After much research and deliberation. Lots of umming and ahing. At last we have actually made the positive move towards our own IVF treatment.

If you would like to follow our journey and see how the IVF cost adds up as we go along then click below.

MY IVF COST JOURNEY

Welcome to ivfcost.net. This site was born out of my husband and I being told that we have “unexplained” infertility after 10 years of trying! With finances being tight, and me being 43 and hence not eligible for IVF on the NHS, we were unable to just select the most convenient IVF clinic and pay the price. So we decided to look across the world to see where the best place was that offered good IVF success rates and low IVF cost!

What a job! If you have been trying then you’ve probably struggled as much as we have! So I decided that as I gather information I will share it with others, like yourself.

The first thing I did was try to get an overview of the IVF cost across the globe. The results of this can be found here.

After this I found the contact details for as many IVF clinics as I could and I am in the process of sending them an email (which can be seen here) requesting the IVF cost, IVF success rate and information on the IVF process. I am posting the responses as I get them on this site and have tagged them with the country name. To date I have responses on:

IVF Cost in Argentina

IVF Cost in Australia

IVF Cost in Austria

IVF Cost in Belgium

IVF Cost in Brazil

IVF Cost in Bulgaria

IVF Cost in Costa Rica

IVF Cost in Croatia

IVF Cost in Cyprus

IVF Cost in Czech Republic

IVF Cost in Denmark

IVF Cost in Georgia

IVF Cost in Greece

IVF Cost in Hong Kong

IVF Cost in Hungary

IVF Cost in India

IVF Cost in Iran

IVF Cost in Ireland

IVF Cost in Kenya

IVF Cost in Latvia

IVF Cost in Malaysia

IVF Cost in Mexico

IVF Cost in Panama

IVF Cost in Poland

IVF Cost in the Slovak Republic

IVF Cost in Slovenia

IVF Cost in South Africa

IVF Cost in Spain

IVF Cost in Sweden

IVF Cost in Switzerland

IVF Cost in Taiwan

IVF Cost in Thailand

IVF Cost in Turkey

IVF Cost in the Ukraine

IVF Cost in the USA

IVF Cost in the U.K.

IVF Cost in United Arab Emirates

I have also tagged the responses that I found particularly useful and put them in the tag My IVF Shortlist.

When we started this journey I must admit that it was all very overwhelming. We knew very little about what our options were and what to expect. We scoured the book stores for something that would help us get to grips with the jargon and understand what our test results really meant. The one book that stands out above the others is What to Do When You Can’t Get Pregnant: The Complete Guide to All the Technologies for Couples Facing Fertility Problems by Daniel A Potter and Jennifer S Hanin. This has been our bible to knowing what is going on, what questions to ask and how to make good decisions – we can highly recommend it.

I hope that the information on this site is useful to you. If you have experience with any of the clinics please do leave a comment so that others can benefit from it too.

Sue

Technorati Tags: IVF Cost, Welcome

Are you trying to get pregnant but have been told you need IVF? Do you have to bear the IVF cost yourselves? Have you been searching for a quick resource that compares the IVF cost around the world? Well now it’s here! Finding a list of the IVF costs worldwide for informed decisions on where you can get cost effective treatment is very difficult – I know I’ve been trying and failed! So I decided to compile one for you. Here are the results – the only up-to-date list of worldwide IVF costs on the internet. This article addresses three areas:

1. The costs that are incurred for any one IVF cycle
2. A comparison of the basic IVF treatment cost across the globe.
3. An estimate of the total basic IVF cost to get pregnant according to age and country based on average success rates.

The first thing you need to understand is how the total cost of an IVF cycle is made up. During any particular cycle the costs will include:

• Initial consultation (can be 6% to 10% of the basic IVF treatment cost).

• Basic IVF Treatment (varies by country as outlined in Table 1) Usually includes doctor’s fees for egg collection and embryo transfer, embryologist’s fees for intro fertilisation, anaesthetics, ultrasound scans, theatre charges.

• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (can be 28% to 40% of the basic IVF treatment cost) Creation of embryos by direct injection of sperm into egg, procedure used for male infertility but increasingly common in standard IVF.

• Hormonal drugs (can be 20% to 80% of the basic IVF treatment cost) Precise cost will depend on which drugs are prescribed for stimulating the ovaries. A Times Body & Soul survey also found high variation in prices charged by pharmacists.

• Embryo freezing Sometimes included in the basic IVF cost. Other clinics can charge up to 20% of the basic IVF treatment cost, plus around 10% of the basic IVF cost per year for storage and between 20% and 100% of the basic IVF treatment cost for later thawing and transfer.

• Other investigations Immunological therapies: can be upto 50% of the basic IVF treatment cost. Preimplantation genetic screening, to pick the best embryos: can be 55% to 120% of the basic IVF treatment cost. Both procedures are offered by a few clinics, though there is little published evidence that they are effective.

• Regulatory fee (dependant on the country) can be 4% to 5% of the basic IVF treatment cost. Charged separately by some clinics and rolled into the general cost by others.

This IVF cost information was according to The Times, January 10, 2008 – to give an indication of how these will affect the total IVF cost around the world the figures, which originally were for UK clinics, have been converted into percentages of the basic IVF treatment cost, and it has been assumed that the percentages will be similar across the globe. Please note that if you, for example, purchase your homonal drugs in a different country to where you have your IVF treatment then the percentage will not be an accurate reflection of costs. The major extra cost on top of the basic IVF treatment cost that everybody has to bear is the hormonal drugs. The amount of hormonal drugs that are required depend upon your:

• age;
• length of infertility, and
• physical condition of your uterus and endometrium (uterine lining)

Understanding what makes up the IVF cost is important, and a great resource for this, and how to select a clinic can be found here. Bearing in mind what makes up the IVF cost we can now look at the basic IVF treatment cost across the world. It was very difficult to find comparative IVF cost figures from around the world. After much searching I realised that such a resource did not exist. As a start I took some figures from an article in Human Reproductive Update, Vol.8 No.3, 2002, An international survey of the health economics of IVF and ICSI by John A. Collins. The article had determined IVF costs for 26 countries for 2002. Taking an average inflation rate in healthcare expenditure of 3.5% I have used their figures to project these IVF costs forward and give estimates for 2008 and 2009 – these can be seen in Table 1 – all costs have been converted to US$. I then searched the internet and made some personal enquiries to find actual IVF costs now – August 2008. It was not possible to find costs for all 26 countries (although I am still trying!) on the original list from John A. Collins, however I did find the costs for countries that were not on the list. All these costs can be seen on Table 1 - all costs have been converted to US$. To understand the costs that I found there are a few notes that you should bear in mind:

• Some of the costs include medication (hormonal drugs) whilst others do not. If the comments column does not indicate whether medication is included or not then I was unable to ascertain if it was included – I will need to make more enquiries.
• If there is no figure in the “upper cost” column then the results are only based on one clinic. I had no way of knowing if this would be a cheap or an expensive clinic for that country, but it is a cost that can be achieved there.
• If both an upper and lower cost is given then prices for at least two clinics were obtained – again this does not reflect the cheapest and most expensive clinic for that country but the lowest and highest IVF cost that I found.
• Even when the cost of medication is given in the comment column, or included in the cost, it must be noted that this can vary according to age and the infertility problem that you have.

Although currently there are still a lot of gaps in the table please keep checking my IVF cost blog as I intend to continue with this research.

Having found the basic IVF cost you have to realise that this will not be the total cost that you will pay in order to have a successful pregnancy through IVF. IVF success rates depend on a number of factors including:

• age;
• number of embryos replaced, and
• cause of infertility.

The HFEA (Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority) gives the average success rates from 2005 for each age group as:

• 29.6% for women under 35 years old;
• 23.6% for women aged 35 – 37 years old;
• 18.2% for women aged 38 – 39 years old;
• 10.0% for women aged 40 – 42 years old;
• 3.2% for women aged 43 – 44 years old;
• 0.8% for women aged over 44 years.

Using these figures I have calculated the average total IVF cost for each age group in each country. These can be seen in Table 2.

The chance of a pregnancy through IVF is increased if more embryos are replaced. The more embryos that are replaced the greater the chances of a multiple birth, since each embryo has a chance of developing to full term. Since multiple births is the single greatest risk to health in IVF the HFEA in the UK have imposed restrictions on the number of embryos that can be transferred in IVF to a maximum of two for women under the age of 40 and a maximum of three for women aged 40 or over who are using their own eggs (if you are using donated eggs the maximum is two). In India, however, these restrictions do not apply and six or seven embryos can be replaced at any one cycle, hence increasing the chances of pregnancy but also increasing the risks. To date I do not have details of the legal limits in all of the countries, however if you keep checking my IVF Cost blog I do intend to continue with this research. The cause of infertility is very specific to you. It is not an area which I will address at the moment. Having an estimate of the total IVF cost in each country now puts you in a position to be able to make an informed decision on the best country to focus on for your IVF treatment. India clearly comes out as the cheapest country on IVF cost. India also has the benefit of a vast amount of experience – they were the second country in the world to have a successful pregnancy with IVF, only a couple of month after the UK in 1978. In India many of the doctors have been trained and have practised in the West and are fluent in English. However, if you are from Europe and want to stay closer to home, Hungary (a beautiful country, and so clean. I have had personal contact with one of the clinics there and their communication was excellent) and Latvia (I have never been so I cannot comment) appear very good options. For a truely excellent, must-read book for helping you with the issue of infertility click here.

Technorati Tags: IVF Worldwide Costs

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is blessed with the ability to quickly and easily conceive a child. This is becoming more and more obvious in recent years.

For some, health problems leading to male and female infertility factors contribute to a couple’s conception troubles.

Many others put off the pursuit of parenthood until their late 30s and early 40s, where the chances of a successful pregnancy dwindle down to almost zero.

On the other hand, singles and same-sex couples are also utilizing assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures, along with surrogacy, to have the children they’ve always dreamed of.

Infertility treatments are more accessible (and successful) than ever before, which means it’s likely that this very specialized area of health care will experience major growth in the coming years particularly in the locations of Mexico, Spain, Cyprus, Thailand, and Colombia.

For 2012 in particular, whether monumental or controversial, three very important infertility trends are sure to steal the spotlight:

Money-Saving IVF Test: A new infertility test that has the potential to save parents money and disappointment by dramatically increasing the chances of having a healthy baby through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Researchers at Oxford University say this new test is revolutionary because of its low price, increased level of safety and overall effectiveness.

The test works by analyzing ‘cloud’ cells (also known as cumulous cells) that provide nutrients to the egg. The cumulous cells, normally thrown out in a standard IVF procedure, would be tested for health and vitality, which could help infertility specialists to choose only the very best eggs for the IVF procedure, without harming a single one.

When compared to current egg and embryo tests, including pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), analyzing cumulous cells will minimize risks, cut costs by at least 50 percent, and greatly increase the odds of achieving a successful pregnancy in the first IVF attempt.

Although the study was quite small, Oxford researchers hope to begin clinical trials in the summer. If the test works as well as scientists believe, it should be available worldwide at the start of next year.

Sperm Donation Hesitation: 2011 brought a lot of controversy to the infertility community, especially in regards to sperm donation. While this practice is a popular solution for single women, lesbian couples and those struggling with male infertility factors, there has been a backlash at sperm banks for allowing donors to father too many children.

Last year, one man in the United States discovered that he had 150 children and other stories around the world revealed similar cases, which sparked a lot of concern over laws and regulations related to donated sperm and how they affect potential offspring and their families.

While it may seem simple, sperm donation is a complex issue for the donors and receiving families. This year, advocates will be working towards a more solid set of laws and regulations to protect all parties involved, as donor sperm is still extremely valuable for patients who need it to conceive.

Career-Driven Surrogacy: Over the past five years, gestational surrogacy has spiked in popularity all over the world. The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reported 260 surrogate births in 2006; this number raised to about 1,000 in 2009, and considering these figures only represent the United States, there’s no doubt surrogacy is a booming industry.

In the past, couples used surrogacy as a last resort, following multiple miscarriages and failed IVF attempts. Today, however, surrogacy is open to all types of families, including singles and same-sex couples. Countries like the India, Thailand, Ukraine, Georgia have capitalized on this growing demand for gestational surrogacy options, and now welcome thousands of internationally based clients each year.

The newest surrogacy trend for 2012 involves career women. Many with high-powered jobs are putting off pregnancy, and instead choosing to build their careers during their most fertile years.

One anonymous female CEO told The Grindstone, “People, not just women, in senior level roles, are living their lives at very high paces. They work more hours, lack sleep, travel a lot and struggle to keep a routine. You would find ways to manage this, but the added impact of pregnancy would change their lives. There are ways to slow down but for some women, and it’s not because they aren’t maternal, but I think it is that they don’t desire the whole pregnancy thing. I see it as slowing me down. It is not that they are choosing to put career first, but putting the focus first. And when you are presented with an option like surrogacy, it seems viable. It kind of makes sense.”

While some may find this new trend quite controversial, for today’s modern family, it’s not really about the pregnancy, but the end result that is most important. The route to parenthood is different for everyone, and gestational surrogacy is just one option.

The CEO added, ““Society has shifted and new roles and technology allow for women to have this choice. Does that make it wrong? Because you can, should you? Why not?”

From higher IVF success rates to sperm donor and surrogacy controversy, it looks like 2012 will be an eventful year for the infertility community. If you are trying to conceive, whether naturally or with the help of infertility treatments, VisitandCare.com wishes you the very best of luck and baby dust on your journey towards parenthood!

___________________________________

VisitandCare.com
Contact – Amy our IVF Patient Coordinator is waiting to
help you with your IVF journey abroad.
US: 714 912-2893
UK: 020 8816-7668
International: +90 212 573 0221
Skype: visitandcare-amy
Email: amy@visitandcare.com
www.VisitandCare.com

Technorati Tags: IVF Information

MediCare4U Ltd is a British based company providing medical services through special relationships with some of the finest facilities in central and eastern Europe. Unlike online medical discount call centres, we offer much more than “cheap prices”.
Our real responsibility is to select trusted, fully-insured medical treatment facilities that match your personal needs, and then provide a complete medical including travel and accommodation at “best value” prices.

Quality medical solutions at lower cost
We plan and deliver a total package for you. Much like relationship with your doctor’s office, our staff build a relationship of care and trust. Beyond a doubt, this is the safest way to arrange a medical tourism trip and benefit from substantial savings.

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, has a number of specialised reproductive medical clinics which offer a full range of up-to-date infertility diagnostics and treatments. These clinics are very modern and feature the most technically advanced equipment available anywhere in the world. Our consultants and healthcare professional team are all highly qualified and offer many years of experience in the field of reproductive medicine. As with all senior clinicians, our team attend specialist conferences and seminars around the world, sharing best practice with their peers, to ensure their knowledge of developments within their specialisation is unsurpassed.

All our clinics are accredited under Ukrainian law. Our reproductive medicine clinics are Nadiya, ISIDA, Mother and Child. Our clinicians are used to treating patients from all over the world and you will be made to feel welcome, confident and comfortable.

The success rate of IVF treatment in Ukraine is up to 65% compares more than favourably with the UK rate of 25% in the UK, as to our costs, even when travel and accommodation are taken into account. We can usually undertake IVF as a day case, so a night in the clinic is not necessary, but you should allocate a stay of between 5 – 7 days so we can undertake all the pre and post- procedure medical checks necessary.

We have set out below our clinics’ services and prices, shown in pounds sterling.

FertilityProcedures
Our prices GBP

Artificial Insemination/Sperm donation (AI) £389
Artificial Insemination/Husband (AI) £292
Egg Extraction/Egg donation (1cycle) £2826
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) – first attempt £1080*
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) + ICSI £1699
ICSI (1-10 oocyte) £348
ICSI (more than-10 oocyte) £404
IMSI £213
Semen Cryopreservation (per year) £105
Surrogacy £25831
Initial consultation £17

The contact details for Medicare4U are:

Pavel Oltarzhevskyy

Head of International Department
MEDICARE4U
Registered in England as Company No 7818790.
31 Chesterfield ave, SS7 4AJ Benfleet,UK.
Tel UK: +44 208 133 64 77
Tel Ukraine Mob: +38 (050) 6824229
Skype: medicare-4u

Technorati Tags: Ukraine

Technorati Tags: IVF Cost, South Africa

The contact details for Embryoland Fertility Center are:

Miltiadis Pitsos MD PhD
Obstetrician & Gynecologist
Embryoland Fertility Center
Kifisias 41 & Argolidos 2, Athens, Greece

tel: +30 210 6911200
pitsos@embryoland.gr

www.embryoland.gr
www.drpitsos.gr/medicaltourism.php

Here are the responses I received:

The questions I have regarding treatment at your clinic are:

1. What is the current success rate for your clinic? (preferably by age as I know that the success rate will be much lower for somebody of my age) Success rate is similar to US standards. <35 years old 50.3%, 35-37 years old 40.1%, 38-40 years old 29.2%, 41-42 years old 20.9%, >43 years old 8.1%
2. How many cycles do you perform per year at the clinic? 700
3. What is the maximum age that you treat? 50 by Greek law
4. Are there any fertility conditions that you will not treat? HIV + patients; sex selection for non medical reasons is prohibited by Greek law.
5. What is your embryo transfer policy? How many embryos will you replace at one time? We strictly follow the European Society for Human Reproduction (ESHRE) guidelines and is based on woman’s age.
6. What is the basic cost of the IVF treatment? 2500 Euros (including initial consultation, ovarian stimulation monitoring, oocyte retrieval, sedation, IVF/ ICSI, embryo harvesting, embryo transfer)
7. What additional costs would / could be incurred? Medications, blastocyst culture, spare embryo cryopreservation
8. What happens to the costs if the cycle has to be abandoned? If abandoned before retrieval there is no charge. If no ET is performed due to very poor quality embryos then there will be a charge of 1500 Euros 
9. How long would I need to be in Greece for? Depending on where you are going to do the stimulation monitoring. From as short as 4 days to maximum 14-16 days.
10. Who deals with the logistics of flights and accommodation? We can certainly assist you
11. How is the pre-treatment carried out? It is individualized in every case 
12. How do I get medication? Either you can have them prescribed in your country or you can buy them in Greece
13. How will I be monitored? We certainly prefer to do the stimulation monitoring ourselfs. However, if you can arrange to have the monitoring in your country then it will be OK with us.
14. How will I know that I am not being under / over stimulated? That is why we prefer to perform the ovarian stimulation monitoring ourselves.
15. If I have a problem whilst in the UK who would I go to? To a gynecologist in your country.
16. Is the clinic registered with any regulatory body?Yes, Greek Ministry of Health

Miltiadis Pitsos MD PhD

Obstetrician – Gynecologist – Infertility Specialist

pitsos@embryoland.gr

Technorati Tags: Greece

POLIKLINIKA IVF
VOĆARSKA 14
10000 ZAGREB
CROATIA

poliklinika.ivf@zg.t-com.hr

www.poliklinika-ivf.hr

Here is the response:

Dear Sue!

Poliklinika IVF is founded 1997 by founder Prof.dr.sc. Velimir
Šimunić very famous gynocologist on this part of Europe ( in
former Yugoslavia he made first IVF baby 1982., fourth baby in
Europa and eight in the World). Until this days he made more
then 5000 babyes.
Our web is www.poliklinika-ivf.hr

If patient have any questions they can send as on mail and we
will answer on english:

         poliklinika.ivf@zg.t-com.hr

Answers on your questions:

1.Our current success: from 35.-43. age 45%, from 40.-42.age   14%, from 42. age and more 7-8%
2. We perform 300-400 cycles per year.
3. Maximum age that we treat is 45 year
4. We not treat: HIV positive, patient older than 45, very
 low AMH, abnormal or apsent uterus, homosexual
5. At one time we will replace 3 embrios
6. Basic cost of IVF treatmenet: IVF-1100EUR, IVF/ICSI 1400 EUR
7. No additional costs
8. Patent should pay only monitoring
9. 3-7 days you need to stay in our clinic
10. Depending, we can arrange all of this.
11. Very seldom COC or estrogen, long agonist protocol.
12. You can buy and use fertility medications according to our
  protocol.
13. Start in your country, later ultrasaound, hormons by as.
14. Using US and estradiol
15. You will cantact as by mail, fax or phone, and than we will
  decide
16. Our Poliklinik IVF has a licence bay National bord under
Ministry of health, we have also ISO certificate, everything
under EU direktive

Kind regards

Prof.dr.sc. Velimir Šimunić

Technorati Tags: Croatia

Technorati Tags: India

Basically I was recommended a clinic in Barcelona because a friend of mine got pregnant there. She told me to ask for Dr. Olivares (I think he was the medical director) so I got in touch with them but, unfortunately, they told me that he was no longer working there. That was 2 months ago.
Since my friend insists on seeking for that doctor I started searching his name on the net and, luckily, I found out that he was about to open a new clinic, called BarcelonaIVF, with some staff from the first clinic I contacted. I managed to get their email (in their web site www.barcelonaivf.com) and started to ask questions and questions. They’re really fast solving concerns and doubts, you can expect to get an answer on the same day almost regardless of how many emails you send. At least this is what my contact, Romana, has done in fluent English. Moreover, despite not being cheap (egg donation costs 8950€), I like the way they manage the payments. One single payment for the treatment that should be done before your donor is assigned, but it includes egg donor selection tests, medication for both, the donor and me, any procedure that they think can help to achieve a better outcome -including IMSI, a technique that it only available in a handful of clinics- and the freezing of the surplus embryos you may have. That’s great because it allows you to focus really only on the treatment.
They also have two other things that sound really good. One is the “shared donor program” in which the donor (a “dedicated” donor, not a patient, is sharing her eggs) is shared amongst couples. They guarantee you’re going to get three good oocytes to ensure a good fresh embryo transfer. If the obtained embryos are not of goof quality, they reassign you to a new donor at no cost. It’s much cheaper than a normal egg donation (2950€) and it also includes everything. The only drawback is that if you choose this way, there won’t be any physical matching between donors and recipients (they say it’d take too long to match two or three couples with a single donor).
The other product I like is the “shared risk program”. I read about it in some US clinics websites. Basically you pay for three cycles before starting the first one and if you get pregnant (well not just getting pregnant, they talk about “ongoing pregnancy”, that means that the pregnancy goes beyond 13 weeks) they’ll charge you the whole amount (that would be 27.000€ in egg donation), this would be the patient’s risk. But if they don’t manage to get you pregnant after 3 attempts, then they refund you 75% of the money you’ve paid (that would be the clinic’s risk) I don’t know if I understood and explained it well… Otherwise please let me know and I will try to get more information. Or maybe you have experience with this kind of program…. However, I think, this would allow you to get some money back in case the treatment doesn’t work and to move on to any further treatments or even consider adoption. Well, to be honest, this won’t be my option because I can’t afford the initial payment, but if I were rich, I’d definitely do it

The contact details for the clinic are:

Barcelona IVF
Clínica de fertilización in vitro

info@bcnivf.com
Edificio Planetarium
Escoles Pies 103 Barcelona, Catalunya, 08017 Spain
tel: +34 93 417 69 16
fax: +34 93 418 02 88
tel. urgencias: +34 93 417 69 16 / + 34 650 12 36 65

Technorati Tags: Spain