When your insurance does not cover fertility treatments the cost of self-paying for IVF can be very overwhelming. When we decided to try IVF we knew that we could only do one cycle – that’s all we could afford! When searching around for what it would truly cost (and it still ended up being higher than expected)I came across an intriguing option. My husband and I loved to travel and were selfishly upset that all of our savings that we had hoped to use for trips and treats in years to come was going to be used for just one IVF cycle. So, when I heard about IVF vacations I thought it was an excellent option. The opportunity to travel, to see another country, and to get an IVF cycle for half the price of what it would be at my clinic was certainly worthy of consideration.
The companies out there that coordinated the IVF vacations certainly offered attractive packages. They spoke of success rates similar to those at US clinics, highlighted the cost that even when including accommodations, airfare, and outside trips and sightseeing was lower than one cycle in the States, and touted the option as relaxing, effective, and easy. There are many pluses to the IVF vacation alternative. Most of the companies that are well established travel to Prague in the Czech Republic which is apparently a great tourist destination. The physicians at the IVF clinic speak English, although typically the nurses do not. The clinics in the Czech Repulic will treat women up to 50 years, and are equipped to handle most infertility scenarios. I must admit though that the most appealing aspect of IVF vacations is that it is affordable!
Proponents of IVF vacations will say that there aren’t that many negatives with the overseas options that aren’t prevalent in the United States as well. I do disagree somewhat. I think travelling overseas is inherently “stressful” and difficult and I don’t know what it would be like to add those stresses onto the ones already there when starting IVF (even though I do understand that the companies offering IVF vacations do a lot of translating and helping to make your stay easier). I think developing a relationship with your physician is beneficial and I don’t know that I am trusting enough to utilize on unknown doctor in a foreign country who has not done most of my testing and is not as familiar with my medical history. I think embryologists are a very important piece of the puzzle and do think that there is better success with Frozen Embryo Transfers here in the states and feel like the clinics here might have a leg up in efforts to cultivate and preserve embryos. I do find that it is easier to get information about US clinics, success rates and procedures and protocols.
Nevertheless, my list of pros and cons side by side are pretty much the same length and ultimately I think you just have to go with your gut and do what is best for you. For us that was staying in the United States and spending WAY TOO MUCH on an IVF cycle here just to somewhat alleviate my fears of the unknown that were magnified by using a foreign clinic. For you the answer just might be an IVF vacation and if so I really do think it is a great option and probably would have been our next step if our IVF cycle didn’t work. You can’t beat the price, and the descriptions of the area make me want to visit Prague just for the fun of it, no needles or monitoring involved!
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