In-vitro fertilization, also known as IVF, is one of the most used and trusted modern fertility procedures, having been present in the medical field for years now. The treatment involves the process of creating an embryo externally from the uterus of the female, after which the formed embryo is implanted within the mother's womb after a number of days.
Each year, in the United States alone, more than 40,000 IVF babies are added up to the population. But to undergo the IVF treatment, one has to spend more than the usual dollars for a single cycle.
The cost of IVF varies depending on the circumstances and particular cases. But the typical cost of an IVF procedure is $12,000, but can possibly reach as much as $20,000. Though there are offers reaching as low as $10,000, but the coverage is limited. All of the prices aforementioned are for a single IVF cycle.
Coverage of IVF
One has to know the package and the coverage that comes with the price. If a fertility clinic informs you that the cost of IVF for a single cycle is less than $10,000, they could not have included some items in their quote. Go over the given quote and ask them if the coverage includes everything. These consist of purchases of fertility medications and drugs, costs of monitoring and ultrasound procedures, blood tests and examinations, and other medical options.
For a cheaper package, one can use the frozen embryo from the previous IVF cycle. This procedure is significantly more affordable compared to doing a complete cycle of IVF to make use of fresh embryos. It will only cost about $3,000 for the frozen embryo transfer, or better known as FET.
Additional Costs for IVF
Add-ons on the cost of IVF may come when there is a need for specialized and assisted reproductive medications and technology. These will incur higher costs as they are not part of the basic quotation. Embryo freezing, ICSI treatment and PGD procedure are some procedures that require additional costs.
The genetic testing of embryos, or better known as PGD, costs around $3,000. ICSI treatment, a laboratory procedure involving direct injection of a single sperm into the egg, will add up to the cost of IVF. This measure ranges from a thousand dollars to $2,000 and may come even more. The process of freezing the embryo, which includes the initial laboratory storage and freezing, may necessitate additional hundreds of dollar.
Opting for an egg donor will yield a higher price ranging from $25,000 to $30,000 for a single cycle of IVF. Using sperm donor is way cheaper as it costs $200 to $3,000 only, hence making the total cost of IVF between $13,000 and $17,000 for every cycle.
The cheapest among the donor options is embryo donation. This option is more affordable than the basic cycle of IVF. The cost of this particular procedure is from $5,000 to $10,000 only.
Specialized procedures may not really be necessities for the basic IVF treatment. Generally, they come as options that you may like to consider or as medical recommendations from the fertility experts. When you decide to make use of them, cost of IVF will increase accordingly.