IUI Advice, asking for a friend .

[Lifesforloving1]

Hi there.
Asking for a friend, she’s 43 and has been txt for about 5 years now. She’s currently taking Clomid , but the hospital suggest now that ivf or iui would be more better . She’s going to try iui as it’s cheaper.
What’s the success rate at 43 with iui ?

At 43 I'd be going for ivf. Although a round of iui is cheaper, I think they expect you to have a few rounds so she could end up spending what it costs for one round of ivf. Have her or her partner had any tests and identified a reason for struggling to conceive?

I think the stats are somewhere on the HFEA website, but from what I remember success rates for IUI are poor in comparison to IVF, especially for those older than late thirties . Apparently many clinics won't do IUI for over 40's for that reason (because it drags down the clinics success stats). Like pp, at 43 I'd suggest she goes straight to IVF, even though it is harder on the body and more money unfortunately.

@IamnotwhouthinkIam @VenusStarr
Thankyou ! ill shall pass this advice on to her, am I right in thinking regardless of still having periods every month , at 43 it comes down to the quality of the eggs ?
They have had tests but unsure of why they CC.
She has had 2 miscarriages.
Because of her age they are having to pay for it…

*They have had tests but unsure of why they CC.
*
her age is the main factor - IUI has dismal success rates - you need to factor in at least 10 rounds to have the same success as one round of IVF and that's if you are under 40....IVF success rates over 43 are as low as 1-2% which isn't much higher than trying naturally. Many clinics won't treat women over 43 with their own eggs either for this reason.

@Lifesforloving1 -Yes at 43 , statistically she will likely have far fewer genetically "normal" eggs (mens sperm also ages/becomes "faulty" too but at a slower rate). So with IVF, if she is lucky she'll get multiple eggs - and hopefully one of them will be "normal".

IUI, just like natural conception relies on only 1 egg being released at a time (or 2/3 max if she is kept on fertility drugs) which is part of the reason it has lower success rates. Also with IUI you can't tell if the egg has fertilised and is just not implanting, so IVF gives fertility doctors more information to help.

Her clinic will also have their own stats for success in IUI vs IVF - which they should readily provide her. Financially it will probably make more sense to do IVF than IUI once she looks at the relative increase in success rate per cycle.

As other posters note, her success rates at this age are not great overall and she may want to discuss donor eggs with her clinic to look at all the costs vs success ahead of any attempt.