IVF Michigan Kinderwunschzentrum – Ann Arbor, USA

I would not have my three children without Dr. Shamma and his teams at the Ypsilanti and Bloomfield offices. After many ups and downs during IVF treatment, I ultimately had three successful pregnancies at IVF Michigan Fertility Center. My husband and I went to another clinic, where we created six normal embryos. We first transferred the highest-quality single embryo, but our first three attempts were unsuccessful. We decided to try for twins on our fourth attempt—a buy-one-get-one-free approach, as we were paying mostly out of pocket. I insisted on changing the medication protocol to progesterone in oil injections because I had previously been using suppositories. I did become pregnant but miscarried at six weeks. Meanwhile, several of my friends were being treated at IVF Michigan Fertility Center and had different transfer protocols. I sent their protocols to my doctor, but the clinic told me those were outdated practices and would not agree to change my current protocol other than adding progesterone in oil injections. We proceeded with a fifth transfer, which resulted in a biochemical pregnancy. I was devastated and had only one embryo left, a BC embryo of the lowest quality, so I changed doctors. During my consultation with Dr. Shamma, he wanted to perform another egg retrieval because of the embryo's poor quality. I disagreed and told him this was my last attempt to have a child, so it had to succeed. He developed a special protocol that helped me achieve that goal. After my son was born, I wanted him to have a sibling, so we underwent another egg retrieval. I now have a daughter and a son. I am deeply grateful to this clinic and highly recommend it.

We had a wonderful experience with Dr. Sharma and Nurse Stephanie. They were highly supportive and professional throughout the process.

Dr. Sharma and the Ann Arbor care team are amazing. IVF is a difficult journey, but their expertise and genuine care made all the difference. We felt supported at every step—highly recommend this clinic!

Terrible. My husband and I came here after having several problems with another fertility clinic. We met the doctor and initially felt good about the visit. When we explained the issues with our previous clinic, they repeatedly assured us that this clinic would be different and promised a nurse would contact us to arrange everything. That never happened. There was no follow-up, not even an email. Fortunately, my husband and I eventually conceived without their help. Then, months later, they billed us despite providing nothing they had promised. I recommend looking elsewhere. There are also many less expensive options available.

Do not go to this clinic. The reviews are accurate. Its scheduling is a complete mess. They repeatedly booked the wrong time and made me wait for months. At my first appointment, they assigned a doctor and then said the doctor was several hours away. The second appointment was the same. That one was virtual but was supposed to be an ultrasound. Do not waste your time, money, or energy. Infertility is already difficult, and this clinic will make it worse. The facility is also dirty. The ultrasound machine was covered in dust, dust balls filled the room corners, and even the stirrup covers looked as though they had never been changed. Extremely disappointing.

My husband and I had an excellent experience with Dr. Starostenko. She was kind, patient, and very thorough at every visit. We had previously seen some OB-GYNs whom we liked but sometimes found detached. In contrast, Dr. Starostenko’s warmth and thoughtfulness made us feel welcome, and she made every effort to answer our questions. We will certainly recommend her to couples struggling with infertility.

At first, I was happy finally to meet Dr. Sharma after rescheduling a month later, but he ended our conversation after only 12 minutes. I fully understand that Dr. Sharma needs clearance from my psychiatrist before proceeding, but I had just paid $220 for the consultation. We both knew I had already frozen my eggs, so it was reasonable for me to want more information about IUI, which was completely new to me. Dr. Sharma kept saying he needed my clearance and summarized the entire IUI process in only two minutes. This was not what I expected from an initial consultation. I simply wanted to learn about IUI. Scheduling with this clinic was already difficult, and now I must spend more time contacting other doctors.

I believe this may be only my second Google review, but I feel it is necessary to share my painful experience at IVF Michigan so others do not have to endure something similar. I also recognize that people choose IVF for many reasons and that not everyone will share my story or circumstances. We began treatment at IVF Michigan in spring 2022. My first appointment was over FaceTime while the doctor was driving to Chicago with his family. Initially, we were told we might be candidates for IUI and completed the required testing. When we asked whether my husband might have a varicocele, we were told not to worry. During my saline ultrasound, the doctor commented that my anatomy looked good compared with the patient he had just seen, then continued discussing another patient's concerns. In October, we were told our chance of natural conception was 1-2%, our chance with IUI was 3-4%, and our chance with IVF was 60%. At the time, our insurance did not cover IVF, and more than $17,000 out of pocket per cycle was not realistic for us. I changed jobs and obtained insurance covering fertility treatment, including IVF, provided we went to the University of Michigan. Before our first University of Michigan appointment, we twice requested records from IVF Michigan, but they were not faxed until today, when my husband called a third time to confirm. We had our first University of Michigan appointment last week. When we shared the IUI success estimate, the doctor seemed confused and said the chance was more likely 15-20%. She asked whether my husband had seen a urologist about a possible varicocele. He had not because IVF Michigan told us it was not a concern. My husband provided another semen sample last Wednesday and saw a urologist today. He does have a varicocele, which can be treated with a fairly simple outpatient procedure covered by our insurance. The urologist told my husband that if he did not have the procedure and we proceeded with IVF, the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy could be as high as 60-70%. We were shocked because this was entirely new information. Our experience at IVF Michigan felt predatory, as though we were directed toward the most expensive way to conceive even though safer, less invasive options were available and covered by our insurance. I feel deeply sad and angry about this experience. We trusted this organization for a year and feel misled. I do not want anyone else to experience this because infertility is already difficult enough.

Too many babies die because of IVF. Those who survive are kept in freezers for many years. Sometimes the freezers malfunction, causing tens of thousands of babies to die. Unethical.

It was a pleasure working with Dr. Shamma and the team at IVF Michigan's Ann Arbor office. After several unsuccessful attempts of our own, Dr. Shamma gave us the greatest gift. The care team at the Ann Arbor office stayed with us throughout the journey, answered all our questions, and maintained a positive attitude to help us through every obstacle. On our second attempt, we achieved the result we had always hoped for. Now my wife and I cannot wait to meet our baby girl. Thank you, Dr. Shamma and the IVF Michigan team.

We began and ended our infertility journey with this practice within one month. I had high expectations because I did not feel heard by my obstetrician about our efforts to conceive. When we met Dr. Shamma over FaceTime, he expressed understanding of our desire for a child, as we were experiencing secondary infertility. We went to the office for an SIS procedure, but because of scar tissue, he could not pass the catheter into the uterus. He was able to perform an ultrasound, which showed a large endometrioma on one ovary that we had not known about. Dr. Shamma told us that IVF was our only chance to reproduce. After receiving a $28,000 bill, I scheduled an appointment with CNY Fertility. During the initial consultation, the nurse practitioner said that if a catheter could not be passed for the SIS, it could not be passed for egg retrieval or IVF. She said that even if they forced it, scar tissue on the endometrium would make a pregnancy unsafe. She recommended hysteroscopy with D&C to clear the uterus and laparoscopic surgery to drain the endometrioma and improve ovarian function, as it could not be removed because of the risk of destroying ovarian function. I am now scheduled with CNY Fertility for all these treatments. They treat me as a person and want to identify the underlying cause of infertility, then begin with conservative treatment before resorting to IVF, which is our preference because of the cost of IVF. In short: IVF Michigan is focused on the money from a cycle. They do not care about the quality of the embryo's home, pregnancy safety, or conservative measures.

I want to provide feedback about my experience because choosing your doctor for this journey is very important, but the support staff determine and can ruin your experience. I think Dr. Shamma is excellent and the nurses are wonderful, but I encountered several persistent administrative problems. My main issue was reaching anyone. This is a major problem with IVF because timing is everything. Handling insurance issues, especially after an initial denial, was extremely frustrating. I ultimately had to do most of the legwork for my appeal myself rather than receiving guidance from the office. This week's medication issue is another example. The specialty pharmacy kept trying to contact them to confirm my prescription, but its inability to reach the IVF office could cause a delay. Because I have severe endometriosis, these delays are particularly concerning, as they disrupt both my treatment plan and overall health. I understand they may be understaffed, but better communication and more proactive patient support could genuinely make the difference between having a baby and not having one, because IVF depends entirely on timing, especially for patients with degenerative reproductive conditions such as endometriosis. I recommend that anyone considering this clinic ask how they handle communication, what support they provide, and their working hours and holiday schedules. In addition, you cannot receive your medical records from the office by email; they will only mail them or fax them to another office. If you need to keep them on hand for insurance purposes—and I recommend doing so because this office responds slowly and having records available can make a difference in timing, while I have obtained all my other records online from previous doctors—it may be difficult to get the information you need if you have a long drive to the office. However, when I was actually able to speak with Dr. Shamma and the nursing staff, they were wonderful.