IVF Medication: Why So Costly?
The advancement in healthcare technology and fertility treatments has come a far way and is doing magics in the lives of childless couples who have been struggling to conceive.
According to the research studies, over 8 million IVF babies are born per year and about 2 million Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) are carried in India.
Due of the rising IVF success rates in India, the demand for these treatments is also high. But a significant question regarding fertility treatments that strike a couple’s mind when they plan of undergoing IVF treatment in India is - 'what is the cost of IVF treatment'.
According to Dr Madhuri Roy, Chief IVF Consultant & Medical Director, Conceive IVF, Pune, "Cost depends on three factors - first complexity of diagnosed infertility (low, medium and high) which determines the second factor 'treatment method', used from simple (IUI) to precise (ICSI/IVF, Laparo/Hysteroscopy, assisted Hatching) to complex (surrogacy) and third factor - number of cycle to achieve successful dream baby."
"Some lucky couple may get success in first attempt of IUI, costing only Rs 8,000, however some with medium to high complexity might have to go for IVF and number of cycles which costs Rs 1.5 lakhs per IVF cycle," Dr Roy informs.
Cost involved in IVF treatment?
Usually, the charges for IVF treatment in India is somewhere between Rs 60,000 and Rs 80,000, inclusive of medicines. Although, in reality, most of the couples have to spend above Rs 5 lakh on IVF treatment and procedures because of the need for various rounds of IVF cycles.
For couple with no chance of success, Dr Roy says, "there is last option of surrogacy costing Rs 10-15 lakh till the dream of baby is achieved." "Besides above, typical IVF cycle cost include diagnostics tests and medications/trigger injections," she adds.
IVF treatment cost in Government Hospitals
In addition to private hospitals, government hospitals too offer IVF treatment. Though the rate of success is only 15 per cent (approximately), they offer affordable IVF in India.
Further, government hospitals might be crowded, system a bit slow, doctors a bit rude but the quality of treatment is fine as doctors are much experienced. They can conduct a normal IVF in about Rs 70,000 to 1 lakh (inclusive of all the tests etc).
Common factors influencing the IVF treatment cost:
Location - The IVF treatment cost in India strongly depends on the location. This means that the cost of IVF medication in Mumbai would be much higher than the cost of IVF treatment in Meerut. It is due to these vast differences in the cost of IVF treatment in India in different regions, that various couples opt to travel to other cities in search of cheap IVF.
Woman's age - Usually, it is believed that a woman below 35 has more chances of getting pregnant in the first IVF cycle than a woman above the age of 35, who may need five or even more IVF cycles to conceive.
Number of IVF cycles required - More the number of IVF cycles, the higher would be the cost of treatment.
Other factors include cost of ultrasound scans & tests, cost of donor eggs, cost of embryos freezing, uniqueness of medical and fertility condition and cost of ICSI treatment.
Conclusion
Although the charges for IVF medication in India differs from one city to another, one should never choose a fertility clinic only on the basis of cost. Always find a fertility specialist who has a great reputation with a good success rate.
Besides, the charges for IVF in India is reasonable as compared to other countries. Also, there are other ways through which one can manage IVF treatment cost in India.
