Choosing a fertility clinic is a big decision, and most people make it with a handful of websites, a price and a success rate. Those matter, but they rarely tell you what your treatment will actually be like, or what it will cost by the end. Here’s what to compare, and the questions to ask before you book.
1. What’s included in the price
Advertised prices often cover only part of a cycle. Check whether the price includes:
- medication (often one of the biggest extra costs)
- scans and blood tests during the cycle
- ICSI, if you’re likely to need it
- embryo freezing and the first year of storage
- follow-up consultations
Ask for a written, all-in quote for your situation, not just the package price. At Avenues, Fair IVF is £2,949 with medication included, and every package price is published on our prices page.
2. What happens if a cycle is cancelled
Cycles are sometimes stopped early, for example if the ovaries respond too little or too much. Ask what you pay in that case, and whether any of it carries over to the next attempt. A clinic that’s willing to cancel when it’s the right call, rather than pushing on, is a good sign.
3. How success is measured
Success rates are often reported per embryo transfer or per egg collection, which leaves out everyone who never got that far. Our research found that the measures that best reflect what patients care about are live births per new patient over 12–18 months and cost per baby. We explain why in IVF success rates in the UK: what HFEA numbers really mean.
4. Who you’ll see
Will the same consultant look after you from first consultation to treatment? Can you choose your doctor? Continuity matters when decisions build on each other.
5. Where you’ll be seen
IVF involves several scans in a short time, so how far you travel matters. Some clinics offer monitoring closer to home: for example, Avenues patients in Cambridge have consultations and monitoring there, with egg collection and embryo transfer at our London clinic.
6. Whether you’re eligible
Some clinics set strict limits on age or BMI. If you’ve been turned away elsewhere, ask directly. There’s no BMI cut-off for IVF at Avenues.
7. The support around treatment
Ask who you can call between appointments, how quickly you’ll get results, and what support there is for decisions like donor treatment or what to do after an unsuccessful cycle.
Questions to take to any clinic
- Can I have a written, all-in quote for my situation?
- What happens to the cost if my cycle is cancelled?
- Out of everyone who started treatment with you last year, how many have had a baby?
- Will I see the same consultant throughout?
- Which extras do you recommend for me, and why?
- Where will my scans take place?
Talk it through with us
Book a free 15-minute call with our team, or see our prices first.
Section 3 is based on our research abstract “Choose a fertility clinic: selecting a fair IVF outcome that truly puts patients first” (Avenues).