Had anyone had IVF abroad??

[ttc567]

After ttc for well over a year my partner and I are starting to consider IVF, we are not eligible for NHS so it would be self funded. I’ve heard IVF abroad can be considerably cheaper with higher success rates.

does any one have any experience with IVF abroad? If so can you please tell me how it all works, how long did you stay there for? How much did it all cost? What was included in the cost? What clinic did you go to? Etc

thank you!

I needed donor eggs.
I went to BHED in California to find my donor and Spring fertility in NY Dr.Catha for IVF. All prices are as listed on the website.
Happy to answer any questions

@SarahJTin thank you for getting back to me! I’m trying to figure out the cost of everything and if it is actually cheaper to go abroad when taking into account the cost of hotels and flights etc. I have reached out to a couple of clinics in Prague and Poland but it is not clear how many visits to the clinic we would need and therefore how many days we would need to stay there for.

that Sounds a sensible idea. In the US the cost is really determined by the donor egg cost.
I went over with my hubby once and provided sperm and had blood tests genetics and ultrasound. I go back on the 1st to have a US and start progesterone injections and steroids for 5 days and then we do embryo transfer. I’m going on my own for the next trip.
we’ve had incredible luck with our donor. We got 30 mature eggs in one cycle. 25 fertilised. We had 10 blast’s yesterday on day 5 and about 7 more are expected today on day six. They normally offer 85% success rate once they’ve been pgta. Our chances are starting to look very likely it might happen! We’ve only been on a position of 2 poor egg quality with my own in UK which have always failed

Afraid not advice but following with interest!

I have been doing some research and although it is difficult to get an exact cost with out specific dates etc I would say the cost would be around 5k including flights, hotels and spends. Plus my partner does not get paid if he does not work so that is an additional cost. I have found a clinic local to me that does the pre testing and ivf for less than 4k so I am inclined to give them a try.

We are resident in the UK and are considering going abroad for IVF treatment . Cost is one of the reasons why . We don’t know the clinics to reasearch . Any recommendations please ? Thanks in advance.

I’m happy to answer any questions. I’m 2 day post embryo transfer and have everything crossed 🤞. I went to BHED for donor eggs then to 🧑‍⚕️ Catha Fischer for Embryo transfer at Spring fertility NY. Obviously too early to say if it’s successful but hoping

I’m from the UK and had IVF in Prague in February 2023 with my transfer being in May. Currently feeding my 4 week old little boy from my first ever cycle of IVF :)

Happy to answer any questions you have.

I have been looking into it and I’ve found a clinic called care fertility that does one round for under 4k. We have booked the initial tests for next week that include a scan, semen analysis and AMH blood test for £570 which are needed before booking the ivf cycle.

when I have been adding up the costs of hotels, flights, treatment, the money you’d spend while you’re there etc it seems like this is a cheaper option? If any one has had ivf abroad please tell me if I am wrong 🙈 the cost is the driving factor for us because we’re self funding and finances are tight.

We believe we are dealing with male factor as well so will likely need icsi

We did. After a dud round in London -most likely too many drugs which impacted on the eggs. Did a round in Prague and a round in Brno. Round in Brno worked c first time and we have twins. Total cost for that was about £6k -which was donor eggs, PICSI and MACS as we both fertility issues

My friend went to Cyprus for Ivf.
The clinic was recommended by her nhs fertility unit

She was successful in her first round.

It was cheaper than the uk and there was no wait for donor eggs

Apologies I meant we believe we are dealing with male factor only so won’t need a doner egg. I contacted a clinic in Prague and another in Czech Republic and the one we found close to where we live worked out cheaper if you account for flights etc. plus my partner is self employed so he doesn’t get paid if he is off work. I think we will try this clinic and if it doesn’t work try abroad.

how long did you have to stay there for when you went for treatment and how many time did you have to fly out there?

IVF in Brno - Czech Republic 2 years ago (January 2022).

IVF (including ICSI): £2,300
IVF meds: £625
Flights, accommodation & spending money: £900
Time away from home: 8 days

You have your consultation remotely.
You get sent your protocol and a prescription for your meds.
You can get the meds from various online pharmacies.
Start stimming at home. Have follicle scans at a UK clinic.
Travel to Czech Republic for egg retrieval.
Stay out there until it's time for your day 5 transfer.
Travel home.

PM’d you OP 💓

Thank you every one. We have only booked the initial tests so far, so we’re not fully committed to the uk IVF I will take on board what every one has said.

@WutheringMights when you say 8 days, did you have to book it in line with when your cycle started or do they induce your cycle?

@ttc567 i went on BCP to control my cycle and then planned it with the clinic when I wanted to be out there (I'm a teacher so it needed to be during half term). The clinic then planned my schedule and told me what drugs to start taking and when. It was all timed fantastically well. I was away 8 days the first time and only 3 days the second time (FET).

Brief update on this thread!
I got three positive tests yesterday 9 days post transfer!
Hope that fills others with hope xxx

Congratulations @SarahJTin wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months!

I had IVF with ICSI at Brno Reprofit too. Have a beautiful little girl now!

We have been for the initial pre ivf tests on Thursday. My scan showed 14mm dominant follicle on the right side with 7 smaller (less than 10mm) follicles and 4 less than 10mm on the left. Lining was 8.6mm. This was cd11. Nurse said this all looked good.

just waiting for the semen analysis and AMH results on Tuesday then we will go from there. We can get a basic ivf cycle in our city for £2999 but only if our results meet the criteria so it depends on the results which route we will choose. Going abroad may be cheaper if we need all kinds of add ons.

Just thought I would come back and update. My AMH results were 17.3.

semen analysis was 12.5 million per ml
30% motility, 20% progressive motility and 4% morphology. So we will need ICSI.

the criteria for the basic package which costs £2999 is that 15 follicles or more are needed because the package involves a low dose of STIMS so 15+ follicles are required to give it best chances. ICSI is also an extra £1000.

because I only have 11 follicles we do not meet the criteria so they have sent a quote for what we do need.

I do not fully understand what it all means but for the IVF, ICSI, embryo storage etc it costs £6331. Pre tests such as STI screening etc - £439. Care maps - £995. So that’s £7765 in total. No doubt there will be more add on costs along the way. This is more than we was expecting, less affordable and a lot of money to lose if it doesn’t work, as we are self funding.

During the consultation the nurse said with those SA results it’s not impossible to concieve it’s just a matter of when and how long we want to wait. She said it could happen next month or be years away or somewhere inbetween.

i am really getting fed up of it all. I am constantly researching and every month we try some kind of different approach or new gadget but have no luck. I am currently 8dpo and usually clinging on to a bit of hope at this point. This is the first month I just feel 100% certain that we won’t be pregnant. I really feel for my partner as well, it’s tough for him.

hes been going above and beyond to make improvements with life style changes and been taking supplements off his own back, never missing a day.

I think I’ll go back to searching IVF abroad hoping to find it at a more affordable cost. In the meantime hope the life style changes result in natural conception.

ill keep this post updated with the outcome for anyone in the same position in the future.

Sorry that it all feels so disheartening at the moment. The journey can be such a roller coaster of emotions.

Hi @ttc567 I had 3 collections cycles abroad, two in Prague and one in the UK. If anything it worked out more expensive, a lot of clinics look cheap but then there are add ons that are required eg they charge extra for each embryo frozen which is clearly essential if there are embryos to freeze.

The best option I found was in the UK and involved paying for a package, access fertility offer a 2 cycle package and a lot of clinics have the same offer. It means you go through a collection cycle, the frozen transfers are then included until you run out of embryos, you then go through another collection and have the frozen transfers again. The package ends with a live birth or running out of embryos after two collections. The medications aren't included in the cost. If it works first time the package ends there. I ended up needing 6 transfers so this package saved me a lot of money as the frozen transfers cost around £2000 in addition to the cost of the collection cycle. Back when I bought this package it was £7300 although has most likely gone up in price since. Access fertility do refund packages as well, these cost a lot more and are limited across time eg two years, you may think that's a long time but there can be big gaps inbetween cycles if you need investigations, procedures and treatments.

@ttc567 looks like you're in contact with care fertility, they do this kind of package have they discussed this option with you?