McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Reproductive Centre

Would be a good clinic, if they answered their phone!! Or had any appointment that you didn't have to wait 5 hours in the waiting room for?? Really unacceptable, and should be reported. If you're on any kind of time frame, you will miss your date due to complete negligence.

Choosing this clinic was a huge mistake, I wish I had went with a different IVF clinic. First I’d like to say that the secretaries that i encountered are very nice. And there is one francophone nurse in the IVF procedure section who is very kind, compassionate, and caring. My doctor, although always late, is nice, and it’s thanks to him that I finally had one pregnancy (though lost to miscarriage). Our embryologist (young man) was very nice and it’s thanks to his work that we had 3 blastocysts. As for the rest of the staff we encountered, they were very rude, lacked compassion, and shouldn’t be working there - it’s what ruined me entire experiences each time: I spent years undergoing 2 retrievals and 3 transfers. First of all, extremely painful procedures with such lack of empathy. I’m in the waiting/recovery room and just hear nurses complaining about their work, etc. Excuse me, I am prepping to go in for a scary procedure and then trying to recover afterwards, it’s not appropriate to be listening to your complaints. Please, if you are unhappy, find another job. When my rounds of IvF were not working, I got a few second opinions and they have a complete opposite opinion than my doctor at the time on a specific issue. I demanded to change doctors. The clinic didn’t want to let me change doctors and gave me such a hard time. I finally forced the change and with my new doctor, he fixed the issue and BAM, I got pregnant on my first transfer with him. Had I stayed with my first doctor, I would have never gotten pregnant. The ultrasound techs are rough, and have a complete lack of empathy. The viability ultrasound tech I had the past 2 times is shockingly rude and incompetent. I was so happy, kind and humorous in my apt seeing my bay and its’ heartbeat for the first time and such a happy and special moment was COMPLETELY RUINED by that ultrasound tech and his rude and mean comments!!! I head the heartbeat so I asked “is that the heartbeat?” I was tearing up and he responds condescendingly “that would be a weird place for a heartbeat, but yes. I responded “not my heartbeat, my baby’s” and he didn’t answer. And then he told me to stop grabbing the blanket up (I hardly did but it was a stress response to my anxiety). He also had no idea where to put the probe to get in, I hard to keep telling him that’s the wrong spot go lower. Unbelievable! And the doctor that gave us our results after, though he was nice, was completely lost as if he had just woken up from a nap or something, and was incompetent. I am shocked, I had to ask about certain of my meds and if I should get blood tests to check if my levels are normal and increase if needed. He said no just increase. Didn’t even tell me by how much, I had to ask. Then he said hmm… just double up on weekends. Or ask the pharmacist, they will tell you. Whaaat kind of response is this?!! He Also had such a hard time answering my questions and we don’t trust anything he told us. Also don’t get me started on how difficult it is to get a hold of the clinic. They never answer so you have to spend hours or days trying to get answers from them. They are also very disorganized, sometimes they call you but if you don’t answer, they don’t leave a voicemail and when you call them back, they don’t know why they called you. Or are rude and say “I’m working at home I’m not at the clinic I don’t know why they called you”. Like ok, can you find out?!! If you can’t help, why are you working on the phone lines?!!! I can go on and on. IVF is already very hard on us and this clinic makes it even harder. We are just a number and a pay check to them. Please Try to find a better clinic, don’t go here.

We had a wonderful experience with Dr. Buckett and Dr. Chan and will forever be grateful to the team at this clinic for our baby. The whole team treated us with care and empathy. My egg retrieval was in a day when they don’t allow for anyone else to accompany you for the procedure but I clearly remember the eyes of the nurse that held my hand through it (I wish I remembered her name). Like every clinic in our health system, it’s overloaded so you have to work within the system. I would arrive to my doctor’s appointment with a list of questions which my doctor answered in detail. Make sure you write down the instructions that you’re given and to ask as many questions as you can in person since it is true that it can be hard to get through via phone / email. For the ultrasounds, often you will have a fellow or a resident performing them so some are better than others and it is always ok to ask for someone else if you’re not comfortable.

Avoid this clinic at all costs! The positive reviews are for sure fake/from staff or their friends. Communication is probably the most frustrating part of the process as treatments require many time sensitive appointments and communication. You are told to call the "nurses line" but 9 times out of 10 there is literally no one who answers, no matter how long you wait. Once I was even told "oh yes that day there wasn't a nurse to answer". I had spent all day calling and waiting, for no one. But I was put on hold for hours. If you try and speak with the option for an appointment, they can't do anything and tell you "I work from home so can't ask anything to anyone at the clinic". So many times we were told we'd get a call after test results and got nothing. Important tests. Tests that it made a medical difference if we got the results as soon as possible or later. Also, they give you the number for an "on call doctor" if something goes wrong. We tried using it as something went wrong and after waiting for about 20 minutes (in an emergency situation about medication), the line hung up. We called back and the same thing happened. I'm surprised doctors and nurses here haven't been sued or sued enough for this clinic to get its act together.

I have so many things to say, but let me start with the appointments. Yes, it can take time to get one, but once you do, there’s no way you won’t feel heard. It may also be a bit difficult to get through when calling, but being patient really helps—and the nursing staff are incredibly supportive and kind. As for the team, I was a patient of Dr. Jacob Ruiter, who performed my embryo transfer. I am so, so grateful to him. We welcomed our baby boy this January, and I’ve wanted to write this ever since. The clinic truly takes care of you every step of the way. During my pregnancy, I actually missed the IVF clinic follow-ups because they had been so thorough and thoughtful every single time. I only wish I could remember everyone’s names—the staff who helped with my scans, egg retrieval, and embryo transfer. My husband and I are deeply grateful to the entire team for everything they’ve done for us. Thankss alot team