I recently left the country to get a new visa, and as all expats who have an extended visa know, you need to get the HIV test in order to apply for a multi-entry visa. Well, I kept putting off getting my test done, knowing that the American Medical Center could do it in one day. When I finally took a break from my summer drinking schedule and decided to go in and get the test, I was informed that it wouldnt be ready until the next evening after 7 p.m. I tried explaining that my flight left at 6 p.m., and begged them to rush the process up, but they told me that it would be impossible.
I heard somewhere that there was a place by Okhotny Ryad that would do it in one day, so I rushed over quickly to check it out. The place is called Invitro, and they saved my life. Dont let the questionable name scare you off its actually a lab affiliated with a larger hospital in Moscow. They offer all kinds of services allergy test, vaccinations, and most importantly, the HIV test.
I entered the lobby, which was very clean, and explained to the pleasant receptionist that I needed an HIV test for a visa. She said no problem, it would be done the following day at 8 p.m. At this point, I started to freak out again, assuming that since AMC didnt budge, there was no way that a random Russian lab would by sympathetic. I decided to ask anyway, telling them that I was leaving the next day at 6 p.m. and could they please get it down earlier. To my surprise, the receptionist said she would see what she could do. She called for her manager, then they both called the main office and explained the situation.
They came back and told me that I would have to go to the main office at Mayakovskaya to pick it up, but it would be done by 5 p.m. I was even more impressed when they told me it would only be 190 rubles, pennies compared to the 8000 rubles charged by AMC. When I went the next day to get the results, I realized that I had left my receipts at home. But before panic could set in, the receptionist told me she would make a phone call to the branch I got my test done at and have them fax the form. All in all, I was very impressed by how Invitro went out of their way to accommodate me, with a level of customer service that is almost nonexistent in Russia. And to cap the whole story off, my friend went the next week to AMC, and the letterhead on her test results read Invitro! Apparently, they do the actual lab work for many of the western medical centers in town. So my advice is, if you need the HIV test, save your money and go straight to Invitro.