Infertility can be a shock to individuals and couples. The reaction to discovering that you or your partner may have difficulty conceiving a child is complicated, emotional and extremely personal. Once that has passed, the additional shock of learning how expensive fertility treatments and their medications can be becomes the next emotional hurdle. Infertility can affect all genders, and it is important to work with a reproductive medicine specialist that is thorough.
For our purposes, we are going to focus on female-factor infertility-addressing fertility problems for anyone with a uterus. (Note, infertility industry stats focus on female or male, men and women in their descriptions, but we know that infertility can affect anyone and we support all families.)
Infertility rates in women over 35 rise due to multiple factors. Aging increases diminished egg quality, and decreased ovarian reserve (how many eggs a woman has available), changes to ovulation, and if undiagnosed, long-term damage to the reproductive organs the can result from untreated gynecological conditions.
There are some conditions that are not related to a woman’s age that can also cause infertility, including physical malformations of the uterus, or endometriosis which can affect a woman as early as her first menstrual cycle.
You can discover more about infertility causes and risks at RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association here.
Infertility is generally defined as the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse, or after six months in women over age 35. In some cases, there are surgical treatments that can correct medical conditions and make it possible to have a successful pregnancy with or without IVF. However, IVF treatments often have a higher percentage of success when an underlying condition has been successfully treated first.
According to Forbes most recent update on IVF costs, “a single IVF cycle – defined as ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, and embryo transfer – can range from $15,000 to $30,000, depending on the center and the patient’s individual medication needs.”
This does not include costs for donor eggs or sperm, or for many couples, a surrogate. It is important to understand all of your options when discussing your plan with your IVF clinic. For example, you may consider using frozen donor eggs and storing them until you are ready to begin your cycle versus coordinating with a fresh donor that may not have a successful cycle.
Many clinics have packages for the number of treatments or for including donor gametes or surrogacy, or both.
As these options and their costs can be daunting, discussing financial options with your insurance company, and the providers may provide some workable solutions. Most clinics and donor banks have financial options to help you along your family building journey.
Unsuccessful infertility treatments are common, which means that this cycle and these costs may be repeated.
RESOLVE has been advocating for insurance coverage for fertility treatments for years, and their efforts are helping to move insurance companies to covering more services. As these plans generally run state-by-state, it’s a long, dedicated process that continues. There are also several resources on their website on Making Infertility Affordable that can help you navigate your options.
Men Having Babies provides guidance and resources to understand the entire process through their Gay Parenting Assistance Program from finding a clinic, choosing a donor, and working with a surrogate, and provides information on resources for legal and financial options.
Fairfax EggBank works closely with families to help them choose their perfect donor, and to provide multiple options for financing a cohort of eggs. We provide our costs up front and they are always current on our website under our Recipient Financing Options.
Intended parents work closely with our caring and experienced Client Relations Specialists who help through every step of the process.
Contact us today to reserve your perfect donor.
The benefits of frozen donor eggs vs fresh include lower costs, a guaranteed number of eggs, and frozen donor eggs are available on your schedule, which means you don’t have to worry about your donor not cycling, or having an unsuccessful retrieval. Learn more about the peace of mind of using frozen donor eggs.
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