamless as possible).