8 ways to afford private IVF in the UK (2023)

WHEN DEALING WITH INFERTILITY, IT'S AMAZING HOW MANY UNHELPFUL, USELESS, OR ENTERTAINING SNARKY COMMENTS YOU HEAR FROM OTHERS.However, a contender for absolute worst is: "You say you're not sure how you're going to handle private IVF costs, but kids are expensive, you know. If you can't afford private IVF, how are you going to handle it when the baby comes?”

Well, you moron (I'm talking to them, not you, obvs), nobody pays for every single offspring-related expense in a lump sum at first, do they? It's not like we're all shelling out for school uniforms and clarinet lessons when they're still a fetus, right?

But with private fertility treatment, you often have to pay a large lump sum in a very short time. Just two IVF cycles can set you back £14,000 in a few months, and plenty of women work their way through many more cycles than that.

So there you go: that's one of the many blindingly obvious differences between being able to afford IVF and being able to afford a child.

So what do you do if you're not eligible for IVF treatment on the NHS but don't know how you can afford to go privately? In this article, I'll introduce you to some options you may not be aware of—options that allow you to save money, spread money, or both when paying for treatment.

Tip 1: Look for medicine

You don't have to get your medicine from the clinic that prescribed it - which means you can shop around for the best deal. One place to add to your price comparison list is Asda Pharmacy, which has an ongoing commitment to supply IVF drugs at cost:Asda maintains commitment to 'not for profit' IVF treatment nationwide. Bear in mind that Asda's "cost price" can be much higher than the "cost plus markup" at your clinic or local pharmacy, so make sure you do your research.

Tip 2: get a loan (but don't)

The only reason I mention loans is because people will get in touch and complain if I don't. I'm not advocating going into debt for IVF treatment, but of course that's your decision. You can get a regular bank loan, but there are also specialist IVF loans available now (which you can usually access through your fertility clinic). The IVF loans tend to be a little more expensive, but the advantage is that the loan company will usually coordinate everything with your fertility clinic - so you don't have to deal with a lot of admin.

Tip 3: research "baby or your money back" schemes

These schemes are offered by various clinics and have become more and more generous over the years. Be sure to read the fine print, and also remember that these schemes are most generous when they fail: if you get pregnant the first time, you may well have paid double the rate. The "risk" of getting pregnant the first time may well be worth it to you, but it's something to consider.

Tip 4: Take a closer look at egg division

Egg sharing is the option of donating some of your eggs to the private clinic where you are to have IVF, in exchange for a free or discounted treatment. Each clinic will have a number of criteria, but the result is that it can save you a lot of money. This option requires some deep thought before you say "yes", but if it's something that interests you, be sure to ask your chosen clinics if they offer it - and what their criteria are.

Tip 5: Look for a clinic

As I mention inarticle on the cost of fertility treatment, fertility clinics are free to set their own prices, meaning the same treatment can be significantly more expensive in one place compared to another down the street. (Percentage-wise it's probably not much, but in "pounds and pence" terms it seems quite a lot.)

However, be aware that different clinics have different ways of presenting the cost of treatment to you and you need to make sure you are making an accurate comparison. For example, it may appear that one clinic is much more expensive than another, but the first clinic may include elements such as consultations and medication in the price, whereas the second does not. Minearticle on the cost of fertility treatmentexplains how to compare costs across clinics. It is also important to know that some clinics are cheaper because they only accept "lighter" patients who are more likely to succeed - such as those under a certain age and weight.

I have researched whether higher priced clinics have better success rates, but this is a difficult topic to research: as mentioned above (and in more detail inthis article on success rates), different clinics have different entry criteria, which affects success rates. And of course there is not much difference between the success rates of most clinics anyway.

What Iable tosay with confidence, is that there seems to be no correlation between higher prices and higher customer satisfaction. There also seems to be no correlation between higher prices and location: central clinics (especially in London) are often more reasonable than remote/northern locations. There are a lot of potential reasons for this counterintuitive location/price issue, but I don't want to distract from the main takeaways: 1) different clinics in the same region can have significantly different prices; 2) you don't need to become a customer of the most expensive clinic to have the best chance of pregnancy success or the best experience.

Tip 6: Consider going abroad

Going abroad for treatment can be much cheaper - even for just one round, and even after factoring in flights and accommodation. I have not yet written an article about foreign fertility clinics, but it is on the to-do list!

Tip 7: Don't assume that all add-ons and supplements are worth it

CoQ10, DHEA, embryo glue, assisted hatching... sound familiar? If you can recite a bunch of add-ons and supplements off the top of your head, it's possible you're spending too much time on IVF message boards.

Dietary supplementsable tobe beneficial todecidedwomen sometimes. When used incorrectly or on the wrong patients, they can actually worsen your chances of getting pregnant—but not before making you go "Yeeeesh" at the price. Readthis herefor more about these supplements and whether they are worth it.

Meanwhile, additional treatments offered by clinics (such as, but not limited to, embryo glue and assisted hatching) are controversial and – for the most part – unproven.this articlecontains specific information about some of them (and I'll add more to the list as soon as I can).

Tip 8: double and triple check you areabsolutely determinednot eligible for IVF treatment

If you are over a certain age or you (or your partner) already have a child, it is unlikely that you will find a way to be treated on the NHS. But there are plenty of eligibility requirements that are more "grey" or easily misunderstood.

For example, one lady wrote to me saying she had used up her one free cycle of NHS treatment after her (admittedly substandard) treatment resulted in zero eggs in her follicles after they were retrieved. After being handed a sheet of paper that said "0 eggs collected" and large pencil strikeouts across the sections about the next stages (pretty insensitive!), she was informed that she would have to go private next time.

But uh, no. That is not correct.According to NICE, a full cycle involves transferring one or two embryos to the uterus — but this lady never reached that stage, so her treatment doesn't count as a full first cycle. Now… the NHS in England does nothairto follow NICE guidelines if it doesn't want to, but I don't think the clinic has chosen not to follow NICE guidelines. Instead, I'm sure someone just made a rash decision after looking at her notes.

She fought the decision with her CCG (clinical commissioning group: regional NHS organizations that deliver NHS services) with the support of her GP and has just been given funding for more NHS treatment!

So if you believe you have been wrongly refused IVF treatment on the NHS for any reason, fight your corner and see what happens.

Extra: which private IVF clinic is best?

I have written an article withadvice on how to choose a private IVF clinic.

And here is onelist of the best fertility clinics in the UK.