Second opinion?

I've decided that while I'm working on this FET, I am also going to try to get a second opinion from someone at another clinic. Not so easy because I haven't yet been successful in getting through to a live person on the phone and it will definitely be a schlep for us, but I've decided it's worth it. I've also decided that it makes most sense to do a private consultation and to think of it as a fact-finding mission while I am concurrently cycling in my current clinic - that way there isn't all of the pressure and rush to deal with the logistical issues of trying to switch clinics and setting up a new cycle under time pressure if it comes to that.

I don't feel like I have received bad care at my current clinic and I think my current doctors are very competent and all, but I've been plugging away in the same clinic for a year now and I just feel like they aren't so proactive. It seems to be more of an institutional attitude than a doctor-specific thing - like the general resistance to 5 day transfers and the practice of freezing all embryos on day 3, even those that are obviously not good quality and then pushing as many FETs as possible.

My current clinic was clearly the best place for me to start since it has a good reputation and it's right at the university hospital where my research lab is located. You couldn't ask for a more convenient arrangement. On the other hand, the mixing of my personal and professional life can be disquieting at times and it would be nice to have a clearer separation between those two aspects of my life. I would say that with the passing of time, it has become psychologically a bit more difficult to do treatment essentially at my workplace and not have that division.

We'll see...I do feel a certain loyalty towards my current clinic and I have certainly gotten comfortable in the current arrangement. However, if I want my treatment to be more proactive, I know it's up to me to take that first step. As part of our supplemental insurance through our health fund, we do have great coverage at a private hospital in Tel Aviv that has a great reputation and seems to be more progressive in their lab practices than our current clinic.

One thing that really annoys me is that clinics in Israel aren't required to report success rates so there is really zero transparency in the system and reputation is built mostly upon word-of-mouth and hearsay. I would so love to know what the IVF success rates are actually like for each clinic - I am sure it would be really enlightening!