What is the cost of IVF in the UK?
How Much Does It Cost to Freeze Eggs UK?
Egg freezing costs UK-wide are fairly consistent. It costs an average of £3,500 and £4,500 to undergo one cycle of stimulation and egg retrieval. You’ll then need to pay an average annual cost of £200 – £400 to store your frozen eggs. Remember – UK law is quite restrictive when it comes to frozen gametes. In most cases, you can only freeze your eggs for up to a decade, with special exceptions made for people going through premature infertility.
When you’re ready to create and implant embryos, you’ll also need to budget for the costs connected to thawing your eggs, preparing for fertilisation, and the transfer process.
Freezing Sperm Cost UK
Most fertility clinics charge around £400 – £500 for collection processes and the first year of storage. Additional years of storage for freezing sperm cost between £200 – £400.
Sperm Donation UK Cost
The UK has strict laws around paying egg and sperm donors anything more than their expenses. That means that donors can only receive £35 for one sperm donation and £750 for one cycle of egg donation.
Additional Costs? ‘IVF Add-ons’
These are some of the most common IVF add-ons. Not all of these treatments and techniques have robust evidence for their efficacy, so speak to your doctor and clinical team before making your decisions.
- ICSI – £800 to £1,200
- IMSI (price on top of ICSI) – £450 to £600
- Embryscope / Time Lapse – embryo monitoring – £750 to £1,150
- PGS – (genetic testing for aneuploidies) – £2,000 to £3,000
- Blastocyst culture (5-day embryo transfer) – £500 to £700
- AH (assisted hatching) – £450 to £550
- FET – Frozen Embryo Transfer – £1,500 to £2,000
- EmbryoGlue – £130 to £360
- ERA test – £950 to £1,250
IVF Costs
Average Cost of IVF in the UK
When you begin looking at the average cost of IVF in the UK, the prices can be misleading. At first, you might be drawn in by prices as low as £3,000 – £4,000 per IVF cycle. However, once you start adding the additional costs, such as medications (often around £1000 per cycle), blood work, viral tests, and anaesthetic, the costs quickly rack up. If you need to add ICSI for male factor infertility, it usually costs around an additional £1000. The average cost of IVF can really vary depending on your protocol.
A few ‘discount’ IVF clinics have popped up in recent years, such as abcivf. Their prices are low, around £2500 per cycle, but they use a milder stimulation process and only treat women under 38. They aren’t suitable for everybody, but if you’re younger than 38, it’s worth checking them out.
Some clinics offer an unlimited IVF package. These packages offer you an unlimited amount of egg retrievals and transfers, with prices starting at around £10K. Do remember that this price also doesn’t include medications and ICSI.
IVF - NHS cost
England has a strange and often unfair system of deciding who qualifies for funded IVF treatments, often referred to as ‘the postcode lottery.’ Since funding is determined by your local Clinical Commissioning Group and not NHS England, the rules can vary drastically from borough to borough. Your neighbour across the street in one borough could qualify for three fully-funded cycles while you don’t qualify for even one. Rules and restrictions on age can also vary.
In Wales, the WHSSC determines eligibility for funded IVF, while every woman forty and under qualifies for three funded cycles in Scotland. Women aged 41 and 42 qualify for one cycle.
Even if you do not qualify for funded IVF treatments on the NHS, you may still be entitled to NHS pricing. It costs the NHS just around half of the prices charged by private clinics, around £3500 per cycle. Speak to your GP. They will refer you to your local NHS fertility centre where you can ask specific questions about pricing.
Getting quotes
While clinic administrative staff will be able to give you rough estimates for your treatment, you won’t get an accurate quote until you have a consultation with the doctor. But that isn’t as simple as it sounds! You’ll need a series of tests before the doctor can review your case. They’ll need a series of blood tests, an internal scan monitoring your uterus and ovaries, and a sperm analysis.
Should I Consider Travelling for Fertility Treatment?
S
ome people choose to go abroad for fertility treatment. Clinics in countries such as Czech Republic, Greece, Thailand, and Spain offer state-of-the-art treatments at a fraction of IVF cost UK-wide.
If you’re considering travelling abroad for IVF, it’s a good idea to speak with a medical concierge, such as Medistella. They can help you choose the right country and clinic for your needs. Remember to include your travel costs to the overall costs of your treatment. You might find that the cost is comparable to IVF in the UK, but you get a ‘free’ holiday as well.
How Can You Pay for IVF?
No one wants to need IVF, and budgeting for this expensive treatment can be a daunting experience. Here are a few tips to help you save money and pay for your IVF.
Shop around – Of course, you want to make your final clinic choice based on their success rates, but that doesn’t mean you can’t comparison shop. Make a shortlist of your favourite clinics and ask them to give you a clear quote on what is included and what will be charged separately.
Travel abroad – As we mentioned above, travelling abroad for IVF can help you cut costs and afford treatments you couldn’t otherwise afford in the UK.
Enter contests – IVFBabble and other similar websites regularly run contests to win free cycles of IVF. You know the old saying – “if you don’t enter, you can’t win!” Make sure you enter as many contests as possible.
Crowdfunding – Many couples have success crowdfunding for their IVF treatment on platforms such as GoFundMe. Your friends, family, and even strangers might be moved by your story and willing to help you on your fertility journey.
