Our search for evidence-based fertility treatment led us to TFP Belfast Fertility

Searching for evidence-based fertility treatment, Samantha and Harry travelled from Washington, D.C. in the US to Belfast, Northern Ireland to undergo IVF at TFP Belfast Fertility. Opting to add PGT-A to their treatment to maximise their chances of success, the couple welcomed baby boy George in November 2025 after two egg retrievals.  

Samantha & Harry's story

Originally from the UK, Samantha, 42, and Harry, 46, moved to Washington D.C. six years ago to pursue their careers. The couple, who were married in 2012, both saw children as a part of their future. However, opportunities that presented themselves within their professions meant that children weren’t always a priority.   

“I think we always pictured ourselves with multiple children, but I was quite mindful that there is never really a good time to have a child, particularly as we’re both super lucky to have been given some excellent opportunities within our careers,” explains Samantha.   

“When I hit 37 and then 38, the need became a bit more pressing, and we knew that if we wanted to have a child then we had to make it more of a priority.” 

After a year of trying to conceive naturally to no avail, Samantha and Harry began looking at their options for fertility treatment nearby in Washington. Referred to a clinic by her OBGYN, the couple were initially sent for some fertility assessments which flagged no specific concerns regarding their fertility, other than their age. 

“We felt like we were on a conveyor belt of patients.” 

The couple acted quickly, starting their fertility treatment journey in the US. During this first stage, Samantha and Harry had one round of intrauterine insemination (IUI) followed by a round of IVF, both of which were sadly unsuccessful.  

This was an initial knock for the couple, particularly as they felt time wasn’t on their side. And as they reflected on their experience, Samantha and Harry were in agreement that they weren’t satisfied with the care they had received thus far.  

“Fertility treatment in the US is very different compared to the UK. There are a lot more providers, but the regulations are also a bit more lax, and we were made to feel like we were on a conveyor belt, being rushed through every appointment,” Harry explains.  

“Communication also wasn’t great; we often had to chase doctors for responses to questions regarding protocols, we had very little interaction with the doctor nominally in charge of our care and we were sent the wrong treatment schedule the night before our embryo transfer which added a huge amount of stress to an already stressful time,” adds Samantha.  

On top of that, Samantha wasn’t confident that her body was responding well to the treatment and had concerns that the protocols in place weren’t tailored to her body and specific needs.  

“It was only upon meeting our first consultant at TFP Belfast Fertility that we realised I’d been given a much higher dose of the hormone medication than the maximum recommended by the TFP team.” shares Samantha.  

“Having treatment in Belfast allowed us time with our families that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.” 

Having reached the limit of their health insurance coverage and still no closer to their dreams of parenthood, Samantha and Harry began to assess their options for moving forward.  

At a follow-up consultation after their failed IVF cycle, the couple’s doctor proposed that they would need to follow the same protocols in any subsequent rounds. But knowing that any future treatment would be funded privately, and aware that time was limited, finding quality care for subsequent treatment was critical, and the couple were compelled to research treatment not only at a different clinic but in a different country entirely.  

Soon after, they began their search back in the UK, focusing on clinics in London as well as Harry’s hometown of Belfast noting the added benefit of being close to family throughout their treatment.  

“In the end, a few things drew us to TFP Belfast Fertility,” recalls Harry. “My sister had a friend that had undergone treatment there, so we had a personal recommendation which always helps. We also researched the doctors working there, many of which had experience in the NHS as well as the private sector and felt confident in their abilities.” 

“Many of them also had experience within teaching hospitals which felt important,” Samantha adds. “We felt reassured that they would be acting on the latest research and that we’d be receiving the most up-to-date and effective care.”  

“We wanted to be clear-sighted about what we were working with, rather than getting our hopes up only to be disappointed.” 

In January 2024, Samantha and Harry flew over to Belfast for their first appointment with TFP Fertility.  

Conscious about their age and aware of the natural decline in fertility that comes with it, the couple made two very conscientious decisions about their treatment. 

The first was to undergo two rounds of stimulation, each followed by an egg retrieval, to increase the number of healthy eggs they had to work with. The second was to carry out pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) on their resulting embryos. Both of these choices aimed to maximise their chances of a successful outcome as well as plan ahead so that they may have the possibility of trying for a sibling in the future.  

“We wanted to act while time was still on our side,” explains Samantha. 

“The addition of PGT-A allowed us to feel more comfortable about potentially yielding fewer viable embryos knowing that we would be increasing the chance that each one might result in a tiny human.” 

“One of those embryos is now sitting here in a stripey jumper!”  

Now feeling confident in their treatment plan and comfortable that their choices made sense for them, Samantha began her treatment with TFP Belfast Fertility in March 2024. This yielded seven eggs, two of which matured into healthy embryos that were sent for PGT-A. Within four weeks, Samantha and Harry received the good news that both embryos were chromosomally normal and would remain frozen until they were ready for transfer.  

The couple headed home to Washington to recoup before returning later that year for their second round of egg retrieval. Following this, a further embryo was sent for testing. While it was later confirmed as aneuploid, meaning it was not suitable for transfer, the couple were pleased to have two healthy embryos waiting for them and felt ready to move forward to the next stage of treatment.  

“We were so pleased with the results and so were the team in Belfast”, expresses Samantha. “We felt confident that we’d made the right decision to undergo two egg retrievals before a transfer and it felt like a good time to draw a line under that part of our treatment, knowing we had two embryos.” 

In February 2025, Samantha and Harry returned to the clinic once again for an embryo transfer, using one of the embryos created during their first cycle. To the couple’s delight, baby boy George was born in November 2025.  

“He’s amazing, a happy and curious boy” beams Samantha. “We’re so grateful to all of the team at TFP Belfast, not only for the fantastic and empathetic care we received but for helping navigate the logistics of treatment and allowing us to feel in control of our journey. 

“Knowing we have another healthy embryo safely being looked after offers us a lot of hope for the future. It’s a better outcome than we dared to imagine.” 

*This is a real life story, however, to protect the patients' identities the names have been changed and the images are stock photography.