Did our IVF doctor cheat us ?

I just received this email from a patient.

Sir, we are feeling cheated.....my wife's tube was blocked....ivf centre said go for icsi.....my wife ovum pick up done and my semen collection done....then doctor said 4 embryo prepared but you have to do FET because of high injection dose given to wife.....we are called after 1.5 month for embryo transfer.....on transfer date doctor said only one good embryo prepared , you have to go for embryo donor....please advice us what should do...we are feeling cheated.....please help us... 

It breaks my heart when I receive emails like this.

This poor patient has been obviously taken for a ride. Sadly, he has no documentation, and has been kept completely in the dark by his doctor. Patients are not fools, and when doctors try to hide information from them, they are understandably angry and resentful.

Even worse, when some IVF doctors start cheating their patients like this, the reputation of all IVF doctors takes a beating. This is why IVF clinics in India have such a bad reputation today. All clinics get tarred by the same brush, when we refuse to police ourselves or make any effort to weed out the bad apples in the profession. Most doctors prefer to take a "see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil" approach, and will refuse to say anything critical about another doctor, because they don't want to rock the boat ( or perhaps because they stay in glass houses themselves ?)

The damage has already been done for this poor patient, but what can IVF patients do to protect themselves ?

The first step is that you need to understand that knowledge is power,  and you need to take an active interest in your treatment, by asking pointed questions before starting your IVF cycle.

The good news is that you need to ask only one simple question - Do you provide embryo photos routinely to all your patients ? If the IVF clinic does not do this, this is a red flag, and you should look for an alternative !

Need help in getting pregnant ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you !