Interview with HC Fertility Center Marbella

Interview with Dorothea Adamson, B.SC., MBA
Director, HC Fertility Center

1)   Can you tell us a little about your clinic? What does it have to offer which would make it a good choice for people seeking IVF treatment?

The HC Fertility Center is located 200 meters from the sea and is situated within 14,000 sq. m. of land with surrounding gardens providing a uniquely exclusive setting designed to create a feeling of peace and make our patients feel as relaxed as possible.  It has two operating theaters, a laboratory for blood analysis, and three laboratories for Andrology, Genetics and Reproductive Medicine which are equipped with the most modern and technically advanced medical instruments, permitting the center to offer the most sophisticated treatment techniques in the field of assisted reproduction.  In addition, the center has 11 modern and luxurious rooms where patients have all the comforts they need for a rapid and complete post-operative recovery.

We offer patients individualized treatment plans to optimize individual success, service 7 days a week to perform critical procedures on the most advantageous day, state of the art laboratory equipment and techniques to utilize advanced methods that result in high clinical pregnancy rates for women of all ages, integrated gynecological and prenatal units to offer patients a multidisciplinary approach to fertility treatments, excellence and medical experience provided by a specialized medical team with over 21 years experience in their disciplines, and high standard of patient service and care to guarantee comfort during treatment.

Our doctors, nurses, embryologists and administrative staff work as a team with a single goal which is to provide patients with the best possible medical service.

2) What support is in place for patients who travel from abroad? Can you help with accommodation or have recommendations? Is there always help at hand?

For our international patients, we provide support by organizing accommodations of their choice with hotels near our Center with which we have special rates.  Our staff is multilingual, speaking  Spanish, English, French, Italian, German and Arabic to communicate effectively with patients of different nationalities.  We also give our personal mobile numbers to our patients so we can be reached at any time if needed, providing patient care and service 24-7.

3) Can you tell us about your egg donation program.  Where do you find your donors, how are they screened and do you have a waiting list? 

We select one donor per patient, and of course consider nationality, race, hair/eyes color, blood type, and other characteristics of the donor.  Our donors who are found locally and multinational are given a battery of tests and are subjected to all psychological and physical evaluations stipulated by law.  We also do additional testing on them to ensure a high standard of screening.

We have no waiting list for egg donations however finding an appropriate donor may take several weeks from the date of the first appointment.  Once we have a desirable match, we notify the patient to coordinate the procedure.  We guarantee on average 6-10 fresh eggs so the patient has a fresh transfer, and freeze the rest for future use, if necessary.

The success rate of an egg donation treatment at our Center is between 60-65%.

4) How many trips to your clinic is required for egg donation?

Normally, we recommend a first vist after which the patient, if living abroad, only needs to come back to the Center once more for the embryo transfer.  For the duration of stay, if we are able to freeze her partner’s semen during the first visit, then the patient would only need to be here for 5 days for the embryo transfer, otherwise, she would have to be here for 7-10 days.

5) Do your staff get involved in any research or attend conferences in the field of assisted reproduction? How do they keep up to date with advances in the field? 

Our staff is very involved in research and the latest advances in the field of assisted reproduction.  Our Laboratory Director and Head of Embryology, for example, wrote  an article with colleagues from the ASEBIR Interest Group in Embryology which was published in April 2014 in the Fertility and Sterility Medical Journal, which is the official journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and well read internationally because of its support for clinical research and for promoting excellence in professional education in the field of reproductive medicine.  In addition, two of our fertility specialists have been nominated to be part of the Organizational Committee of the 2015 Spanish Fertility Society (SEF) Congress.  We also attend the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embriology (ESHRE) congress every year and other fertility conferences throughout the year as they keep us up to date with advances in the field.

6) Finally, Marbella is a lovely location. What advantage do you think there is over a clinic located in a city?

Because of its location, international travel connections, fabulous golf courses, beautiful yacht harbors, famous night life and entertainment, exotic beach venues, cosmopolitan atmosphere  and a microclimate that never gets too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter, Marbella has become a popular destination not only for holiday makers but for medical tourism.  It is also  considered to be the sunniest place in Europe, where the sun shines for at least 320 days a year.  For these reasons, Marbella is a popular choice for those who wish to combine their holidays with a medical treatment.

Trying to build a family through fertility treatment can be stressful with respect to how patients feel about themselves and may present personal challenges.  As such, undergoing any treatment in a warm and relaxed environment generates a restful and peaceful feeling which is more beneficial to the patient as compared to having a treatment done at a Center located in a city which is busy and stressful on different levels.

Find out more about HC Fertility Center and IVF in Spain