Report
SGizmo
Pacific Fertility Center-Los Angeles - provider profile and satisfaction report |
Surrogacy Parents Survey |
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www.pfcla.comLocations: Los Angeles, CA, USAContact: Vicken Sahakian OR Brittany CollinsEmail: drsahakian@gmail.com OR BRITTANY@PFCLA.COMPhone: 310.209.7700To find out if this provider participates in our Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP), please see the summary table of our Directory.
Services:
IVF clinic?
Surrogacy agency?
Egg donation?
Law firm?
Year founded: 1992Employees: 30
About Pacific Fertility Center-Los Angeles:*We can trace our roots to the introduction of in-vitro fertilization into mainstream medicine. Pacific Fertility Center-Los Angeles (PFCLA) was founded more than a decade ago by the team that pioneered the nation’s first private in-vitro fertilization center. Since that time, our physicians have introduced a number of innovations in the treatment of infertility, and we have been at the vanguard in defining standards of care and accountability. We’re proud to note that today more than 4000 children across the world owe their conception to the treatment their parents received at our centers.* This description was provided by the service provider.
Ratings and reviews - from our Surveys
Disclaimer / terms of use |
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Fertility clinic satisfaction - overall score (out of 10) |
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Clinic score |
Overall |
Average Rank: 8.92 |
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Count: 86 |
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Min: 1 / Max: 10 |
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StdDev: 1.88 |
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Not Applicable: 0 |
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Clinic experience |
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Clinic rating |
Quality of medical services (contribution to the success of journey) |
Average Rank: 9.31 |
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Count: 86 |
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Min: 1 / Max: 10 |
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StdDev: 1.71 |
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Not Applicable: 0 |
Responsive, informative and supportive |
Average Rank: 8.64 |
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Count: 86 |
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Min: 1 / Max: 10 |
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StdDev: 2.15 |
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Not Applicable: 0 |
Egg donor options, screening and matching |
Average Rank: 8.98 |
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Count: 62 |
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Min: 1 / Max: 10 |
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StdDev: 1.94 |
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Not Applicable: 0 |
Gay friendly and knowledgeable |
Average Rank: 9.36 |
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Count: 76 |
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Min: 1 / Max: 10 |
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StdDev: 1.48 |
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Not Applicable: 0 |
Accommodation of international parents |
Average Rank: 8.80 |
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Count: 55 |
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Min: 1 / Max: 10 |
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StdDev: 2.23 |
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Not Applicable: 0 |
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Clinic recommendation rate |
Value |
Percent |
Yes |
0.93 |
No |
0.07 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
86 |
Average |
0.9 |
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Clinic reviews and comments |
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Response |
(2005, USA parents)
Pacific Fertility is an amazing IVF clinic. Dr. Sahakian has a fantastic way about him. His advice and guidance during the process was spot on. His staff is detail-oriented, friendly, and organized. Prices are very competitive. We were living in NYC when we used him, and doing the IVF in California with Pacific Fertility was well worth it (and we got a nice vacation in Santa Monica)! |
(2006, USA parents)
Absolutely outstanding. I would highly recommend. He treated me, my donor and surrogate with the utmost respect |
(2008, International parents) We hadden een slechte ervaring met de clinic in New York (Hrm)
Daarna in LA wisten we beter wat er ons te wachten stond en zijn we heel goed geholpen. Inderdaad dokter Shakian is een druk bezet man en de telfoongespreken waren kort maar efficient |
(2009, USA parents) Pacific Fertility Center was wonderful to us and treated us like any other couple. Dr. Sahakian provided us with his recommendations throughout the process which we believe helped us reach our goal to have a child! |
(2010, USA parents) Amazing! Patient, kind, informative in detail at every turn, simply a great, professional group of people! |
(2010, USA parents) Dr. Sahakian was great. He answered all of our questions and was frank in his opinion of the egg donor & surrogate. The staff was accomodating, and we had healthy twins on the first try!!! I would use his center again in a heartbeat. |
(2012, USA parents)
I'm not sure I can sufficiently convey how incompetent we found Dr. Sahakian to be nor how unsatisfied we were with our 2.5 years with him. Our surrogacy journey while we were with PFCLA was an utter disaster.
First and foremost, despite having proven donors and surrogates who had flawless track records, he was unable to get us pregnant even after 3 cycles. Note that he is one of the few doctors whose statistics are not available at SART.ORG, which in retrospect should have been a red flag. I can't believe we didn't pay more attention to that fact.
Second, he was completely unresponsive and pays absolutely no attention to the details. Once his clinic received their fees, he was impossible to get on the phone, and when we did get him on the phone we were constantly rushed. I don't think we ever had more than a 5 or 10 minute conversation with him, despite going through 3 unsuccessful cycles. His beside manner--both to us, to our donor, and to our surrogate--was terrible. He consistently got everyone's name wrong, mixed up the facts of our cycles, etc.
Finally, he is unbelievably unprofessional. His clinic misattributed the paternity of one of our frozen embryos, which is simply an unforgivable error for an IVF clinic (the paternity was attributed to my husband, but in fact it turned out to be created with my sperm). When this error was pointed out to him, rather than look into it he responded with an angry, flaming email in which he simply denied any wrong doing. When I provided him with irrefutable evidence of the error, he sent a weak apology for his prior email but NEVER apologized for the fact that his lab made this terrible mistake.
Please know that this review does not come from a personal ax to grind, but a wish to take our terrible experience and do something productive with it by sharing our experience with those just starting out in the process. |
(2013, International parents)
If we chose this clinic, it's because Dr Sahakian spoke french, for us it was easy, this clinic had a very good classification between a lot clinic in USA. The staff was very nice and professional, communicate with them was very easy and fast, we really appreciate it. |
(2014, International parents)
For parents with no notable medical knowledge it is difficult to rate a fertility clinic. What we have learned is that different clinics apply very different protocols for an IVF. We cannot judge wether PFCLA is efficient, but in our case the first fresh cycle failed despite a harvest of 17 viable eggs and 12 embryos and despite the fact that our surrogate responded very well to her treatment. The second cycle with two frozen embryos worked. On the upside PFCLA doesn't seem to overdo it with medication for the surrogate and especially the egg donor. Some clinics push egg donors up to 60 eggs per donation (that's 5 years of fertility, not to mention the harm done by all the meds). And the staff is caring and efficient with their patients. However, communication is not their strong point. The director of the clinic, Dr. Sahakian, was truly a friendly and compassionate person, but also a very busy one. One shouldn't expect more than an occasional oneliner by email. But always friendly and quick. An additional advantage that when we signed up, PFCLA proposed un unlimited IVF to live birth plan to circle clients at a competitive rate. It's difficult not to recommend a clinic that has succeeded an IVF and made us parents, but it is very difficult to evaluate them because an IVF is a very, very complicated technique with an enormous number of variables. |
(2014, International parents)
Dr Sahakian head of PFC is truly a professional in ivf .! we had a direct contact with him and we are so happy that John -head of Circle .S. connected us with PFC.! |
(2014, USA parents)
The clinic made a successful transfer on the first try. We only wanted to transfer one embryo and they convinced us to do two which may have caused the success. This also helps their reputation. Also, this clinic is on more expensive than others. |
(2015, International parents)
The clinic was recommended by our surrogacy agency. They made a successful transfer on the first try with just one embryo.
Pros: Professional, friendly and a great doctor in Dr. Sahakian (which he is well aware of!).
Cons: Expensive (but worth it), some confusion over the timeline and calendar which meant we had to book flights at the last minute in order to be there for retrieval and transfer.
Would definitely recommend PFCLA to others. |
(2015, USA parents)
Dr. Sahakian and their staff were very friendly and offered prompt service. The clinic was clean and professional, their information was clear, and they were very communicative both to us and our surrogate. |
(2016, International parents)
Dr Sahakian, Wendy and all the team was great.
As foreign couple who had never done any fertility treatment, our guidance from them was so great that we were able to do it with e-mail and Skype calls (the first time that I did the injection they were there watching me doing that, so I would do it right!!!!)
The professional level was incredible. Our appointments were short but very effective.
The feedback after the retrieval, even though it was on a weekend and in a holiday was almost hourly to check on me and to send us the results.
The feedback from our surrogate regarding them it was very good as well and they did their surveillance (as expected) during the all period until there was an absolute pregnancy result.
They were great and we would go there again! |
(2016, International parents)
PFC and the doctor who looked after us were excellent - nothing was sugar-coated, which is what we needed. It resulted in pregnancy at the first attempt (the doctor advised against a transfer with our first surrogate), and we have beautiful twins to thank the doctor for. |
(2016, International parents)
PFC was great - Dr Sahakian was a wonderful breath of fresh air in an emotional journey - clear advice, fun, and professional. |
(2016, International parents)
Professional and responsive |
(2016, International parents)
The service was smooth and efficient. The medical advice from the doctor was concise and informative. The experience was positive overall. |
(2016, International parents)
We are international parents and Dr Nurit Winkler was an exceptional support. She cares so much about her patients and their individual stories it's really amazing. She explained the process very well and also her screening of our surrogate was excellent. We can definitely recommend her! |
(2016, International parents)
We are very happy with the clinic Pacific Fertility Center and especially our doctor Vic Sahakien. He was very professional but also human and gave us straight forward advice. And the staff was very friendly and professional. |
(2016, International parents)
We felt in good hands at PFC and Dr. Shahakian. He gave us good recomandations when we had to find a second donor(the first prosess did not end up giving any embryos). |
(2016, USA parents)
PFLCA is an excellent Fertility Clinic. Communication was sometimes lax and we felt we had to constantly dig to find out what was going on. Staff changes did not help. Cost was a very major issue. They had excellent choices for the overall Fertility process, but the cost was extremely high. |
(2016, USA parents)
Wendy was amazing! Worked first transfer. Highly recommended. |
(2016, USA parents) PFCLA was great and it is clear that Dr. S has extensive experience with IVF. Communication between the clinic and the surrogate was at times not the best, but overall, we had a great experience with PFCLA. |
(2017, International parents)
My donor and her family and my surrogate and her family were looked after with the best care and attention at all times. |
(2017, International parents) Doctor available to answer all questions, including the most technical, live, via skype. |
(2017, International parents) Dr Sahakian is really the only reason why to even consider PFCLA. He is a great and professional man. However the rest of the facility is a joke. His staff is so unprofessional we eventually laughed about it. They would call patients in the waiting room (waiting room is the word, you spend hours there...) and let them know whatever in front of everyone else there. The staff would interrupt patient work to discuss lunch options (every time we were there). Staff would laugh when intended parents went into the "wank room", making them uncomfortable. On weekends the wait was ridiculous and no information, the only thing was the chatting in Spanish about the weekend going out or family events. Customers are not treated well. Dr Sahakian should really think of this when hiring staff. His work was great, even tough he told the egg donor she had hepatitis C and that it wasnt treatable (it is, and she didnt have it) but made her do a test "its only $100, ended up being $700). I cant recommend PFCLA until Dr Sahakian has co workers that understand why they are there. |
(2017, USA parents) Dr. Sahakian is the best IVF doctor is California. Everything he said - he delivered.
Next to God - he is my God. |
(2018, International Parents) Dr. Sahakian and his staff were responsive, knowledgeable and very professional right from the start, which for us was the spring of 2017. The very first embryo transfer resulted in our beautiful baby girl Liv. Currently, we just completed a second embryo transfer with a new surrogate and we are again pregnant after the first attempt and now almost through the first semester. Of course, there is an element of luck and nature, but we do have the distinct feeling that the staff of PFC LA know exactly what they are doing to help nature as much as they can. The clinic is not cheap, but in our view both the staff and the doctors have proven their value time and time again. We have no regrets regarding our choice of clinic and feel that we have a great 'return on investment' if you will excuse this ridiculous expression in this context. Highly recommended! |
(2018, International parents) Dr Sahakian is AMAZING. He told us he was the best and we have to agree. He asked us to follow his advice. We were trying to definitely have 1 baby and had hoped for twins...In the end we were lucky to have Triplets! Everyone that works for him is very professional. The process can be confusing at times, but he and his team is always there to assist and super patient answering all questions. Dr. Sahakian also personally responds timely to all requests! |
(2018, International parents) We were working with dr. Nurit Winkler, which was awosome and was helpful throughout the medical process. |
(2018, USA parents) Amazing staff. Amazing Doc! |
(2019, International Parents) We very much value the clear and unambiguous advice we always received from Dr Sahakian. His personal, emphatic and approachable communication was a big advantage in our journey. |
(2019, International parents) Dr. Sahakian is the best. 2 beautiful kids from 2 separate surrogate journeys with full term pregnancies each time after first insemination. A man of few words but he delivers. |
(2019, International parents) The medical advice and services we received were excellent, if somewhat impersonal. We had ongoing problems with a complex and opaque billing structure, pricing changes, and other issues which made it difficult to understand costs and budget upfront. |
(2019, International parents) We were treated like parents from the start. With respect and dignity throughout the entire process and beyond. |
(2019, USA Parents) PFCLA was incredible with their communication. They were swift and accommodating throughout the process. And we had wonderful results. |
(2020, International parents) We used this clinic because of its high success rates and the approach of the doctor. We were very nicely introduced to the clinic by a coordinator and everything was handled smoothly. Signing on was easy. The information about the process was great and we felt that we could continually speak to both doctors and other staff at our wish. Visiting the clinic was stress free and the process of leaving blood/semen etc quite efficient. The doctor was very competent and friendly, but one of our surrogates did express that she didn't really get along with him. Others had no issues at all. We did two unsuccessful transfers and then the doctor recommended we move on to another surrogate. While this was hard we never doubted the professionalism of the doctors opinion. On our third transfer we achieved a pregnancy, which sadly enough miscarried. On our fourth transfer we achieved a live birth. Even though our journey was quite long we still felt comfortable and safe when it came to the professionalism of the clinic. In many cases we just had bad luck. The only issue we had with the clinic was the responsiveness and professionalism of the front office. Since we had many transfers we often called in urgently to get information and at these occasions the clinic was quite slow to respond and work efficiently to solve our requests. It worked much better when we got in direct contact with the doctor and/or coordinators. |
(2020, International parents) not good |
(2020, USA parents) When my husband and I started the surrogacy process our agency talked to us about IVF clinics. They told us that there were only a handful of clinics in the country that really specialize in third party reproduction (taking a donor egg, donor sperm, fertilizing them, then implanting them into a gestational carrier). While other IVF clinics can do this work, you really want to find a clinic that this is a speciality of theirs.
What we liked about PFC was how approachable and honest Dr. Sahakian was with us. He spent about 30 minutes on a skype call with us walking through the entire process.
We also appreciated his bluntness when talking about the process. It allowed us to go into the process with eyes open about what we could expect.
The clinic also doesn't charge for additional treatments with the same surrogate if transfers fail. This is nice because we have friends who went with another clinic and they were given a year to get pregnant or pay the IVF bill again.
We did also decided to go with PGS testing (genetic testing of the embryos) and the unlimited transfer option. The PGS testing grades the embryos. By implanting a high grade embryo it increases the odds of getting pregnant. The unlimited package was like extra insurance for us. It allowed us to change egg donors or surrogates without having to pay the entire IVF bill again.
The staff here was also wonderful to work with. Our point person through most of our journey was Ivory. She would respond to e-mails lighting fast, she checked in on us from time to time, and was very easy to work with. The nurses we interacted with at the office were also so kind. |
(2021, USA parents) This is the best place to go. It was amazing and successful on first try both times. |
(2022, USA parents) The team at PFCLA is excellent. We worked with Dr. Sahakian, Erika and Alma at their Westwood location. Dr. Sahakian made us feel comfortable from day one. He is knowledgeable, direct, and warm in his own way. Erika and Alma were our coordinators and were just a pleasure to work with. Both are warm, attentive to detail, and responsive. Either one was always at the clinic when we had appointments, made sure to explain each step of the process / specific procedures, and followed up promptly. |
Dr Sahakian was recommended to us by our surrogate, who had been treated at PFCLA successfully on two occasions.
Clearly the success or failure of IVF treatment can often determine the feedback for any clinic or doctor. So perhaps our judgement is coloured by the fact that we are proud parents of a wonderful baby boy thanks to Dr Sahakian.
Dr Sahakian attended to us personally. For us this cut out a lot of administration and bureaucracy that is part and parcel of gestational surrogacy. Dr Sahakian always made time for us. If we needed a call with him for five minutes to obtain reassurance on a particular point, then we just had to schedule a call with 24 hours’ notice. His responses to our many questions by e-mail were incredibly prompt. This was so important to us, in what was naturally an unsettling time for us.
The schedule at PFCLA was very clear, and they managed our expectations well in terms of next steps … every step of the way. We were incredibly lucky to have been supported by Dr Sahakian and the team at PFCLA, who were far more pro-active than our previous (and in theory prestigious) clinic.
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Dr. Sahakian and his staff were wonderful! I couldn't have asked for a better, more joyous, more successful journey! |
Great experience and great success rates. |
Growing Generations was a great place for us 14 years ago. |
Muy professionales !!! Yo quería una ninña y lo hacerto ... |
The Nurses at Dr. Sahakian are fantastic and very helpful! |
Watch their accounting |
We had a wonderful experience at PFCLA. Dr. Sahakian is awesome! |
העבירו עוברים לפונדקאית בלי להתייעץ איתנו תחילה בקשר למספר (בניגוד למסוכם מראש). |
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Journey statistics for service provider |
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Number of IVF / IUI cycles done until journey resulted in a birth |
Value |
Count |
Percent |
One |
50 |
0.633 |
Two |
18 |
0.228 |
Three |
8 |
0.101 |
Four |
2 |
0.025 |
Five |
1 |
0.013 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
79 |
Average |
1.6 |
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Type of transfer that resulted in pregnancy (if done IVF) |
Value |
Percent |
Egg donation - fresh |
0.592 |
Egg donation - fresh / shared (you received only part of the eggs your donor provided) |
0.013 |
Egg donation - frozen / egg bank |
0.105 |
Frozen embryo transfer (from your previous cycle) |
0.29 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
76 |
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Known / Anonymous egg donation |
Value |
Count |
Percent |
Unknown |
22 |
0.29 |
Known |
52 |
0.684 |
Other |
2 |
0.026 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
76 |
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Open-Text Response Breakdown for 10491 |
Count |
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84 |
Semi-anonymous |
1 |
אנונימית, הביעה הסכמה לפגוש את הילדים כשיהיו בגירים. |
1 |
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Egg donation source |
Value |
Count |
Percent |
Intended mother (no donor) |
2 |
0.026 |
Family or friend |
3 |
0.039 |
Surrogacy agency |
45 |
0.577 |
Independent Egg donation agency |
26 |
0.333 |
Fertility clinic |
2 |
0.026 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
78 |
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Demographics / family makeup |
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Gay / straight |
Value |
Count |
Percent |
LGBT |
66 |
0.825 |
Straight |
14 |
0.175 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
80 |
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Countries |
Value |
Count |
Percent |
United States |
41 |
0.482 |
United Kingdom |
7 |
0.082 |
Germany |
6 |
0.071 |
Australia |
5 |
0.059 |
France |
5 |
0.059 |
Canada |
3 |
0.035 |
Israel |
3 |
0.035 |
Spain |
3 |
0.035 |
Japan |
2 |
0.024 |
Netherlands |
2 |
0.024 |
Norway |
2 |
0.024 |
Sweden |
2 |
0.024 |
Czech Republic |
1 |
0.012 |
Denmark |
1 |
0.012 |
Portugal |
1 |
0.012 |
Switzerland |
1 |
0.012 |
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Statistics |
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Total Responses |
85 |
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