What is the price of assisted reproduction treatments?

The approximate cost of the main fertility treatments varies depending on each clinic and the specific needs of each patient. In addition, reproductive treatment budgets may also vary according to the services included and not included in the budget.

For this reason, it is always advisable to request an initial quote at the fertility clinic of interest to assess the services included and not included in each treatment. In addition, during the reproductive process, unforeseen events may arise that may change the final price of an assisted reproduction treatment.

In spite of this, fertility clinics do not usually provide estimates until the woman or couple has made a first visit and the specialists have a complete diagnosis to decide which type of treatment is most appropriate.

How much does a fertility treatment cost?

Assisted reproduction techniques have different prices depending on the country and state they are proposed. In this article, we will go over the average price in United States fertility centers.

The price difference is significant among the different treatments. For example, while artificial insemination (AI) can cost around 800-1,200$, the price of in vitro fertilization (IVF) can go up to 25.000 - 35.000$.

Prices of assisted reproduction treatments

On the other hand, these treatments may include complementary techniques that imply an increase in cost, so the needs of each patient must be taken into account when making a budget:

• Complementary fertility tests: hysterosalpingography, semen fragmentation analysis, genetic compatibility test, etc.
• Need for gamete donation: sperm or oocytes.
• Fertilization by ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection).
• Embryo culture in Embryoscope.
• Analysis of embryos by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).
• Vitrification of embryos for later use.
• Hormonal medication for ovarian stimulation or embryo transfer.

What can increase the price of fertility treatments?

Due to this great variability in costs, patients need to be properly oriented before starting treatment and obtain a personalized quote, i.e., tailored to their personal needs.

Price of artificial insemination (AI)

Artificial insemination is a very simple procedure that has an approximate price of between 800 and 1.200$, depending on the assisted reproduction center and the origin of the sperm, since the couple's own sperm or donor sperm can be used.

AI treatment costs typically include:

• Controls during ovarian stimulation
• Semen processing
• Intrauterine insemination

Occasionally, pregnancy testing by beta-hCG analysis is also included.

Cost of artificial insemination

We recommend that you read more about the cost of this fertility treatment in the following article: What is the price of artificial insemination?

With semen from the partner

Artificial insemination by husband (AIH) is the indicated treatment when the couple seeking pregnancy is young and does not have serious infertility problems.

The AI process does not require special instrumentation, anesthesia, or the use of the operating room to perform it. For all these reasons, AI is the most economical fertility treatment available.

However, it should be noted that hormonal medication for controlled ovarian stimulation and progesterone to prepare the endometrium are not usually included in the initial price.

You can get more information about this technique in the following post: What is artificial insemination by husband and how much does it cost?

With donor sperm

Artificial insemination by donor (AID), on the other hand, has an added cost due to the need to resort to sperm donation to have a child. However, the procedure for the recipient woman is the same as in the previous case.

The price of artificial insemination with donor sperm is between 1.200 and 2.000$. In addition to the services already mentioned, this budget includes:

• Medical and psychological tests performed on the sperm donor.
• Financial compensation for the sperm donor.
• Freezing, maintenance and thawing of semen at the time of use.

Price of artificial insemination with a donor

You have all the detailed information about this treatment in the following article: Donor Artificial Insemination or DAI

Price of AI drugs

In order to perform the insemination at the most appropriate time of the menstrual cycle, it is necessary to perform a gentle controlled ovarian stimulation that allows the maturation of one or two follicles in the ovaries.

For this, the woman will be administered a hormonal medication that must be purchased at the pharmacy, since it is almost never included in the price of the treatment.

The cost of hormonal drugs for AI is usually around 300-1.500$ approximately, depending on the recommended dosage in each case and the days of administration.

It is also possible to perform artificial insemination in a natural cycle, without stimulating the ovaries, in which case the hormonal medication will be cheaper and will only cost about 300$.

Cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF)

In vitro fertilization consists of the union of the ovum and the spermatozoon ex vivo, that is to say, in the laboratory; therefore, specialized personnel, culture media, and special incubators are required to carry it out.

This complexity is what mainly drives up the cost of IVF compared to AI.

In principle, there are two types of techniques for in vitro fertilization:

Conventional IVF

the egg and sperm are placed in a culture dish for natural fertilization to occur.

ICSI

the sperm is introduced into the egg by means of a complex system of microinjection, the handling of which requires a certain skill, special care, and great delicacy on the part of the embryologist.

In general, assisted reproduction clinics tend to use ICSI more and more because of its good results, so currently no extra charge is usually made for this technique, but it could happen in some centers.

Price of in vitro fertilization treatment

The price of an IVF-ICSI treatment is between 8.000 - 12.000$, which usually includes the following services:

• Controls during ovarian stimulation
• Follicular puncture for egg retrieval
• Semen training
• In vitro fertilization using conventional IVF or ICSI
• Embryo culture
• Embryo Transfer

It is important to keep in mind that pregnancy does not always occur on the first attempt and that there are usually embryos left over after the first transfer.

Therefore, it is advisable to inquire about the cost of embryo vitrification, frozen embryo transfer, etc. Sometimes the cost of embryo vitrification is included in the initial budget.

On the other hand, if the couple requires gamete donation (eggs and/or sperm) or some other complementary technique, such as PGD, the price of the treatment will be higher.

Price of IVF hormones

As with AI, the cost of hormonal drugs for IVF is not usually included in the price of treatment.

These medications are purchased at the pharmacy and are slightly more expensive, as the hormone dose required for ovarian stimulation is higher. In total, they can cost around 600-1,100$.

The goal is to retrieve about 8-10 eggs from the ovary to have a good number of embryos and increase the likelihood of successful treatment.

If you want to know what these drugs are and the price of each one of them, you can access the following link: Medications used in controlled ovarian stimulation.

DGP Price

PGD is an additional technique that can be performed during IVF treatment in order to analyze embryos genetically.

Specifically, this technique is indicated for women over 40 years of age, whose eggs can accumulate mutations in their genetic material, and for cases of genetic diseases transmissible to offspring.

PGD is a very complex and delicate process, so its cost is quite high. In general, it involves an additional $3,000-4,000 for the IVF-ICSI procedure to cover the following requirements:

• Day 3 or day 5 blastomere biopsy
• Genetic analysis of the embryonic cell(s) obtained
• Vitrification and devitrification of embryos in case you have to wait for results

Price of IVF with PGD

In total, the cost that patients needing IVF-ICSI treatment with PGD will have to assume is about 25.000 - 30.000$.

In addition, it must be taken into account that from a certain number of embryos to be studied, there is an increase in the price of the treatment.

IVF with sperm donation

In the case of having to resort to sperm donation, either because the male has a severe male factor or because the female has no male partner, the price of IVF will be increased, as in the case of AI.

Therefore, IVF treatment with sperm donation usually costs between 12.000 - 20.000$.

Price of IVF treatments with sperm donation

In the case of lesbian couples, there is a variant of in vitro fertilization treatment called the Reciprocal IVF Method (Reception of Oocytes from the Partner).

The Reciprocal IVF Method consists of obtaining the eggs from one of the women, fertilizing them with the sperm of a donor, and, finally, transferring the best quality embryos to the second woman, who will gestate the baby.

In fact, the Reciprocal IVF Method has the same procedure as a normal IVF, but with the particularity that both women participate in the arrival of their future child. Therefore, its price is more or less the same as that of IVF with sperm donation, between 12.000 - 20.000$.

Price of ovodonation

IVF treatment with egg donation has undergone several changes in recent years.

Due to the scarcity of women willing to donate their eggs, assisted reproduction clinics have been forced to design different egg donation modalities so that the process can be optimized without decreasing success rates.

While in the past it was more common to perform fresh egg donation treatment with an exclusive donor, nowadays it is more common to use frozen eggs from a shared donation.

Egg Donor IVF Treatment Prices

Below, we discuss both types of egg donation and their prices:

Exclusive Ovodonation

Exclusive egg donation is the one in which the recipient obtains all the eggs extracted from the donor to perform in vitro fertilization.

Since the egg donors are young women, the number of oocytes obtained in the follicular puncture is quite high, between 10 and 15 eggs.

The price of exclusive ovodonation is between 20.000 - 40.000$ and includes the following services:

• Controls during donor ovarian stimulation
• Donor follicular puncture
• Medical and psychological testing of the donor
• Financial compensation for the donor
• Sperm processing for IVF
• In vitro fertilization
• Embryo culture
• Embryo transfer to the recipient

Services included in the exclusive ovodonation cost

In addition, the recipient woman will need to purchase hormonal medication to prepare the endometrium, which usually consists of progesterone eggs and estradiol patches. These drugs are not included in the initial budget.

Shared egg donation

Shared egg donation, also known as miniovodonation, is one in which all the oocytes obtained from the donor are shared among 2 or 3 recipient women.

In this way, the cost of ovodonation is reduced and it is more accessible to a greater number of patients.

The following are the prices for miniovodonation depending on the number of eggs received:

Donation of 4 eggs

between 20.000 - 28.000$

Donation of 6 eggs

between 22.000 - 30.000$

Donation of 8 eggs

between 25.000 - 35.000$

What does the price of shared egg donation depend on?

Double gamete donation

Possibly, IVF treatment with double gamete donation is one of the most expensive, since the recipient woman or couple needs both donor sperm and eggs to achieve pregnancy.

For more information about this assisted reproduction procedure, you can continue reading here: IVF with egg and sperm donation.

Embryo adoption price

A cheaper alternative to double gamete donation is embryo adoption. This treatment consists of transferring to the recipient woman embryos that have been donated by other couples, mainly because they have already had children and do not need to use these surplus embryos.

Since the costs of the embryo adoption procedure are much lower (no ovarian stimulation, no follicular puncture, and no financial compensation to donors), its price is more economical, between 8.000 - 10.000$.

How much does embryo adoption cost?

This price usually includes the controls to make the endometrial preparation to the recipient woman, the devitrification of the donated embryos, and their transfer to the uterus.

On the other hand, as in ovodonation, hormone medication is not usually included, so the patient will have to buy it in a pharmacy and pay between 200-300$.

FAQs from users

Why is double donation more expensive than embryo adoption?

Double gamete donation consists of performing IVF using gametes from an oocyte donor and a sperm donor. The cost of the whole process is usually high due to all the tests and evaluations and selection work behind the search for the right donors for each couple or patient.

Embryo adoption is a process in which a couple or patient is assigned an already generated embryo that comes from other couples who have previously undergone reproductive treatment and who have donated them for reproductive purposes. These embryos must meet the same requirements that the law requires for donors, however, the cost is usually much cheaper, since the process of embryo generation does not exist (they are already made) and the process of allocation and search is less.
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How much does an in vitro treatment cost?

It will depend on the needs of each patient. If in vitro fertilization does not require donor sperm or eggs, the price in Spain is between €3,500 and €5,500, to which must be added the cost of medication, which will be around €600-1,100.

What is the price of an egg donor treatment?

In order to use donor eggs, it is necessary to perform in vitro fertilization. If sperm donation is not also required, an IVF treatment with egg donation costs between €4,500 and €9,000 in Spain.

How much does artificial insemination cost in the United States?

In the United States, the average price of an artificial insemination treatment with the partner's sperm is around $800. If donor sperm is needed, it will be approximately 500-600€ higher.

What is the price of egg freezing?

Egg vitrification costs between approximately 2,500 and 4,000 euros. However, there may be differences in the price of egg freezing from one fertility clinic to another and depending on the services included in the estimate.

In addition, it is important to know that hormonal medication for ovarian stimulation is not usually included in the price of oocyte vitrification, as is the maintenance of the frozen eggs. Therefore, it would be necessary to add to the cost of vitrification about 1,000 euros of medication and 300-400 euros per year for the maintenance of the eggs.

Recommended readings

If you wish to obtain more information about the different fertility treatments, we invite you to visit the following article: Assisted reproduction techniques: differences and complexity.