UCSF Center for Reproductive Health

San Francisco

Parent Q&A

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  • Hello,

    My husband and I plan to do IVF. We are currently with doctor Yanett Anaya at UCSF. Wondering if anyone worked with her for their feet treatment and how was their experience with doctor and UCSF? We chose UCSF because we can trust their laboratories- however not sure how detail oriented UCSF doctors are. We met with RMA and loved their open communication but we are unsure of their embryologist and labs. Any ideas?

    Thank you! 

    Hi, there! Sending you all good vibes for your IVF treatment. We’ve worked with UCSF twice now, first for IVF then most recently for FET. Facilities are incredibly clean and safe. Physicians and nurses are highly competent and trustworthy. We’ve worked with Dr. Mok-Lin and her team both times. The two notes I’d give based on our experience is to be sure you schedule the financial consultation. The finance team is very difficult to get ahold of and you really have to work to get the financial transparency you deserve. And our came team both times have been more disorganized and less communicative than we would’ve liked. But when it comes to getting the job done well, they deliver. Feel free to be in touch with any other questions. Best wishes to you!

Parent Reviews

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RE:
Asherman surgeon? (Oct 12, 2022)

Hi, so sorry for your situation. I also have Ashermans and first thing— glad to hear you were diagnosed (took me 8 months to find a doctor that believed my symptoms). 
I have started going with Dr Heather Huddleston in the Center for Reproductive Health at Mission Bay. From my sessions, she has been fantastic, a great listener, empathetic and knows her stuff! 
Cannot tell you how it ends as I’m in the middle of a series of hysterescopies as I have severe Ashermans. 
Best of luck!!!

RE:
Asherman surgeon? (Oct 12, 2022)

I had Asherman's syndrome and had surgery to remove it with Dr. Mitch Rosen at UCSF in the center for reproductive health. Make sure that they code it as Asherman's b/c my insurance covered it that way even though it was through reproductive health. I got pregnant about 6 weeks after the surgery and my daughter is now a happy and healthy 6 year old. I didn't do anything special during pregnancy (except standard prenatal care which I also did at UCSF). 

RE:
Asherman surgeon? (Oct 12, 2022)

Hi. I would recommend Dr. Heather Huddleston. She is very well known for Ashermans and practices out of UCSF Center of Reproductive Health.

My husband and I worked with UCSF, for our now 18 month old—a 3.5 year journey for us—but totally worth it and would have been much shorter but for a fluke entirely out of anyone’s control. We’re working with UCSF again for our second and we just received other date for first transfer attempt.  Several friends of ours also worked with UCSF, but different doctors, and we’ve all had positive outcomes. Know there will be delays and trials along the way (none of which were the clinic’s fault it’s just the unpredictable nature of ivf/bringing a new human into the world). Feel free to message privately if you want more info or we’re happy to FaceTime or something.

good luck! It’s definitely worth it in the end

(My experience is very recent, starting in June of 2020.) I had initial conversations with a private clinic and with USCF, and decided to go with UCSF hands-down. I just felt more comfortable with my dr's experience and the responsiveness of the clinic. My doc was Dr. Martha Noel and she had a whole team: coordinator, financial person, nurses. I could email each department via a portal, which made it easy to direct my questions. I felt really well guided through the whole experience, found it easy to coordinate my care, and the offices in the Dogpatch area are beautiful and modern. While we are not a queer couple, I imagine that the UCSF team's care would be knowledgable and compassionate. (If you'd like to know the name of the private clinic, you can contact me directly. I didn't have enough to do with them to be "against" them; I just chose not to go with them for a few personal reasons.) Best of luck on the journey. 

I don't have any dr recommendations really but I do know I made a lot of assumptions about what fertility drs do and there is a whole range of things other than IVF. You're having a fertility issue, so I think a fertility dr is a great person to see. It took us several months to get into a dr early this year, so I'd def recommend reaching and scheduling something. We went to UCSF Mission Bay Center for Reproductive Health and saw Dr Noel. Everyone there is amazing. Good luck and I'm so sorry for your losses. 

I had the same problem at the age of 37. I saw dr. Marcelle Cedars at UCSF. She put me on HRT as the symptoms you are describing were unbearable for me. She is now my obgyn as well. I love the fact that she educated me with scientific data and all the pros and cons of my case and the route we were taking. Hang in there, things will get better once you figure out how to deal with this. 

I had a great OB/Fertility doctor, however it is in San Francisco, UCSF, Heather Huddleston (https://www.ucsfhealth.org/heather.huddleston).

I did 6 cycles of IUI with Dr. Wilman at RSC, then switched to UCSF for 3 rounds of mini-IVF and am now working with them on a donor egg cycle that I sincerely hope will work. (!!!) I like UCSF, and prefer them to RSC.  They have their flaws, but I think the entire fertility industry struggles with maintaining a nurturing and individualized level of care because the communication and work is distributed between doctors, nurses, care managers, ultrasound techs, donor coordinators, in-house counselors - not to mention outside industries.  I looked into other donor egg options, but I stayed with UCSF because I liked their pool of egg donors.  They seem well-curated, educated, and diverse.  UCSF is also very pro-disclosure for the benefit of the offspring, so all the donors are willing to be known to varying degrees down the line if the child is curious about their origins, and that was important to me.  They offer frozen and fresh cycles, depending on the availability of the donor.  I also liked that their in-house psychologist had met all the donors to do their intake, and she's also the one who talks with you when you move on to a donor cycle.  It was a little bit of the individual care that I had hoped to find in the process as a whole.

Regarding embryo donation, there's a place in Davis called California Conceptions that does it and I met with them, too.  I ultimately decided against it because of the anonymity of the donors.  They are much cheaper though, so it was tempting!

Best of luck.  I know very well how hard it is, but I also know that you will find your way there.  Mama gets her baby :)

I second the recommendation for UCSF. They are awesome (I've been to a few other fertility centers previously so I have seen the difference)... I recommend Dr. Mitchell Rosen though all of the doctors there are quite good. I did not use a donor egg but I know they handle that type of treatment there regularly. 

I had a great experience with UCSF doing donor egg IVF, with frozen eggs actually.  Pacific Fertility Center is also amazing but almost double the cost and success rates between the two are similar.  PFC had a great selection of donors though and a lot of frozen egg donors as well. We ended up with UCSF  though and I can't say enough about their professionalism and quality of care.  The system was well organized with staff to inform us of all the steps we needed to take along the way. Nothing fell through the cracks. UCSF also provided us with a list of reputable donor agencies but we did not end up going that route.

Archived Q&A and Reviews


Reviews received for: Marcelle Cedars, Victor Fujimoto, Heather Huddleston. Paolo Rinaudo, Mitchell Rosen, Sae Sohn, Tracey Telles


June 2011

Re: Reproductive Endocrinologist in East Bay
3 miscarriages! I'm so sorry. I have also had 3 since my daughter was born in 2009 (all 1st trimester losses), and after the 3rd, I decided to see an RE. I researched it heavily and discussed it at length with a friend who is an OB in another state and with my parents, who are medical researchers. I realized that I would feel more comfortable seeing someone academic. There's still so much we don't know about miscarriage. So I felt/feel more comfortable seeing someone who specializes in recurrent m/c and doesn't have a business interest in my fertility. I wound up seeing Heather Huddleston at UCSF. She is terrific. I was/am very happy with her and with the whole clinic - nurses, receptionists, etc. The information they've been able to provide has been so much more detailed than what I learned from my regular OB. And Dr. Huddleston's nurses have been easily reachable by phone for follow-up questions. I highly recommend her - totally worth the pain in the butt of getting there from the east bay. Feel free to ask our wonderful moderator for my contact info if you wish to discuss it further. So sorry for your losses. Best of luck to you... A Rockridge Mom


He's not in the East Bay, but I cannot recommend Dr. Rosen at UCSF enough. Both myself and several friends and co-workers are either well into pregnancy or have kids now because of his (and the team at UCSF's) help. Not only did he find the cause of my infertility and get me on the right course of treatment for my long term health but he also ensured that I got pregnant and have wonderful kids. He really is worth the trip across the bay. Kate


Feb 2011

Re: Reproductive Endocrinologist covered by my insurance?
Not in the East Bay but you will not find anybody smarter than Mitchell Rosen at UCSF. pregnant


Oct 2008

I'm a single woman so therefore considering a sperm bank donor very soon. I would like to hear from single women who were or are in their late '40s who had personal experiences with doctor/reproductive endocrinologists for IUI or IVF via their own eggs. I appreciate any response/review you can provide on any of these doctors to help me decide. Thank you in advance! I appreciate your responses.


I saw Drs. Fujimoto and Cedars in 2005, though not for IUI/IVF. They are are kind, supportive, incredibly accessible considering their academic practice, and sensitive. For example, I saw Dr. Ceders 12/24/05 for an ultrasound at about 5 1/2 weeks gestation, but there was no heartbeat. She suggested I come back 12/26 before my flight out for a nine day vacation to repeat the ultrasound. I loved that she suggested it, because I never would have asked for such an accommodation. As it turned out, there was a heartbeat on the 26th, and that embryo is now my 2 year old daughter. I feel so fortunate to have had the best medical care and such kindness through a difficult time. They will always live in a special place in my heart. I hope you have a happy outcome, no matter who you choose to see. Good luck. Thankful every day


I used Dr. Victor Fujimoto and his team for IVF to conceive my now 18-month-old daughter. I could not praise the experience with any more enthusiasm and gratitude if I tried. They are amazing. Completely competent, caring, cutting edge. I'm happy to be in communication if you have any questions. christa


We had a fantastic experience in both of our IVF attempts with UCSF Dr Victor Fujimoto and Dr Marcelle Cedars. The staff were immeasurably kind, professional, patient and told us exactly what we could expect. We also had an exceptionally good experience with Rainbow Flag Health Services in Alameda in terms of a sperm bank. They were warm and friendly, and we loved their openness and attitude about the many ways families are made. Leland (The Nurse Practitioner part of the operation) even took me back to the lab to look under the microscope when we delivered the ''goods'' after my husband's surgery, and was a great person to talk to about the process of what we were attempting. The atmosphere was professional and we felt like we could really trust them, and they did their part perfectly. We have a four year old son out of it all, and would do it all over again the same way if need be. The very best of luck to you! Satisfied Mama and Family


August 2008

Re: Considering IVF after repeated miscarriage
I want to very enthusiastically recommend the IVF program at UCSF. We had Dr. Paolo Rinaudo and he was terrific. The other docs are great too, as are all their staff. They do a really good job of informing you about all of the considerations, risks, success rates, etc at every step of the way. I think that it would be wise for you to at least speak with them or attend their information session (once a month I think?) before you decide you need to go to Colorado.


May 2008

After two miscarriages and a few tests that have come back normal, my OB is recommending that I see a fertility specialist to see if they can find the cause of the miscarriages (I have one child born in 2006 with no intervention). I'm looking for comments and experiences (b/c the archives are several years out of date) specifically about: UCSF's Center for Reproductive Health/Drs. Cedars & Fujimoto


After years of tests and unanswered questions at Kaiser, Dr Cedars told me in 5 minutes after reviewing my medical history and doing an exam that I, at 33, could not have children with my own eggs. It was hard to hear, but I was glad to have gotten answers. We unsuccessfully tried to adopt for a long while and then headed back for Dr. Cedars egg donation program. 3 children later (one son and girl twins) all from the same batch of embryos, we have the family we so desperately wanted. Dr. Dobbs did the transfer for my son and Fujimoto did it for the twins. All the doctors were straight forward and did their jobs very professionally. The nurses were warm and friendly making the process easy. Both pregnancies, I went back to Kaiser after 3 months of positive ultrasounds because I wasn't using insurance and it just too expensive at UCSF. Otherwise, I would have stayed with them through the entire delivery. Finally, a mom.


I went through 6 fertility cycles with Dr. Fujimoto at UCSF. I was an emotional, physical and financial wreck by the end. And after all that I still have warm feelings for Dr. Fujimoto! He is an excellent doctor and has a nice balance of encouragement and caution. I saw Dr. Cedars also. I think she is a very good doctor as well but I found her bedside manner somewhat abrasive. We did a lot of research and felt UCSF was the best place to go. They were also recommended by my OB. Best of luck. anon


I had 3 IVF done at UCSF Center for Reproductive Health. My doctor was Dr. Mitchell Rosen.

I visited both UCSF Center for Reproductive Health and The Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area in Orinda.

I chose UCSF over RSC for following reasons:

* I knew I would do IVF, so I needed to know the hour of clinic visits during my cycle. At UCSF they open their clinic at 7:30am for blood draw and follicle check up, but at RSC the hour started much later, and the window of the hour was short. It did not work for me. With UCSF, I went to 7:30am appointment, and often I was back in the East Bay by 8:45am. My usual schedule did not get affected too much.

* I was lucky to have infertility treatment medical insurance. UCSF has a billing office to send claims to insurance companies, so I did not have to deal with the hustle with my insurance company. UCSF did most parts for me. Also, some visits were considered infertility treatment, but some other visits were considered as medical visits. Since UCSF was contracted to my insurance company, some visits could be covered up to 90% (such as post treatment consultation, ultrasound visits after positive pregnancy result, etc). At RSC, their business office did not deal with insurances. I would have to pay total amount upfront, and then send receipts to my insurance company. Having dealt with medical insurance issue for many many years in the past for a family member, I knew that it would be another headache if I have to ask for reimbursement. I thought, when going through infertility treatment, I did not need an additional stress with insurance company.

* UCSF had ''a medical office in an institution such as university'' feel to me. Their doctors discuss each patients' treatment options as a group, so I felt that it is always good to have several people thinking of your treatment option. At RSC, probably they do the same too, but for some reasons, I did not feel it as much as from UCSF.

* When I visited RSC to consult with a doctor there, she had her daughter's photos behind her desk. I did not get offended, but I thought it may be considered insensitive. Here she is seeing patients who are trying to get pregnant, but she is showing her own daughter's photo to patients. I felt strange about it.

That being said, I know many friends who went to RSC, and had great outcomes, where as I have few other friends who went to UCSF without any success. It is really hard to know which one is better. I highly recommend you to make appointments, and meet doctors in each practices. Your heart (and some other practical issues) will tell you which one is better.

For me, UCSF worked perfectly for me and our family. I also had a great outcome after three IVF.

Good luck with you. Happy with UCSF


Oct 2007

Re: Seeking information on local fertility clinics

So sorry that you have had such a bad experience with IVF. We also had a terrible first experience with a fertility doctor in San Francisco. After that we shopped around for another doctor very carefully. We even looked out of state. We decided on Dr. Victor Fujimoto at UCSF's Center for Reproductive Health. He was very informative and supportive. I also saw other doctors there and felt they were excellent as well. We were in it for the long haul and did eight cycles. I felt Dr. Fujimoto and all of the staff at UCSF monitored my medical care carefully and handled my seesawing emotions with amazing patience. If I had to go through it all over again I would without hesitation go to UCSF.

I think that statistics are very important but that they can also be misleading. One clinic may have a higher number of live births simply because they only treated those patients who had a high chance of success. A frequent use of donor eggs could also make the numbers higher. There are a lot of factors that go into these statistics and they all need to be separated out to be accurate. The first fertility doctor I saw had great numbers. After seeing her a few times she told me (very coldly and over the phone) that because of my high FSH it was impossble for me to get pregnant (wrong!). Devastated I went back for another appointment where I was told (again very coldly) of my options. After I declined the use of donor eggs she refused to try IVF with my own eggs and said if that is what I wanted to try I needed to go somewhere else. At UCSF there was none of this arrogance. They gave me the information I needed to make informed decisions and then supported me. Best Wishes from Someone Whose Been There


We ended up using UCSF, which was fabulous. UCSF is a non-profit as compared to many fertility centers, their prices are lower, their staff is top notch - on the cutting edge of research, they are very pleasant, and very accessible. I couldn't recommend UCSF more highly! Keren


I did IVF with a clinic based in Marin, and worked with Dr. SAE H. SOHN, M.D. He was recommended to me by the fertility Dr. I was seeing at the time at SF Kaiser, who wasn't able to offer IVF at that time (3 years ago). I believe Dr. Sohn's office has recently joined to become an extension office of the UCSF reproductive clinics. Dr. Sohn was incredibly gentle and calm. His office and staff were very available and supportive. In our case, the problem was male factor. IVF with ICSI worked for us - we did one cycle of harvesting eggs and one cycle of implantation that resulted in a very healthy baby girl. I was 38 at the time of pregnancy. I did have an over reaction to the hormones for harvesting the eggs, but he was able to slow down the treatments to complete the cycle without having to start all over again. All the procedures were done in his quiet, private office. A very serene location. I traveled to Marin from Oakland via the ferry and walking, but it was worth it. I recommend him highly.


Oct 2007

In a previous marriage and in another less urban area, my husband was diagnosed as infertile because of undeveloped testicles. Now, five years later and here in the Bay area (which I think abounds with great doctors), he is willing to visit another doctor for another opinion. Please any recommendations? We live near UCSF, so that seems the obvious choice, but we're willing to go to Stanford or wherever in the Bay area. We are also open to alternative health providers too. looking for doctor


I would recommend that you start, as a couple, with Dr. Victor Fujimoto at UCSF. He was our second Reproductive and Infertility specialist on the road to becoming parents and is very wonderful and skilled. My husband had already had his work-up when we arrived there, but their office can likely refer you if they don't do that. good luck! anon


Sept 2007

Re: Reproductive Specialist Recommendations?
We did a lot of research before choosing a doctor to help us with infertility. We even looked out of state. We found the best right here in the bay area at UCSF Center for Reproductive Health. Choosing the right place is very important. The first place I went to was so negative and unhelpful. Dr. Fujimoto at UCSF was a refreshing change. He is compassionate and an excellent doctor. But if he is not available I would go with any of the other doctors there. They really know what they are doing and monitor your progress closely. You didn't mention your age but I will offer this advice anyway: don't waste any time getting treatment and don't spend too much time on less aggressive treatments like Chlomid. Best wishes to you! anon


June 2006

Re: Seeking great fertility doctor
I'd like to recommend the UCSF Center for Reproductive Medicine. We have been seeing Dr. Fujimoto there. Although not pregnant yet, we have been very pleased with the level of care and competence of our doctor and the entire team at the UCSF clinic. A couple of things that are unique about UCSF's Center for Reproductive Medicine: 1) their ongoing involvement in research and 2) the way the doctors there work as a team. This team is made up of some of the most brillliant, caring and dedicated doctors I've ever met.

We are very grateful to be seeing Dr. Fujimoto. We continue to rely on his intelligence, honesty, ethics and personal caring. We trust him completely.

I know that there are already several recommendations on the website for Dr's Fujimoto and Cedars (they are the Co-Directors of the cllinic), but it can be difficult to get new appointments with them. As a patient of UCSF, I have seen almost all of the doctors there and they are all great. Some you may not have heard of are: Dr. Rinaudo, Dr. Dobson, Dr. Rosen

I have had much interaction with all three of them and would recommend any of them without hesitation. They each are wonderful in their own way and each brings the same high level of competence and sensitivity to the team.

Many people are hesitant to go to a large, busy clinic like UCSF. I have found that between the doctors and the amazing nursing staff, we have recieved as much or more personal attention than we would recieve in a smaller clinic.

My recommendation would be to call UCSF and get an appointment with any doctor who is available. They are all great. wishing you the best of luck anon


June 2005

Re: Experience with Bay Area Fertility clinics?
I noticed a lot of the archive postings for the UCSF Center for Reproductive Health are old. There has been a major reorganization, restaffing and a new director there as of several years ago. We had a great experience with their program in 2003 -- highly competent doctors and nurses with good ''patient'' skills, excellent laboratory, really good success rates. Their self-pay prices are pretty good compared to other clinics (not that any of these are ''reasonably'' priced!)

I would highly recommend the doctor overseeing our treatment -- the clinic director, Marcelle Cedars. She is up on all the latest research, she is both realistic and positive, she was available to us for key treatment decisions even when out of town. What I really liked was that after our first unsuccessful try, she was able to tell us precisely and clearly which aspects she believed ''worked'', which ones didn't, whether a second try was warranted, and what could be changed in the second treatment to give us the best shot. The second treatment was successful.

It is a clinic so you would see different doctors, but one oversees your overall treatment. They can schedule early morning appointments for the monitoring part -- I live and work in the East Bay, but was able to get back and forth across the bridge pretty easily without missing much work. We liked all of the doctors and nurses we saw, though I see looking at the web site just now that there has been some staff turnover since we were there in 2003.

They have a free orientation once a month that is very informative, and it might be worth it to go whether or not you decide to go to that clinic. Information is on their website: http://www.ucsfivf.org/ Melissa


Re: Experience with Bay Area Fertility clinics? (June 2005)
We have nothing but wonderful things to say about UCSF, Dr. Marcelle Cedars in particular. She heads up the clinic and is wonderful. She is direct and to the point, yet warm and friendly. She fit our personalities well as we didn't want to see a doctor that tried to sugarcoat the issue. Dr. Fujimoto is also supposed to be good, and I don't know anything about Dr. Rinaudo as I think he is fairly new there. You do end up seeing all the docs there and can't count on just seeing your doc for all appointments, but we were fine with that. Each doc also has their own nurse who you end up talking to on the phone a lot. We also had no problem with that since they are fabulous and attentive as well. We now have 4 mth old twins, via IVF, and couldn't be happier. For further info, here's a link to their site: http://www.ucsfivf.org/ Good luck!


Re: Experience with Bay Area Fertility clinics? (June 2005)
We had an excellent experience with UCSF's IVF clinic led by Marcelle Cedars. The orientation was helpful and gave us a very realistic sense of the cost, procedures and ''odds.'' We worked with each of the doctors before the recent staff changes and found that Dobson and Fujimoto were more clinical and less inclined to ''hang around'' answering questions unless you stopped them on their way out of the door. Medically, we felt that we were in the best of hands. We went through 5 IUI cycles for unexplained infertility and had success on our first round of IVF. We now have healthy boy/girl twins who will celebrate their first birthday this summer. anon


Re: Experience with Bay Area Fertility clinics? (June 2005)
I did 5 IUI's at UCSF Fertility Clinic in 2003 - 2004. I agree with the other comments that I have read, that technically, the doctor's are all top notch. But unfortunately, they rotate through the patients so I never knew who would be doing the IUI or felt that I had the emotional support that I needed from the doctors or their staff. To make a very long story short, I eventually decided to try donor eggs. I met with the donor coordinator at UCSF, but it was not a pleasent experience. She could not explain the various costs involved to my satisfaction. I frequently travel to the Reno area, and fortunately, met a woman who had worked with Dr. Russell Foulk at the Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine. He is a sole practioner at this clinic, and both he and his staff were extremely supportive and gave me HOPE. They were also able to explain all of the costs up front, and, I think the cost of the donor was significantly less than what I would have paid in the Bay Area. I now have a beautiful daughter, and it was worth the frequent trips to the Reno area.

I was able to arrange for some of the tests to be done in the Bay area. Specifically, I had several of the sonograms done at Marin Fertility Medical Group in Greenbrae. I can not recall the name of the doctor (Saen?) but he was very nice, and had I not already gone to Dr. Foulk, I would have considered him. I think he is part of the UCSF group, but I had never run in to him there.

I think the theme here is, if you want to feel like that the Dr. and staff know you and care about you, I would consicer a smaller clinic. But I can not argue with UCSF's expertise. -- And it is VERY important to be sure you are working with a good practitioner. You can check out a fertility clinic's statistics on-line. I think it is through the CDC's website??

A friend of mine had a good experience with Dr. Zouves. I think he is willing to be more aggressive than some other local clinics. anon


November 2003

We have a beautiful 2 year old daughter from IVF/ICSI and would recommend UCSF Infertility Clinic. Specifically Dr. Victor Fujimoto. Dr. Fujimoto has a great bedside manner and he and his wife have two daughters through IVF. I believe this makes him a better doctor because of his personal experience with infertility. He also has one of the best embryologist working for him. We conceived on our first IVF cycle and failed on a recent FET trying for #2. Interview various doctors and ask your own personal ob/gyn doctor for their recommendation. UCSF Infertilty Phone #:415-353-7475 Best of luck! IVF Mom


Feb 2003

I would appreciate any good or bad recommendations that anyone can give me on Dr. Victor Fujimoto, Dr. Marcelle Cedars or Dr. Tracey Telles at UCSF for fertility issues. They are the only doctors with this specialty that I can find that are covered by my insurance and accepting new patients. I have checked the website and only see one older recommendation for Robert Taylor, who is another physician in their practice (not accepting new patients). Frustrated by Insurance Limitations


I had a great experience with the UCSF Fertlity Group. Dr. Fujimoto was my main doctor- His wife had some fertlity problems I beleive so he was very empathetic and was very good at explaining things. He also made himself available if we had any questions. Dr Cedars had just joined the group when I was there- she performed my ultrasounds and was excellent. I am now the happy mother of a one year old so I couldn't be more satisfied with the group- Good luck, feel free to email me with any other questions.


Although I didn't use UCSF for any of my treatments (4 total), there was a point in my treatments when I was interested in obtaining a second opinion. My OB-GYN whom I absolutely adore and respect had suggested I talk to Dr Fujimoto. In the end, I didn't need the second opinion, but I would have gone to Fujimoto given the level of confidence I have in my OB. I know that's not the detailed feedback your looking for, but I thought I'd share the little bit I know about that group. I'm sure you'll get other responses - the USCF program is quite popular. Best of luck! Anon


I was under the care of Dr. Fujimoto, Dr. Cedars, Dr. Telles for a treatment, I remembered at the time I also had a different Dr. and had to transfer due to insurance policies. We were thinking that we now have to endure the assembly line of medicine, we got in line for blood test, surgery, different test in a different building, each time we see a Dr., it would be a different Dr. with an intern. Much different from what we were used , one Doctor for everything, same office each time.

We didn't have much contact with Dr. Cedars, she did my transfer one morning. Dr. Telles was very nice, she took her time explaining the procedure, and was extremely helpful, we felt like she was one of our college buddy. Dr. Fujimoto was very comforting, I got pregnant then transfered to a regular OBGYN Dr. (who was recomended by Dr. Fujimoto) We still keep in contact with Dr. Fujimoto today. You won't have that personal feeling one on one at first.

To make a long story short, in the end it was worth it. UCSF was the best, the care was thourough, Drs were extremely confident and professional. As a result, we now have a beautiful baby boy who is 6 months old, we are forever grateful of the care we recieved from Dr. fujimoto, Dr. Cedars, Dr. Telles. good luck to you. julie


We VERY HIGHLY recommend Dr. Cedars at UCSF Medical Group. Our OB had originally referred us to Fujimoto, who we did not particularly like -- although he seemed quite qualified, we didn't like his bedside manner, and he didn't seem to care much about his patients, other than as stats. We switched to Cedars after seeing her for an appointment when Fujimoto wasn't available -- what a difference! Not only is she quite clearly a fantastic clinician, very qualfied, insightful, etc., she also had a very wonderful way of interacting with us and other patients. She was honest about prospects of success of proposed treatments without being overly pessimistic or falsely optimistic, willing to go against what seemed to be ''common'' wisdom on certain issues to do what she thought would work the best, and open to feedback from patients, etc. Her staff loves and respects her, as do many many other doctors to whom we mentioned her name. We were VERY VERY pleased with her. Good luck! Sharon


I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Fujimoto at UCSF. He was incredibly understanding and helpful; answered an unbelievable # of questions from me and listened to my request to change a medication dose during the IVF process. Of course, the fact that I got pregnant with twins, now 18 months old, makes me even more pleased with the UCSF group, but I was very impressed with them even before I got pregnant. He also has some personal experience with infertility (he spoke about this at a RESOLVE conference) and I think this makes him particularly understanding. I worked with a Kaiser Oakland R.E. and went for a consult with an R.E. in Orinda before going to UCSF, and they just did not make the same good impression. Good luck! Philippa


August 2001

regarding recurrent miscarriages ... You might want to skip the OB/GYN route and go straight to an infertility specialist about miscarriages just to be safe. I saw Dr. Robert Taylor at UCSF Infertility after my second (non-consecutive) miscarriage (at the age of 37). I really liked his approach. He seemed willing to be aggressive about investigating causes because that's what I wanted. I took a really active role in figuring out what was going on and he seemed to appreciate that. He's a bit hard to reach because he is out of town a lot but be persistent and when you actually see him in person or get him on the phone he will spend a lot of time with you explaining things. I found him very compassionate as well. Their office did an ultrasound for me at 6 and 8 weeks.


(July 1999)

We went to UCSF for IVF and had excellent care and a great experience (as far as these things go). The doctors were knowledgeable, kind, _not_ pushy about things like the number of embryos to use (very very important to us), and all around good people. Our primary doctor was Carolyn Givens, but we also saw Eldon Schriock and someone else whose name I can't remember at the moment. The nurses were fantastic. One in particular, Denise, really explained everything to us and genuinely cared about us and our situation. We were lucky and I got pregnant the first round and we now have a 20 month old son, plus several frozen embryos waiting for the next time. We wouldn't consider going anywhere else to do this procedure.


(July 1999)

I highly recommend their program. We had great success there. But it is a large facility and may not offer the softer touches of a smaller program. Also, I would recommend Dr. Eldon Scriock at UCSF. There are two other women in the practice who don't have the same bedside manners as Dr. Schriock. However, your decision of clinics may also depend on your infertility situation. If you have an uncomplicated situation, all three clinics may meet your needs and the East bay ones may be easier in terms of proximity. What we like about UCSF is that it is a research facility and sets the standard (along with Stanford). They have a wonderful lab and embryologists which are very important. Good luck with everything. It is an emotional process.


I have read many positive responses about the San Francisco Center for reproductive medicine and felt that it was important to hear another point of view. There are two groups within SFC for Repro Med. Chenette and Herbert and then there is Dr. Simon Henderson. While I have friends who have had very positive experiences with Chenette and Herbert f(I also saw Chenette on two occasions when he was the weekend on-call Dr. and liked him very much) Dr. Henderson is another story! He always seemed somewhat confused about who I was, even though I was seeing him several times per month, he wanted to jump right to IVF without exhausting less invasive options. He neglected to have several basic infertility tests run and his office staff is terrible. More than once his office manager had me in tears. The only thing positive about that practice was one nurse, Betty.

After a truly disastrous final appt. I left the practice and began seeing Susan Wilman in Orinda. It was a completely different experience from the very beginning, she is very straight forward and thorough. Her staff is very professional and knowledgeable. After evaluating my records (after 2+ years of trying to get pregnant) she ordered some basic tests that had never been done, told me that she thought my chances were slim, but that we had several options. To make a long story short, I was put on a new drug, reacted beautifully and got pregnant the first cycle doing IUI not IVF. We now have a wonderful 8 mos old son. I might mention that she is the on call Dr. at San Franciso Center for reproductive medicine once a month so she is very familiar with that practice. I had all of might genetic testing and counseling done at Stanford/UCSF by James Goldberg who was wonderful.


(August 1998)

I went through several years (5 IUI's and 4 IVF's) @ USF. Dr. Mary Martin was my primary Dr. (she has since moved to WA), however I saw Dr. Carolyn Givens many times and she took care of me through several procedures. She was wonderful; smart, warm, caring and efficient. I would highly recommend her. The one drawback @ USF was that there was a constant stream of interns, sometimes in groups, who would do the transvaginal sonograms....I was not always comfortable with this. You can let them know if you don't want the interns in the room with you. There are times when you're feeling pretty emotional about the progress of your egg development...and when it's not going as planned, well, it's painful (emotionally) and something that I would have rather not had to share with a group of strangers.

BOTTOM LINE: None of the treatments were successful. My husband and I are now the extremely happy and proud parents of a little boy named Patrick that we adopted at birth. I wish I had moved forward with adoption sooner and not spent so much time, money and heartache going through infertility treatments.


We used Dr. Carolyn Givens at UCSF. She is in the same practice as Dr. Eldon Schriock. We ended up seeing both of those doctors, as well as a couple more, over the course of our treatment. We were delighted with the care we had and thought the nurses in the practice were also very knowledgeable and excellent. We saw them up through about the first 7-9 weeks of pregnancy and then switched to Robin Hale (CNM) in Berkeley for our regular prenatal care.