Cost effective IVF treatment

IVF represents the best chance for having a baby for most infertile couples. IVF treatment has a high success rate, and can be cost-effective, because it shortcuts time , so that instead of waiting for multiple cycles in order to get pregnant , one cycle of IVF maximizes the chance of conceiving. Even better , IVF allows us to bypass lots of hurdles which occur naturally , and is often the final common treatment pathway for many infertile couples .

The problem with IVF is that it's so expensive ! This is especially true in the US , where IVF treatment costs an arm and a leg . IVF  treatment in India is far cheaper, because even though we use the same equipment and have the same success rates, doctors in India charge much less than what US doctors . Because we can afford to do IVF treatment for a fraction of the cost of what it would cost in the US , lots of patients come to India for medical treatment.

Of course , one can't look at only the cost of the cycle - one needs to balance this with the success rate. Part of the problem is that sometimes patients are so focussed on getting the cheapest rate, that they end up going to the IVF clinic which also has the lowest success rate. When poorly informed IVF patients go doctor shopping , without knowing what the hallmarks of a high quality clinic are , they often get cheated, and end up receiving poor quality medical care. The focus should not just be on how much you're spending, but it on how cost-effective the care is !

Even if you "save" money by doing IVF at a low cost IVF center, and you then end up getting poor quality care , you're actually far worse off than when you started. Complaining afterwards that the clinic did not even you give you photos of your embryos does not help . Poor quality clinics usually provide poor quality documentation, and this is commonest complaint patients have about these low cost IVF clinics. Not only does poor care does not give you a baby , to add insult to injury , you end up frittering away your money , a little at a time.  Not only does this deplete your bank balance and prevent you from getting high quality IVF care at a better IVF clinic , it knocks your self-confidence down , and you lose faith in all IVF doctors. After all, if your experience with one IVF doctor is bad , you're not likely to trust any IVF doctor in the future !

The trick is not to go in for the cheapest IVF clinic, but to do your homework and find one which is cost-effective. This doesn't mean that the most expensive IVF clinic is the best either , and it's important for patients to find clinics which offer the right balance . This is why you need to do your homework , so that you can find clinics that offer reasonably priced IVF treatment, with a high success rate , allowing them to have the best of all possible worlds.

The important thing is not whether the IVF treatment is cheap , or what the cost of a single IVF cycle it. What you should really be looking at is the cost for a baby - how much does it cost for you to take a baby home? This is the most important figure , but it can be extremely hard to calculate this figure .
Finally, when you calculate cost , it can’t just be in terms of how much money you spend, but also how much time and  emotional energy you are investing in the pursuit to have a baby.

You need to find a clinic which offers cost-effective treatment , at a fair price , which maximizes your chance of getting pregnant because it provides personalized hands-on care , and respects you as an individual.

Want to find the right IVF clinic ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you better !