After failed IVF
A second opinion after failed IVF
If you have already been through one or several treatment cycles without the result you were hoping for, we will look at why your case has not responded, before you decide whether to do anything else.
Why another cycle is not the only option
Most couples who write to us after previous treatment have been told the same thing. The cycle did not work, so the answer is another cycle. That advice does not investigate why the first cycles did not work. It repeats the same procedure and waits for a different outcome.
Restorative reproductive medicine starts from a different question. Instead of bypassing the reproductive system, it asks what within that system is not working, and whether that can be corrected. IVF retrieves eggs and places embryos. It is a way around a problem. It does not diagnose or treat the underlying condition that made conception difficult in the first place.
This matters because the underlying condition is often there to be found. In our most recent peer-reviewed cohort of 187 couples (Boyle et al., Journal of Restorative Reproductive Medicine, 2025), what had been labelled "unexplained infertility" dropped from 24% before our assessment to 1% after it. The causes were present in those couples. They had simply not been investigated thoroughly enough. So a second opinion here is, first of all, a full diagnostic assessment of both partners.
The restorative workup after prior treatment
The first phase is investigation, and it takes around two months. We assess both partners. Charting the cycle is part of this from the start, because it shows us the timing and quality of ovulation in a way a single clinic blood test does not.
A central part of the workup is a blood draw seven days after ovulation, to measure what we call the quality of the luteal phase. This is not the same as standard day-21 testing. It is timed to your own cycle, identified from your chart, so the result reflects what your body is actually doing. Where the assessment points to it, investigation extends to laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, which can identify conditions such as endometriosis and chronic endometritis that are not visible on a scan.
In that 2025 cohort, the assessment changed the clinical picture substantially. We found corpus luteum deficiency in 71% of couples, clinical endorphin deficiency in 67%, and hypoandrogenism in 31%. Bear in mind, these were conditions that had not been recognised before the workup. Each of them is treatable. The correction phase that follows, around a further two months, addresses what the investigation has identified, so that conception through the couple's own restored function becomes possible.
What we've done is publish a separate cohort specifically for couples in your position. Boyle et al., Frontiers in Medicine, 2018, followed 403 couples, all with prior failed IVF, averaging 2.1 previous cycles. The adjusted live birth rate was 32.1%. Many of those couples had been told there were no further options. By identifying and treating the conditions the prior treatment had not addressed, nearly one in three went on to a live birth.
For one couple's account, see Niamh and David's story.
If you are outside Ireland
Wherever you are based, a second-opinion consultation can begin without you travelling. Initial and follow-up consultations can be done by secure telemedicine link. Please be aware that regulatory requirements mean our Dublin-based clinicians treat patients in Ireland. For patients outside Ireland, we can review your case remotely and advise on international referral networks.
Some appointments are best done in person, in particular the first timed blood tests and cycle monitoring, because their value depends on precise timing within your cycle. Where in-person visits are needed, we plan them around the key diagnostic windows so that travel to Dublin is kept to a minimum and timed when it counts. International cases are arranged individually, so the plan fits your geography rather than the other way around.
When you first make contact, it helps to have your records ready. Prior scan reports, hormone blood work, semen analyses, and any embryology or surgical reports give us a clear starting point and let us tell you sooner whether a second opinion is likely to add anything to what you already know.
What to do next
For the full set of published outcomes, including the age-stratified figures from the post-IVF cohort and the safety data, see our published outcomes and success rates. If you would like to discuss whether a second opinion makes sense for your specific case, including whether telemedicine or an in-person visit is the right starting point, contact the clinic. A second opinion does not commit you to treatment. It commits you to a clearer picture of what is actually happening.