What did you pay for sperm and IUI?

[MBailey99]

I'm a bit shocked by the price I have been quoted by my local clinic and want to know whether having a child this way is actually going to be realistic for me. Does anyone mind disclosing how much it cost for them to buy sperm and become pregnant through IUI?

I had IVF not IUI, so I can't comment on that part, but it cost me 2000 euro for 2 straws of sperm and a pregnancy slot a few years ago.

I've been quoted between 6500 and 9000

That does sound like a lot - does that include multiple cycles? Are there any other clinics you can get to?

I had twins in 2008 (so very different times). Sperm cost me £300. Each iui cost £1000. I had 6 rounds (one aborted) in total it cost me £7000.
Have you looked at doing privately in an NHS clinic? I ask because mine was done this way and at the time the private clinics were double the price (one even used the same sperm bank). It might be worth enquiring.

I have no idea if multi cycle. I can get to anywhere within the UK as long as not too far away from Cambridge way

I didn't realise you could do this but I'm definitely going to do a fair bit more research

If you don't know what the quote includes, it would be worth asking for a breakdown of the estimated costs. If you're still just at the enquiry stage, they may be quoting you a figure that estimates how many cycles you're likely to need to be successful, rather than the cost per cycle. Some clinics will do a 3-cycle package for less than what you've been quoted though (although obvs no guarantee three will be enough).

You need to find out what that quote includes or it is meaningless, OP.

For us it was around £1000 per vial of sperm (which we bought from a bank seperate to the clinic), and then similar again to the clinic for the treatment, so £2000 as a baseline.

But there are other costs like shipping (about £150), an import fee once it got to the clinic (another £150), storage fees from the clinic (£450 a year), plus any medication you might need to take, which can cost a few hundred.

Our clinic did a 'deal' for three rounds which was around £4000, and then three vials of sperm on top would make it about £7000 + all the other fees.

So if you're being quoted for three rounds then what you've been told is about normal. If you're only being quoted for one round then it's high.

It's also worth bearing in mind that IUI success rates are not all that good. I have no known fertility issues, under 35, and have had 7 rounds of IUI, none of which have worked. It's a bit like throwing a dart at a target with a blindfold on tbh.

One clinic, in Portugal, quoted me almost 2000 euros for IUI, including donor sperm (2 lots). The sperm itself was 400 each lot, so 800 for the 2.

So much cheaper abroad. We did it in Copenhagen

I had IUI with donor sperm in 2019. I paid £3k upfront for 3 rounds but got pregnant on first try and had my baby in 2020. I probably paid another £600 in random tests/incidentals.

Actually I just checked and my clinic (in the north west) now charges £4600 for the same package 4 years later.
I was also early 40s when I got pregnant but no fertility issue and a family history of successful 40s pregnancy.

If paying upfront for multiple rounds check if your clinic will accept payment through Access Fertility and compare the costs from them. That was the cheapest way we found to pay in the UK. It’s expensive.

And for donor sperm we compared prices from all the big banks. But it was worth it for us paying more for the more comprehensive testing and profiles etc.

If you’re in a lesbian couple check your NHS eligibility first as the guidelines recently changed to cover fertility treatments for more. (And if you’re in a lesbian couple also get married first and check your legalities for parental responsibility as there was a post on here a while ago from a couple who didn’t and it was a legal mess!)

We paid £3000 for 3 straws of sperm, something for a pregnancy slot (€200?) €250 for each IUI (Copenhagen), and around £250 for each trip to Copenhagen (Inc flights, accom and food - very much on a shoestring, not a cheap city!)

Extras like consultancy appointments and scans in Copenhagen were included.