More research

I thought I should also research New York as I also have relatives in Long Island. There are three clinics in NY with very good rates. First is NYU http://www.nyuivf.com/services/records.html. From 2001-2003 their live birth per transfer rate for ages 35-37 was 49%. However theirs is quite a bit more expensive ($12,550 for IVF + ICSI and that could go higher as for example if we did assisted hatching if would be $13,050). Also, I don't see mention on their site of doing it out of town. The Chicago clinic will accept a fax of the u/s and b/w and their nurse will call with the instructions. One list ranked NYU as the 4th best fertility center in the US. http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?categoryid=/templatedata/parents/category/data/1129484159612.xml&page=5&storyid=/templatedata/child/story/data/1129758221012.xml.

Second is RMA - http://www.rmany.com/success-rates.aspx. From 2002-2005 they had a 50% live birth rate for ages 35-37. They don't break down their fees very carefully but just say an average cost is $9,215. I have no idea if that includes ICSI, AH, etc. and also have no clue if they work with people out of town during the stimulation phase (and if they give a discount if you do that part out of town such as the one in Chicago gives a $1,400 discount for that).

Third is CRMI - http://www.ivf.org/ which has a live birth rate for ages 34-36 of 48%. One article that listed the top 10 fertility centers in the US rated them #2 http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp;jsessionid=4TL1L1JYS1QABQFIBQSB5VQ?catref=prt1&page=3&storyid=/templatedata/child/story/data/1129758221012.xml. I couldn't find ANY financial information on their website (a bit scary!).

Reading that list of the "10 best" reminded me that where my friend Jo went in Jacksonville, FL was ranked #8. http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?categoryid=/templatedata/parents/category/data/1129484159612.xml&page=9&storyid=/templatedata/child/story/data/1129758221012.xml. Their numbers are a little lower (38.5% live birth rate for 35-37 in 2005). I also couldn't find out about FIRM's fees http://www.fertilityjacksonville.com/888541.html except for the cycropreservation of eggs (which I do find a VERY appealing option as this can reduce the need to have frozen embies which eliminates the "what if we have too many embyros" issue which we didn't face this time but still...). I'm sure Jo can fill me in on the costs. :-) I also don't know if they would work with me out of state for the stimulation phase.

Soooo probably Chicago is still my first choice, but if we do IVF #2 I want to be VERY thorough in exploring our options since we both agree it will be our LAST fresh ivf cycle. I see that a preliminary 2005 report has now been released by the CDC so I'll go study that a bit I think. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART2005/clinics05.asp. Okay here's the summary from the 2005 for the clinics in question (all stats are live birth per transfer ages 35-37 for 2005):
Chicago - 47.3, NYU - 46.1, RMA - 44.3, CRMI - 43.4, FIRM - 38.5, and Geisinger (where I did IVF #1) - 30.7. So given the success rates, fees, and flexibility to work with out of town patients, I think Chicago is my #1 choice at the moment.