What Is the Average Cost of IVF In the USA?

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the assisted reproduction treatments with a higher cost due to its complexity, technology and hormonal medication required to carry it out.

However, the price of IVF can vary greatly depending on the fertility clinic and various parameters such as the following: necessary complementary techniques, freezing of left-over embryos, use of donor gametes, etc

Therefore, it is essential that all patients who are about to undergo IVF study the budget provided by the clinic and know more accurately what in vitro fertilization may cost.

How much is IVF?

Currently, the price of in vitro fertilization is situated around $10,000-15,000 in the U.S.

As we have said, this price depends greatly on the assisted reproduction clinic and the services included in the initial budget.

In general, all IVF treatments include the following steps:

• Hormonal analysis and ultrasound control for ovarian stimulation
• Follicular punction or ovum-pick up for egg retrieval
• Male sperm capacitation
• Fertilization of eggs with sperm using the conventional technique or ICSI
• Culture and evaluation of embryos in the laboratory
• Embryo transfer

What's included in the IVF cost?

Hormonal medication is almost never included in this budget, as prices vary greatly depending on the drug and the indication of each patient. Therefore, to the cost of IVF, we have to add some $3,500-$5,000 more for fertility medication.

What makes the treatment more expensive?

Undoubtedly, the main reasons why IVF treatment ends up being more expensive than originally budgeted for are the diagnostic tests and complementary techniques required to optimize the process.

These are applied or not depending on each case and its indications. However, patients should be aware that the more tests and complementary techniques used, the greater the IVF success rates will be.

Diagnostic testing

Knowing the causes of infertility is essential to determine the most appropriate assisted reproduction treatment to achieve pregnancy.

Depending on the center, the first consultation of the couple may cost between $200 and $400. Ultrasound, blood tests, and semen analysis are charged extra and each of the tests may cost from as little as $100 to as much as $500.

Costs of basic fertility testing

However, sometimes it is not enough to perform a semen analysis, an ultrasound scan for women, and the respective hormone analyses.

There are more complex diagnostic tests to find out the exact reason for the infertility and to be able to more closely approximate the strategy to be followed. However, these tests have an additional cost that patients should know:

Karyotype

This is an analysis of the chromosomes and their structure to detect possible alterations. Its average price is situated at $11,000.

Hysteroscopy

is a test to visualize the inside of the uterus and detect possible malformations or lesions in the endometrium. Without surgery, hysteroscopy can cost between $700 and $3,500.

ERA testing

is an endometrial receptivity test. It consists of obtaining a sample of the endometrium by means of a biopsy and analysing its characteristics to find out whether or not it is receptive. It is usually charged with $850.

Sperm FISH

This is a genetic analysis of the spermatozoa specifically and costs approximately $380 on average.

Sperm DNA fragmentation test

is a test to evaluate the quality of sperm DNA and is part of the advanced semen analysis that costs between $290 (out-of-pocket) and $580 (insurance list price).

Testicular biopsy

When it is not possible to obtain sperm from semen, testicular tissue is biopsied. The cost of a testicular biopsy range from $2,500 to $5,600.

Thrombophilia testing

is indicated in cases of implantation failure and repeated miscarriages.

Sperm antibody study

also for cases of implantation failure and recurrent abortion.

Before carrying out any of these tests, it is very important to be well informed and ask about possible insurance coverage, fertility financing, or discount programs.

Complementary techniques

As far as the complementary techniques of IVF are concerned, we will explain what they consist of and what their approximate cost is below:

Blastocyst culture

the embryo transfer can be done with 3 or 5 day old embryos. The more evolved they are, the greater the implanting potential, but this has also an added cost.

Time-Lapse embryo culture

it is an incubator with a built-in camera that allows evaluating the embryos in all its stages since a video of all its development is obtained. However, this method adds up to the overall costs of IVF.

Sperm selection

spermatozoa for fertilization are usually selected by capacitation or by observation under the microscope in the case of ICSI. However, there are other additional techniques that allow a better selection, but that have an added cost: MACS, IMSI, PICSI, etc.

Assisted Hatching

consists of making a hole in the zona pellucida of the embryos to facilitate their exit and implantation. The technique costs about 200 euros, although it depends mainly on the number of embryos to be drilled.

Embryo vitrification

freezing of embryos for preservation is usually necessary for almost all IVF cycles, as it is common for there to be surplus embryos that are not transferred. Being able to vitrify them for future attempts allows the process to be optimized so that the woman does not have to go through ovarian stimulation and puncture. Its cost is at approximately $6,000-$20,000.

complementary techniques in ivf

As you can see, the cost of IVF is usually not what is initially specified in the budget, but all the tests and techniques required for each type of patient must be added together.

Gamete donation and genetic studies

In addition to all the complementary techniques mentioned, there are other factors or requirements that make in vitro fertilization treatment much more expensive.

We refer to gamete donation and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

When a man or woman cannot use their own sperm or eggs to have children, they will have to resort to assisted reproduction treatments with a gamete donor and this comes at an additional price:

IVF with donor sperm

with an additional cost from $200 to $3,000, sperm donation does not usually make IVF treatment very expensive.

IVF with egg donor

A wide range of prices can be found here that are more expensive than IVF, as the cost of egg donation depends on many factors. However, the approximate price may increase to $30,0000 per cycle.

IVF with embryo donation

if a woman or couple needs embryo donation, the price of this treatment will be between approximately $5,000 and $7,000.

As for PGD, this embryo genetics testing costs another $4,000 to $10,0000 so the final price of IVF with PGD can result in $20,000-$25,000.

Price of IVF with frozen eggs

IVF with frozen or vitrified eggs is a variant of IVF using eggs that the woman has frozen in the past.

The reasons may be different, either because the patient went through cancer treatment or because she wanted to postpone motherhood and decided to preserve her fertility.

When this patient wants to become pregnant using these eggs, they must be thawed and fertilized to create the embryos. The cost of the whole process can be around $7,000 to $12,000 and doesn't include medication or storage.

As can be seen, this price is cheaper than that of IVF because the patient does not have to undergo ovarian stimulation and follicular puncture, as these were done in the past.

IVF process with frozen eggs

Costs of frozen embryo transfer

Similarly, if patients have frozen embryos from another IVF cycle it is not necessary to go through the whole process again to make a new embryo transfer.

The treatment consists of preparing the woman's endometrium and, at the most appropriate time, thawing the embryo or embryos for transfer.

This procedure is charged with $3,000 - $5,000 on average and usually includes endometrial growth controls, embryo diversification, and embryo transfer.

Get more information here: Frozen Embryo Transfer.

FAQs from users

How much does an IVF cycle cost?

This depends on the necessities of each patient. If in vitro fertilization is performed without sperm or egg donation the cost in the U.S. is between $10,000 and $15,000 to which you have to add up costs for medication which can make for another $5,000.

How much does a fertility treatment with egg donation cost?

In order to use donor eggs, in vitro fertilization is necessary. Provided no sperm donor is required, an egg donation IVF costs between $25,000 to $30,000 in the U.S.

How much is artificial insemination in the U.S.?

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

Suggested for you

If you are interested in knowing in detail the prices of other fertility treatments, I recommend you to continue reading the following article: Overview of the Main Costs of Fertility Treatments.

The cost of the techniques is a determining factor when choosing a fertility clinic. If you want to know what other factors are important and what you have to take into account, read on here: How Do I Choose the Right Fertility Clinic?