IVF Cost Worldwide

Infertility, the inability to have children affects one in every seven

couples of fertile age. The infertility rate is increasing as a result of
increased stress, competitive work environment, hectic and fast paced
imbalanced lifestyle, urbanization, environmental toxins, delayed
marriage and prolonged family planning.
If you and your partner have been experiencing difficulty getting pregnant, one
thing that may have crossed your mind is the cost of infertility treatment. When it

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comes to female and male infertility, a couple’s main concern is usually the odds
of getting pregnant associated with a specific type of fertility treatment. However,

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the costs of fertility treatment, including fertility tests and IVF costs, can pose a
barrier for couples seeking help getting pregnant.

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Are you trying to get pregnant but have been told you need IVF?
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Considering the financial options available to you and your partner when it comes
to fertility treatments. You prepare yourself financially when seeking assisted
reproductive technology methods to help treat infertility, if you have idea of Cost
of fertility Treatment worldwide.

Do you have to bear the IVF cost yourselves? Have you been searching for a quick
resource that compares the IVF cost around the world? Well now it’s here! Finding
a list of the IVF costs worldwide for informed decisions on where you can get cost
effective treatment is very difficult – I know I’ve been trying and failed! So I
decided to compile one for you. Here are the results – the only up-to-date list of
worldwide IVF costs on the internet. This article addresses three areas:

1. The costs that are incurred for any one IVF cycle
2. A comparison of the basic IVF treatment cost across the globe.
3. An estimate of the total basic IVF cost to get pregnant according to age and
country based on average success rates.

The first thing you need to understand is how the total cost of an IVF cycle is made
up. During any particular cycle the costs will include:

• Initial consultation (can be 6% to 10% of the basic IVF treatment cost).

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• Basic IVF Treatment (varies by country as outlined in Table 1) Usually
includes doctor’s fees for egg collection and embryo transfer, embryologist’s

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fees for intro fertilisation, anaesthetics, ultrasound scans, theatre charges.

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• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (can be 28% to 40% of the basic IVF
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treatment cost) Creation of embryos by direct injection of sperm into egg,
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procedure used for male infertility but increasingly common in standard
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IVF.
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• Hormonal drugs (can be 20% to 80% of the basic IVF treatment cost)
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Precise cost will depend on which drugs are prescribed for stimulating the
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ovaries. A Times Body & Soul survey also found high variation in prices
charged by pharmacists.
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• Embryo freezing Sometimes included in the basic IVF cost. Other clinics
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can charge up to 20% of the basic IVF treatment cost, plus around 10% of
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the basic IVF cost per year for storage and between 20% and 100% of the
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basic IVF treatment cost for later thawing and transfer.

• Other investigations Immunological therapies: can be upto 50% of the

basic IVF treatment cost. Preimplantation genetic screening, to pick the best
embryos: can be 55% to 120% of the basic IVF treatment cost. Both
procedures are offered by a few clinics, though there is little published
evidence that they are effective.

• Regulatory fee (dependant on the country) can be 4% to 5% of the basic

IVF treatment cost. Charged separately by some clinics and rolled into the
general cost by others.
This IVF cost information was according to The Times, January 10, 2008 – to give
an indication of how these will affect the total IVF cost around the world the
figures, which originally were for UK clinics, have been converted into
percentages of the basic IVF treatment cost, and it has been assumed that the
percentages will be similar across the globe. Please note that if you, for example,
purchase your homonal drugs in a different country to where you have your IVF
treatment then the percentage will not be an accurate reflection of costs. The major
extra cost on top of the basic IVF treatment cost that everybody has to bear is the
hormonal drugs. The amount of hormonal drugs that are required depend upon
your:

• age;

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• length of infertility, and
• physical condition of your uterus and endometrium (uterine lining)

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Understanding what makes up the IVF cost is important, and a great resource for

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this, and how to select a clinic can be found here. Bearing in mind what makes up
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the IVF cost we can now look at the basic IVF treatment cost across the world. It
was very difficult to find comparative IVF cost figures from around the world.
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After much searching I realised that such a resource did not exist. As a start I took
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some figures from an article in Human Reproductive Update, Vol.8 No.3, 2002,
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An international survey of the health economics of IVF and ICSI by John A.

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Collins. The article had determined IVF costs for 26 countries for 2002. Taking an
average inflation rate in healthcare expenditure of 3.5% I have used their figures to
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project these IVF costs forward and give estimates for 2008 and 2009 – these can
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be seen in Table 1 – all costs have been converted to US$. I then searched the
internet and made some personal enquiries to find actual IVF costs now – August
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2008. It was not possible to find costs for all 26 countries (although I am still
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trying!) on the original list from John A. Collins, however I did find the costs for
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countries that were not on the list. All these costs can be seen on Table 1 - all costs
have been converted to US$. To understand the costs that I found there are a few
notes that you should bear in mind:

• Some of the costs include medication (hormonal drugs) whilst others do not.
If the comments column does not indicate whether medication is included or
not then I was unable to ascertain if it was included – I will need to make
more enquiries.
• If there is no figure in the “upper cost” column then the results are only
based on one clinic. I had no way of knowing if this would be a cheap or an
expensive clinic for that country, but it is a cost that can be achieved there.
 • If both an upper and lower cost is given then prices for at least two clinics
were obtained – again this does not reflect the cheapest and most expensive
clinic for that country but the lowest and highest IVF cost that I found.
• Even when the cost of medication is given in the comment column, or
included in the cost, it must be noted that this can vary according to age and
the infertility problem that you have.

Although currently there are still a lot of gaps in the table please keep checking my
blog as I intend to continue with this research. A typical treatment cost
approximately for your reference only and can vary from place to place and clinic
to clinic.

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TABLE 1: IVF Cost per cycle Worldwide

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All costs have been converted to US$.

Country
Projected Cost per
Cycle
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Actual figures found
in August 2008 Comments
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Lower Upper
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2008 2009 cost cost

Argentina $4,160 excluding medication
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Australia $5,200 $7,000 including medication

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Austria $3,600
Canada $5,571 $5,766 $4,300 +2900 medication
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China $2,345 $2,428 $2,400

Czech
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Republic $2,500 $3,000

Denmark $4,613 $4,775 $4,000 $9,000
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Dominican
Republic $8,300
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Finland $3,157 $3,267 - -

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Greece $4,300 excluding medication

Hong Kong $7,819 $8,093 $10,000 including medication
Hungary $2,200 + $1,500 medication
Iceland $4,856 $5,026 - -
India $3,128 $3,238 $690 $1,800
Indonesia $4,692 $4,856 - -
Iran $1,564 $1,618 $5,200
Israel $4,692 $4,856 - -
Italy $5,318 $5,504 $3,150
Japan $3,910 $4,047 - -
Jordan $2,345 $2,428 - -
Kenya $5,000
Korea $1,721 $1,781 $1,600 $3,600
 Latvia $2,500 excluding medication
Lebanon $6,256 $6,475 - -
Lithuania $3,500
Malaysia $7,037 $7,284 $3,400 $4,600
Netherlands $2,510 $2,598 - - Not possible privately
Norway $4,370 $4,523 $3,200
Pakistan $1,564 $1,618 - -
Portugal $4,000 excluding medication
Qatar $2,800
Russia $3,400 excluding medication
Saudi Arabia $6,256 $6,475 - -
Singapore $7,037 $7,284 $6,300 $10,000
South Africa $3,000 including medication
Spain $5,600

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Sweden $5,099 $5,277 $8,000
Switzerland $3,700 $4,900 excluding medication
Taiwan $4,692 $4,856 - -

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Thialand $3,910 $4,047 $3,000 $5,000

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Turkey $3,000 +$1,600 medication
UK $3,632 $3,760 $7,500 $15,000 Range given by HFEA
Ukraine
USA $11,736 $12,146
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$10,000 $15,000
excluding medication
including medication
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Having found the basic IVF cost you have to realise that this will not be the total cost that you
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will pay in order to have a successful pregnancy through IVF. IVF success rates depend on a
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number of factors including:

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• Age;
• Number of embryos replaced, and
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• Cause of infertility.
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The HFEA (Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority) gives the average success rates from
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2005 for each age group as:

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• 29.6% for women under 35 years old;

• 23.6% for women aged 35 – 37 years old;
• 18.2% for women aged 38 – 39 years old;
• 10.0% for women aged 40 – 42 years old;
• 3.2% for women aged 43 – 44 years old;
• 0.8% for women aged over 44 years.

Using these figures I have calculated the average total IVF cost for each age group in
each country. These can be seen in Table 2.
 TABLE 2: Average Total IVF Cost Worldwide

All costs have been converted to US$.

Age of the woman Under 35 35 – 37 38 – 39 40 – 42 43 – 44 Over 44

Average IVF
success rate 29.6% 23.6% 18.2% 10.0% 3.2% 0.8%
Average no. of
cycles required to
pregnancy 3.4 4.2 5.5 10.0 31.3 125.0
Argentina $ 14,054 $ 17,627 $ 22,857 $ 41,600 $ 130,000 $ 520,000
Australia $ 17,568 $ 22,034 $ 28,571 $ 52,000 $ 162,500 $ 650,000
Austria $ 12,162 $ 15,254 $ 19,780 $ 36,000 $ 112,500 $ 450,000
Canada $ 14,527 $ 18,220 $ 23,626 $ 43,000 $ 134,375 $ 537,500
China $ 8,108 $ 10,169 $ 13,187 $ 24,000 $ 75,000 $ 300,000
Czech Republic $ 8,446 $ 10,593 $ 13,736 $ 25,000 $ 78,125 $ 312,500

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Denmark $ 13,514 $ 16,949 $ 21,978 $ 40,000 $ 125,000 $ 500,000
Finland $ 10,665 $ 13,376 $ 17,345 $ 31,567 $ 98,648 $ 394,591
Greece $ 14,527 $ 18,220 $ 23,626 $ 43,000 $ 134,375 $ 537,500

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Hong Kong $ 33,784 $ 42,373 $ 54,945 $ 100,000 $ 312,500 $1,250,000
Hungary $ 7,432 $ 9,322 $ 12,088 $ 22,000 $ 68,750 $ 275,000

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Iceland $ 16,404 $ 20,574 $ 26,679 $ 48,556 $ 151,736 $ 606,945
India $ 2,331 $ 2,924 $ 3,791 $ 6,900 $ 21,563 $ 86,250
Indonesia
Iran
$ 15,852
$ 17,568
$ 19,882
$ 22,034
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$ 25,781
$ 28,571
$ 46,921
$ 52,000
$ 146,627 $ 586,508
$ 162,500 $ 650,000
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Israel $ 15,852 $ 19,882 $ 25,781 $ 46,921 $ 146,627 $ 586,508
Italy $ 10,642 $ 13,347 $ 17,308 $ 31,500 $ 98,438 $ 393,750
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Japan $ 13,210 $ 16,569 $ 21,485 $ 39,103 $ 122,196 $ 488,783

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Jordan $ 7,924 $ 9,938 $ 12,887 $ 23,454 $ 73,294 $ 293,177

Kenya $ 16,892 $ 21,186 $ 27,473 $ 50,000 $ 156,250 $ 625,000
Korea $ 5,405 $ 6,780 $ 8,791 $ 16,000 $ 50,000 $ 200,000
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Latvia $ 8,446 $ 10,593 $ 13,736 $ 25,000 $ 78,125 $ 312,500

Lebanon $ 21,134 $ 26,507 $ 34,372 $ 62,557 $ 195,490 $ 781,960
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Lithuania $ 11,824 $ 14,831 $ 19,231 $ 35,000 $ 109,375 $ 437,500

Malaysia $ 11,486 $ 14,407 $ 18,681 $ 34,000 $ 106,250 $ 425,000
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Netherlands $ 8,480 $ 10,636 $ 13,792 $ 25,101 $ 78,442 $ 313,767

Norway $ 10,811 $ 13,559 $ 17,582 $ 32,000 $ 100,000 $ 400,000
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Pakistan $ 5,282 $ 6,625 $ 8,591 $ 15,636 $ 48,863 $ 195,452

Portugal $ 13,514 $ 16,949 $ 21,978 $ 40,000 $ 125,000 $ 500,000
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Qatar $ 9,459 $ 11,864 $ 15,385 $ 28,000 $ 87,500 $ 350,000

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Russia $ 11,486 $ 14,407 $ 18,681 $ 34,000 $ 106,250 $ 425,000

Saudi Arabia $ 21,134 $ 26,507 $ 34,372 $ 62,557 $ 195,490 $ 781,960
Singapore $ 21,284 $ 26,695 $ 34,615 $ 63,000 $ 196,875 $ 787,500
South Africa $ 10,135 $ 12,712 $ 16,484 $ 30,000 $ 93,750 $ 375,000
Spain $ 18,919 $ 23,729 $ 30,769 $ 56,000 $ 175,000 $ 700,000
Sweden $ 27,027 $ 33,898 $ 43,956 $ 80,000 $ 250,000 $1,000,000
Switzerland $ 12,500 $ 15,678 $ 20,330 $ 37,000 $ 115,625 $ 462,500
Taiwan $ 15,852 $ 19,882 $ 25,781 $ 46,921 $ 146,627 $ 586,508
Thialand $ 10,135 $ 12,712 $ 16,484 $ 30,000 $ 93,750 $ 375,000
Turkey $ 10,135 $ 12,712 $ 16,484 $ 30,000 $ 93,750 $ 375,000
UK $ 25,338 $ 31,780 $ 41,209 $ 75,000 $ 234,375 $ 937,500
Ukraine $ 21,959 $ 27,542 $ 35,714 $ 65,000 $ 203,125 $ 812,500
USA $ 33,784 $ 42,373 $ 54,945 $ 100,000 $ 312,500 $1,250,000
The chance of a pregnancy through IVF is increased if more embryos are replaced. The more
embryos that are replaced the greater the chances of a multiple birth, since each embryo has a
chance of developing to full term. Since multiple births is the single greatest risk to health in IVF
the HFEA in the UK have imposed restrictions on the number of embryos that can be transferred
in IVF to a maximum of two for women under the age of 40 and a maximum of three for women
aged 40 or over who are using their own eggs (if you are using donated eggs the maximum is
two).

In India, however, these restrictions do not apply and six or seven embryos can be replaced at
any one cycle, hence increasing the chances of pregnancy but also increasing the risks.

To date I do not have details of the legal limits in all of the countries, however if you keep
checking my IVF Cost blog I do intend to continue with this research. The cause of infertility is
very specific to you. It is not an area which I will address at the moment. Having an estimate of

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the total IVF cost in each country now puts you in a position to be able to make an informed
decision on the best country to focus on for your IVF treatment.

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India appears very good options and clearly comes out as the cheapest country on IVF cost.

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India also has the benefit of a vast amount of experience – they were the second country in
the world to have a successful pregnancy with IVF, only a couple of month after the UK in
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1978. In India many of the doctors have been trained and have practiced in the West and
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are fluent in English.
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Success rates at Rotunda-The Center for Human Reproduction

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Cycle Pregnancy Rate

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Self Cycles < 36yrs 42.90%

Self Cycles ≥ 36yrs
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31.25%
Donor egg Cycles 55.10%
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Surrogacy with Self Eggs < 36yrs 51.50%

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Surrogacy with Self Eggs ≥ 36yrs 48.27%

Surrogacy with Donor eggs 58.19%