Cost of IVF abroad v U.K.

[Pixiedusted]

I was hoping for some advice of the cost of IVF abroad. I’ve not had any consultations yet but I’ve had an initial look at some clinics in Greece and some local clinics and reviewed pricing information. From what I can work out by the time you have factored in travel, accommodation, insurance etc it’s not much cheaper than having it in the U.K.

I am finding pricing structures quite vague so I’m worrying I’m being quite naive and there will be lots of additional costs to be added. I’m 39 so assuming my age will also increase costs.

Is £6k per cycle a reasonable expectation for costs if straightforward?

If anyone can share their experience I’d be very grateful.

Hi, that's right for a UK cycle, abroad would be much cheaper though as you say, flights and accommodation will add costs. Also the many tests and scans will add costs unless you have them all abroad but that might not be convenient so you might want them in UK which will all add up. Places like checkoslavakia are cheaper and well reviewed. We've gone Portugal as needed egg donation and wanted open ID. Treatment package is half the price but have prob spent 2000 on extras...

We have been on own egg IVF cycle in Greece (Serum IVF). What they cost included:

• every ovulation monitoring scan
• egg collection
• fertilisation and cultivation until Blastocyst
• embryo transfer ( as we could not do fresh embryo transfer, we did not need to pay for the first frozen embryo transfer)
• ICSI if required

Not included in price:

• baseline scan (day 1-2) - you are most probably in the UK that time
• bloodtest (hormone level monitoring, STDs)
• ECG test (for anesthesia of eggretrieval)
• official partner agreement if you are not married
• medications (that is an expensive one and since it is different for everybody, the clinics tend not to include in the price)
• freezing of surplus embryos (depend on quantity but can be quite expensive if you have many straws)
• selection of best swimmers if there is a sperm issue (I am not sure of the official expression)
• beta hcg tests after the TWW and 6 weeks UHS if positive - you are back in UK that time

Other expenses:

• travel cost - the flight tickets out of season was quite friendly
• accommodation for 7-14 days - price depend on time of the year - travel on day 6-7, eggretrieval day 14-16, transfer 5 days later
• transport - we used public transport and that was quite cheap, but the taxis are not too expensive as well

I hope I collected all expenses what we had. We have not had IVF in the UK, so I cannot compare the prices or content. But we did not regret to go abroad.

Would you be able to let me know which clinic you used in Portugal? I am based here and will need to contact a centre soon but unsure where to go! Thanks so much.

Hi, Ginemed in Lisbon 😊

Thanks everyone for your advice. There is a lot to think about.

I think it depends as you say if your IVF is “straightforward” or not.
I have decided to go to Prague for my next cycle, because we need to do ICSI and PGT-A, and in the UK we were looking at 10K + for just one cycle without the meds, so for me it will be cheaper to go to Prague even when considering the flights and accommodation.
It’s not an easy decision to make and it adds stress to have to schedule flights and book accommodations on top of everything else so it’s not for everyone.

We also debated this, in the end we decided to stay in UK and use Manchester Fertility with a package from Access Fertility which was the best option for us. Some clinics do offer a nurse led service which works out considerably cheaper too. We used Access because we liked the idea of paying for 2 rounds so it took abit of stress off the first round if it doesn't work. I found it very overwhelming picking as there are so many options! Good luck x

@waitingforourmiracle i have been looking into Access Fertility, would you mind sharing how much you paid for the muti-cycle programme? I’m not sure if the price may change depending on age also…. Hope your cycles going well

@HopefulStars of course, we paid for a 2 round 50% refund package and it was I think it was £9550, we paid for medication separate and so far I think that's been about £1200. We have had our first egg collection and ended up with 10 embryos which I'm still in total shock about so I'd like to think we wouldn't need to use the second round we paid for but it defo took the stress off things. I think it varies slightly by clinic but we used Manchester Fertility. Hope that helps x

@waitingforourmiracle Thank you that’s really useful, Access Fertility have literally just sent through their programme prices (attached) looks like the 2 cycle multi cycle would probably be my best option and then would look at Cyprus….. they mention you must have had an initial consultation/tests at one of their partner clinics before applying for their programmes….. did you do this? were the consultation / tests expensive?

10 embryos is absolutely amazing, really great results!! 🤩

@HopefulStars they were really good, can't fault the service they pushed everything through really quickly as I wanted to start on my next cycle instead of waiting the extra month! :)
Yes we had initial tests done through the clinic which we paid £459 for, SA for my partner, scan and bloods for me including the follow up consultation. This was our second cycle (first was NHS funded but results were out of date as we waited a year before starting again) x

Also to add, we had ICSI :)

@waitingforourmiracle Thats so refreshing to hear they moved quickly with things, the waiting in IVF is unbearable! Thanks for the info re tests, we would need ours done again as it would be coming up to a year when we had the NHS ones - did Access Fertility require you to have a HSG or a HyCoSy? The NHS never did that with me as they said there was no indication I had blocked tubes 🤷‍♀️

We are currently in Cyprus, IVF with ICSI and NGS testing. The ivf package itself with ICSI is €3250, without meds which for us cost £1500.

for the ICSI and testing we wanted, all in it was coming in around the 12k mark at best in the UK, so it is considerably cheaper

the costs are wild aren’t they xx

@HopefulStars it really is awful the waiting! No I never had a HyCosy either, it wasn't something they asked about, I think the tests are more to see what packages you are entitled to, for example we could have the 2 round refund but wasn't eligible for 2 year unlimited package (this wasn't something we was interested in so didn't question it tbh!)
I have PCOS but the main issue for us was MFI, my partner had a varicocele embolisation done in September which I think helped massively on the outcome of our second round x

Sorry if I’m being blind 🕵but I’m really interested in knowing the cost as Serum has been on my radar for sometime and I have been thinking about reaching out for a consultation.

We had the egg retrieval in September 2024, the total to the Clinic was €3,510 (~£3,000). Includes: €3,000 for egg collection and transfer, €400 for the sperm selection and the rest €110 was bloodtests for me and my partner. It was in line with their website at the time.

The extras in Athens for the procedure were €100 for the unmarried couple declaration (paid in cash to notary), €100 for ECG (paid to the doctor directly). They informed about this cost ahead as well.

The embryo freezing cost was €500 per straw (1 or 2 blastocysts per straw), this does not include the later transfer, but I think they have a combined, discounted price for that as an option. We could not have fresh embryo transfer and they did not charge extra for the freezing of one straw and later the transfer. Hope this helps, but feel free to ask if you have more questions.

Do the clinics come up with their own prices or do ones associated with Access fertility all have the same pricing.

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Oh I hear you love, the whole cost side of things can feel like such a minefield can’t it. You’re absolutely right to be thinking about the “extras”, sometimes the price looks so affordable, but then once you add it all in it can creep up quickly.
One thing that might help is hearing from people who’ve actually been through treatment at different clinics. Fertility Mapper has a whole load of patient reviews on UK and if you speak to them on phone they know international. Might help give you a bit more clarity and confidence before you book anything.
Sending you a big hug.