Thought of Dr. Smothrich today, my son is now 14. 14 years ago, I broke down in his office, saying I wanted to get pregnant . I'll never forget he said, "Don't cry. I ll get you pregnant. It's been a roller coaster of basketball games, parties, and love. Now the little guy is towering over me. Dr Smothrich, thank you for allowing God to use you to bless our family read more

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I would trust Dr Smotrich with my life if it were ever on the line. As a second-time surrogate, first time with Dr Smotrich, and this journey is everything I could ever want it to be. His compassion and clear instructions on everything made this journey so wonderful. His team always communicates clearly and quickly. If I do another surrogacy, I will only work with Parents who are under Dr Smotrich's care. I have all the faith in the world in him and his staff. read more

Working with Dr.Smotrich has been amazing! His entire team is friendly, knowledgeable, and always made me feel right at home. We came to La Jolla IVF after trying to conceive for around 6 months without success and I was hoping to work with someone in network for my insurance, which is when I found Dr. Smotrich. Dr.Smotrich met with us and explained the process in detail on our first visit and we began a plan for testing that month. He was always extremely thorough and made sure to explain everything in a way that my husband and I could understand. We always felt that we were in great hands and we had a successful cycle of medication and IUI. I am now almost 10 weeks pregnant and am so grateful for Dr.Smotrich and his team! read more

Couldn't have asked for a better experience freezing my eggs. Dr Smotrich is so talented and incredibly professional. He really made me feel like I was in good hands. His team is also incredible. The nurses are so sweet and caring. They really held my hand the whole process and made me feel cared for. The egg retrieval itself went off without a hitch, the team made it so easy for me. The anesthesiologist was also kind and patient and helped me work through some nerves going into the process. If you are researching IVF in San Diego, look no further. This is your place. Thank you Dr Smotrich! read more

Heres my review, I'm a 2x surrogate. Dr. Smotrich being the Ivf doctor this journey has been less then enjoyable here's why! No matter what as a surrogate questions are going to come up, things are going to happen. You become pregnant and you have questions, calling this office wont make you feel any better! Ip's spend THOUSANDS of dollars to create a child and I'm sure they want to make sure their surrogate is being taken care of, Example.. Surrogate making sure certain medications are safe to take while withholding their child. I feel like Dr. Smotrich treats surrogates like they are nothing and maybe the IPs better because they are the paying party. Whatever the case may be may be, If I ever did another journey I will not work with Ips who use this facility. read more

How difficult it is to have to consider a fertility specialist! If you are looking at your choices, I know the difficult position you are in. After meeting with a few clinics, I decided to go with La Jolla IVF (Dr. Smotrich), primarily because he explained all the statistics to me and still let me make my choice based on emotions, not logic. The other places pushed egg donation right off the bat and that was difficult to consider just because of my age. Although Dr. Smotrich explained the pros and cons and costs involved, my choice was supported by the entire office. I started seeing Dr. Smotrich when I was single, but ended up with a successful IVF with my husband. Throughout the course of four years, I had frozen several cycles of my own eggs to have ready when I was ready. Because I met my husband after I started egg retrievals, my relationship with La Jolla IVF lasted four years (we didn't want to rush into children!). Dr. Smotrich was totally and completely patient with my/our schedule and our requests. I'm sure if I was in a rush for children, I would have had a successful pregnancy in the first 6 months. He has a wonderful bedside manner, is very compassionate and devoted to what he does. If this is an emotional situation for you, I highly suggest that you interview Dr. Smotrich as an option. He and his staff are wonderful to work with before IVF and through follow up support after pregnancy. read more

The staff was pleasant and Dr. Smotrich was very professional. I agree that he wasn't overbearing when it came to making decisions. The office is comfortable and spread out. Parking fees apply but doesn't affect my rating of the physician and facility. The website also serves as an excellent resource for information. Overall, La Jolla IVF was definitely the only other contender as a specialist for me. read more

As a 5x gestation surrogate, I've "been around the block" a few times in the IVF community. I have worked with several other RE's, and I can say without hesitation that Dr. Smotrich and his office staff are top-notch, all the way. My last three pregnancies, all of which resulted in singleton pregnancy (and subsequent births) on the first cycle, are a result of working with him. Over the close to four-year period in which I have been his patient, I have always been impressed with the quality of care and respect I have received as a surrogate by everyone in his office. If I were to seek a 6th surrogate journey (which I will *not* be doing!), I would certainly be more inclined to match with intended parents who were working with Dr. Smotrich and La Jolla IVF. read more

I've actually worked with Dr. Smotrich in 2 very different ways-on opposite ends of the spectrum! I was an egg donor numerous times and always appreciated his professionalism and kindness. I trusted him. When my husband and I were struggling almost a decade later, I came back as an intended parent. I'm so grateful to him and his staff for their help and support and professionalism. He has high standards for customer care, and his staff is really unfailingly amazing through an intense, emotional ordeal. He always communicates clearly and outlines options and recommendations honestly and respectfully. From both perspectives, he is the best. read more

Words can't describe how great our experience was with Dr Smotrich and his entire La Jolla IVF team. From the moment we walked in we were treated with compassion and respect by every staff member, every single time. IVF is a daunting, confusing process and the care provided by Dr Smotrich made the process clear and smooth. It is evident in every conversation how much he cared about us and our success in this journey. We NEVER felt rushed and he addressed all our questions clearly and kindly. Even though he and staff have done this thousands of times, they still show such compassion and warmth and understanding of what its like to go through this process for the first time. I found it particularly comforting how whenever we called into the office or emailed with questions, he personally called us back right away with answers and instructions. I have never seen this from another doctor who usually hands everything off. Rare to find someone with his medical expertise be so attentive and provide such personalized care. His staff and nurses make you feel like you are family and despite the many patients that come to them (with waiting room filled with people who have clearly traveled in from all parts of the world to work with this practice), we felt completely focused on and attended to. Very glad we made the trip in from Florida and would highly recommend this practice. Thank you from the bottom of ours hearts Dr Smotrich and La Jolla IVF team for a lifechanging experience. Special thank you to Lupe, Amy, Emily, and Vivian! read more

Outdated technique and misleading website noting that consultation is free when he actually charges $150 "sometimes". The "sometimes" is depending on if he thinks you will be a client or not. The front desk doesn't even know of such a thing as a initial consultation fee and has to ask him how much to charge. His package price is outrageously expensive especially for how disorganized his clinic is and how outdated his techniques are. He advises bed rest for 3 days after embryo transfer which is a very outdated technique and has shown to be actually harmful as it minimizes circulation for normal patients. His specialty is surrogacy and egg and sperm donation. read more

We liked Dr. Smotrich a lot personally, and his staff was efficient and caring and overall a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately however we did not have a good experience at this clinic. We came here after coming tantalizingly close to success with another clinic, wanting to tweak the formula a bit, and in particular thinking that a lower drug approach would do better. But he ended up steering us into a high drug formula, which basically scrambled my eggs and we had much worse results than with the first clinic. Since then, I have had much better results (2 eggs both creating blastocysts) with a half pill of Clomid than with the thousands of dollars of drugs he had me use. Our initial call with him on the phone was very positive and he really seemed like he could help us, then as we worked with him he got more and more negative but by then we had gotten pulled in. Wish he had not displayed all that bravado on the first phone call. We also got very excited by his story of success with a 46 year old, and we had the impression that he had been successful with many older patients, but later it turned out that he had only had success with one person that age. So as other people have mentioned, this is a good doctor in a good clinic, but unfortunately we found that his approach doesn't work for everyone. read more

No way. Run somewhere else! This guy is a rip off. I get that women need testing but talk about taking advantage of our hearts and husbands wallets! Please shop around! We wanted a baby so badly and of course when its not happening you want "quick" results. Well it seems he just kept testing and more testing....even an employee who worked for him couldn't manage to get a deal here! What an ass! If I had an employee that needed my services I would give some sort of discount! This guy seems to just want $$$$$ and lots of it. The price seems to be different for people too depending on if you will become a client or not! Also you cannot pay cash! He makes sure to have his front desk to charge your credit card even after I told him I have cash! I don't know about you but I prefer to pay cash because if I start charging on credit cards obviously I don't have the money for whatever I am charging and I need to stay on my budget! Save yourselves the heartache and go elsewhere. I recommend San Diego Fertility Clinic in San Diego! I got my baby and had her myself after seeing SDFC! read more

I am a Surrogate and have gone with Dr Smotrich at La Jolla IVF for our transfer & egg donation. He was such a great Dr to work with and kept my IPs who live in Australia up to date on everything!! Thank You so much to everyone at La Jolla IVF! read more

Dr Smotrich and his staff were absolutely amazing and we would HIGHLY recommend his clinic to any families struggling to get pregnant. We were trying to conceive for about 5 years when we came to his practice and from the first time we met him, we both knew he was the one we had been searching for! He made us feel special from the start and really cared and respected our wishes. (We didn't want to be too aggressive with the meds and he allowed us the space to slowly work through our preferred pace and plan.) From the sweet demeanor of the front desk receptionist, to the talented nurses and their awesome phlebotomist we were impressed with the very high quality of personal care we were given. Dr Smotrich's caring soul and experience made what we thought was never possible happen. Our son is now a little over 2 months old and we are the happiest parents we could be. Thank you La Jolla IVF for being the best there is and for making our dreams come true! read more

I have nothing but great things to say about Dr. Smotrich and everyone else at La Jolla IVF. Our wonderful baby boy just turned one and we wouldn't have him without their help. However, my review would be the same even if it had not worked out. Despite that IVF is a medical procedure, given the goal (having a child) and length of time involved (several months at minimum) it is also an extremely emotional process. Not only is La Jolla IVF medically state of the art, but having met with Dr. Smotrich regularly for a year, I know that he has both a brilliant mind and truly cares about what he's doing. I couldn't be more grateful or happier and I whole-heatedly recommend La Jolla IVF to anyone looking for help getting pregnant. read more

After TTC for two years and seeing a few different fertility specialists, Dr Smotrich did what no one else could and helped me get my beautiful baby girl. His staff was great and always made me feel comfortable. We were doing an IVF cycle and due to only one follicle he agreed to do IUI and it worked! Even when I had worries after I was pregnant he and his staff were there to reassure me and do additional testing. We will be going back for number 2! read more

I have been a surrogate 3 times and also went through a few egg donor cycles with La Jolla IVF. Dr Smotrich and his staff are the best!! They are very professional and friendly! They always made me feel very comfortable. They are always available to help with any concerns you might have, anytime! I would never choose anyone else! They made my experience being a surrogate mother great!! I highly recommend La Jolla IVF!! read more

La Jolla IVF is the very BEST! Doctor Smotrich and his team are the most wonderful group I could have ever wished for. Thanks to la Jolla IVF I am now a proud mother of a six month old baby girl...and I will FOREVER be thankfull to them for making my dream come true! I can also say that in the process,I have become very close to the office team! I consider all of them an extended BIG loving and caring FAMILY! That is, in my opinion, what makes doctor Smotrich and team stand out. The process of trying to conceive a child can be very stressful and at times disappointing when you are not getting pregnant right away! The group gives you so much support and loving attention which helps so much during the cycle of treatment! The sucess rate he has is also a HUGE factor in choosing him!!! I can honestly say that I would only go to him and back to him to have another child! Doctor Smotrich is simply the best! Virginia De Robertis read more

We are now a family. My husband and I worked with Dr Smotrich after 5 miscarriages and failed IUI's. We have a 2 yr old sone we conceived naturally but I was 41 and we didn't have time to continue to take it slow. Dr Smotrich and his staff we wonderful and patient with us and we even moved across country as we were planning our cycle. I was stressed but the NP who we worked with put me at ease and after 2 retrievals and 1 transfer, we are now the thrilled parents of a 6 week old baby boy. Thank you to the moon and back. read more

I am a first time surrogate and have recently been going to Dr. Smotrich per the request of my IP's. Since this is my first time, I was extremely nervous in the beginning, however, I quickly got over it. The team at the office have absolutely wonderful with all of my questions, concerns and recommendations. The doctor and his team truley care about their clients/patients at all times and they show it!! I would recommend this facility to anyone considering alternate routes for fertility as they are top notch! Thank you La Jolla IVF for everything you do! read more

I am writing this review as a surrogate mother, having worked with IPs who used Dr. Smotrich. The first thing I must say is that Dr. Smotrich is brilliant and is very good at what he does. Our journey resulted in a successful pregnancy the first time and both embryos implanted, giving my IPs twins! And beautiful twins they are! However, that aside, I have to write my review based on MY experience as a surrogate. Unfortunately, Dr. Smotrich and his staff treated me like more of a machine than a human. I felt they were rude, condescending and had no regard for my best interest while I was under their care. I realize that the IPs were the paying clients, however, being that I was carrying their children, I feel I should have been treated with more decency than I was. There were several times I called with questions and concerns and was completely brushed off, disregarded and unvalidated. I am an educated woman and a professional in my own field. I was doing this surrogacy to help another family and I felt that I should have been treated as an integral part of the team and not just a warm womb. The bedside manner was less than appropriate and did not meet my expectations. I believe he is technically very good at what he does, but he and his staff are not friendly towards surrogates, at least from what I experienced, which COULD affect how things turn out. There were multiple times I almost did not move forward with my IPs because of how I was treated at this clinic. Though Dr. Smotrich is one of the more popular reproductive endocrinologists in the greater San Diego area, I would recommend considering what I have written if you are using a surrogate or are one. He and his staff are unconcerned with the emotional or physical well being of surrogate mothers and that could have detrimental effects on the success of a transfer and also the relationships between IPs and surrogate. It is imperative that a carrier, like any patient, is cared for and respected. I was not. read more

I've done 5 other cycles at 4 other clinics, even internationally. My experience was so bad, I still have nightmares about it. After talking to other fertility doctors about it, we guess that because Smotrich's schedule is so busy, he rushed my cycle and took the eggs too soon. Also, my averages are about 20 eggs and 16 embryos, but Smotrich said there were only 10 embryos???? Strange. None survived. He called me and said the recipient's sperm was to blame. Then called the recipient minutes later and said the donor's (ME) eggs were bad. He didn't know we were standing in the same room when he called and in a relationship. I don't know, I read an article on the wall about research he does with "donated" embryos. All very fishy to me. I spent 16 hours after the operation in some of the worst pain in my life- in my chest- aside from the normal cramping. The Dr. was unconcerned when I called and told me I had ignored his instructions when I had in fact done them. When I went in the next morning, he said I was overstimulated. (Those who have done this before, know that occurs DAYS after an operation, not hours.) He was so enthusiastic in the beginning and so cold in the end. It seemed he was selling a product in an emotional time for us. Anyway, we got pregnant 4 months later the first time we tried. Bad sperm and eggs my butt! read more