How do you navigate IVF clinics, costs and treatment recommendations?

[LostLadyBug]

Please help. I’m new and so lost in the world of infertility and IVF. We’ve had some fertility checks at TFP Wessex and been given a costed plan - ICSI and PGT-A testing. We were told to bank a couple of rounds of egg gathering to maximise chances of best eggs (we’re both 40). From what I can tell there is no way to do this other than direct to the clinic with possibly endlessly sprawling fees. How do you navigate the whole process when all the clinics seem to offer different things and their financing partners don’t seem to remotely align with what you’re being recommended as a patient!? I’m so lost.

Hmm, we’ve agreed with my clinic to do 2 x full rounds of IVF, but with back to back egg collections. We’ll then PGT-A them in one batch. I’ve confirmed with them that I’ll then have two ‘free’ transfers to use (from the two cycles). So for me the cost is 2 x full IVF cycles and 1 x PGT-A. (Obviously all subject to change dependent on results at any stage).

@overwork that sounds like a great plan of action! I feel like something similar would work well for us. You’re paying the clinic direct I assume?

Yes, the Access option (only one I looked into as that was all my clinic offered) you had to use all the embryos from the first go before you could have your second round. So with having to do PGT-A twice, that became similar in price to paying the clinic direct (not to mention more lengthy). The upside to the Access package is that transfers are unlimited (and I think there’s a money back option for younger people!)

First, you should shortlist a few clinics by asking about success rates for your specific age and condition, how long it may take to achieve success, and the total expected cost. Clinics that are not patient-oriented may send general success rates, which can be misleading because they’re often based on younger patients. A transparent clinic will share data relevant to your individual case.
It’s also important to understand how success rates are calculated—whether they refer to cumulative success, clinical pregnancy, or live birth rates.
On the MyIVFanswers website, you can find helpful webinars on how to choose a clinic.
Once you’ve chosen a clinic, ask which doctor is best suited for your age and condition. FertilityIQ highlights that results can vary significantly between doctors within the same clinic. After shortlisting a doctor, that’s the right time to discuss pricing.
Without this research, it’s easy to misjudge costs. For example, Clinic A may quote £7,000 and Clinic B £11,000, but if Clinic A has lower success rates, you might need two cycles (£14,000 total), making it more expensive than Clinic B in the long run. I hope this helps a little.