My first reaction to this question was, yes of course I want cheap IVF, or cheap fertility treatment! We didn’t qualify for NHS funded IVF due to the postcode lottery and BMI here in the UK, so our only option was to save and self fund our fertility treatment.
Free would have been our first choice of course, but like for many others who don’t qualify for state funded treatment, this is not where we found ourselves!
Prices for IVF with ICSI, egg donation and other fertility treatments in places like the UK, Canada, America and Australia are so expensive.
We did explore having IVF in the UK at first as this is where we live and on that level it made sense, but the total costs for everything including testing and consultations was on average £10k a round. Seriously expensive.
I have to admit that before we had our consultations with fertility clinics here in the UK I presumed that their high costs automatically meant they would be the best, which actually was not our experience at all.
We spent around £1k on consultations with the fertility clinics only to feel like a number and one Doctor had not read our notes, not a good start and it’s safe to say that we did not go ahead with treatment in the UK.
I also knew that if we were to have treatment in the UK there would be no money for any further rounds of treatment should we need them, which we did of course as IVF is a numbers game and it took three rounds of donor embryo IVF treatment in Europe for us to have a baby. Thank goodness we made the decision to go abroad to the Czech Republic for our IVF treatment.
However I was skeptical, how can prices be so much lower elsewhere? What are the success rates like? Will the Doctor’s speak good English, Is it safe to have fertility treatment abroad? What is the donor welfare, recruitment and selection process like? Are the standards of care as good as in the UK? What about when you include everything needed like flights and accommodation, surely then the price would not still be lower?
And it’s good to be skeptical and ask questions to determine for yourself whether the destination and clinic you are considering meets your needs and is safe and a good fit for you, because these are the most important things along with if treatment fits within your budget and you need to make sure that corners are not being cut.
I believe that we should be looking for best value, rather than solely focussing on ‘cheap’ fertility treatment, something that works for your budget of course but that is safe, ethical and meets all your needs.
I am proof, however, along with the 100s of people I have helped globally as the go-to IVF abroad and fertility treatment mentor that you can pay less elsewhere and receive more value for your money all without compromising standards or safety, care, welfare and communication.
Love Emma xxx
If you are potentially interested in having fertility treatment abroad this year with my help to find best value, safe fertility testing and or treatment that meets your needs then please drop me an email on hello@yourivfabroad.co.uk with the words ‘THIS YEAR’ and lets chat to see how I can help you.