Fertility Treatments Explained

Last updated: October 2025

IVF

Eggs retrieved from your ovaries, fertilised with sperm in a lab, embryo transferred back 3–5 days later.

The process: 10–14 days of hormone injections → egg retrieval under sedation (20 min) → lab fertilisation → embryo culture for 3–5 days → transfer (painless, 5 min) → pregnancy test 10–14 days later.

Success rates: 30–45% per cycle under 35. Drops to 20–30% at 38–40, under 10% above 42 with own eggs.

Cost: €2,500 (Czech Republic) to CHF 9,000 (Switzerland). Full price comparison.

What nobody tells you: The injections aren’t that bad. The waiting is worse. And the emotional toll of a failed cycle is something clinics don’t prepare you for.

ICSI

Same as IVF, except the embryologist injects one sperm directly into each egg instead of letting them fertilise naturally.

Who needs it: Severe male factor (low count, poor motility, abnormal morphology), previous IVF fertilisation failure, frozen sperm, surgically retrieved sperm.

From your perspective: Identical to IVF. You won’t notice any difference. The only change is what happens in the lab.

Cost: €500–€1,500 more than standard IVF. Some clinics include it by default.

IUI

Washed sperm placed directly into the uterus via a thin catheter. Simpler, cheaper, lower success rate.

Who it’s for: Mild male factor, cervical issues, single women or same-sex couples using donor sperm, unexplained infertility as a first step before IVF.

The process: Optional mild stimulation → monitoring scans → sperm wash (1–2 hours) → insemination (5 min, painless) → pregnancy test after 14 days.

Success rates: 10–20% per cycle. Most doctors recommend 3–6 attempts before moving to IVF.

Cost: €400–€1,500 per cycle. Worth trying if you’re under 38 and the diagnosis fits.

Egg Freezing

Eggs retrieved and flash-frozen (vitrified) for future use. Same as the first half of IVF. Stimulation and retrieval, but no fertilisation or transfer.

Who it’s for: Women preserving fertility before cancer treatment, women who aren’t ready for children yet, or anyone building a backup plan.

Key numbers: Survival rate after thawing is ~90% with vitrification. Eggs frozen before 35 have significantly better outcomes than eggs frozen at 38+. You need roughly 15–20 eggs banked for a reasonable chance of one live birth (which may mean 2 retrieval cycles).

Cost: €1,500 (Czech Republic) to CHF 7,000 (Switzerland), plus €200–€500/year for storage.

The catch: Freezing eggs is the easy part. Using them later still requires IVF. Thaw, fertilise, transfer. Factor that future cost into your decision.

Egg Donation

IVF using eggs from a young, screened donor. The recipient does not go through stimulation or retrieval. Just embryo transfer.

Who it’s for: Diminished ovarian reserve, premature ovarian failure, repeated IVF failure, genetic conditions, women over 42–45 with own eggs.

Success rates: 50–65% per cycle. Significantly higher than standard IVF because donors are young (typically 20–30).

Where it’s legal:

Spain, Czech Republic, Greece, UK, Denmark, Belgium
Not permitted: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Norway

Cost: €4,000 (Czech Republic) to €10,000 (UK). Spain is the most popular destination. Largest donor pool, anonymous, no waiting list. See our country guides.

PGT. Genetic Testing of Embryos

Embryos are biopsied at day 5 and tested before transfer.

PGT-A (aneuploidy screening): Catches chromosomal abnormalities. Recommended for women over 37 or after repeated miscarriage. Reduces miscarriage risk but doesn’t improve overall live birth rates in younger women. It just avoids transferring embryos that would have failed anyway.
PGT-M (monogenic disorders): Tests for specific inherited conditions like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell. Required if you or your partner are carriers.
PGT-SR (structural rearrangements): For carriers of chromosomal translocations.

Cost: €1,500–€4,000 on top of IVF, depending on the number of embryos tested.

Legal status: Allowed in most European countries. Germany is the notable exception (PGT-A is a grey zone there).

Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)

If your first fresh transfer doesn’t work but you have frozen embryos from the same cycle, a FET is much simpler and cheaper than starting over.

The process: Hormone preparation (or natural cycle monitoring) → thaw → transfer. No stimulation, no retrieval.

Cost: €800–€2,000. That’s why freezing surplus embryos matters. It turns one expensive retrieval cycle into multiple transfer attempts.

How to Choose

Start with your diagnosis. The cause determines the treatment, not your preference.
Age matters more than anything. If you’re over 38, don’t spend 6 months on IUI. Go straight to IVF.
Ask for live birth rates, not pregnancy rates. By age group. Per clinic, not national averages.
Budget for multiple cycles. Hope for the best, plan for three.
Check the legal landscape. What you need might not be legal where you live. Our country guides cover the laws.

Compare costs: Cost Comparison | Browse by country: Countries

Not sure which treatment is right for you? Tell us your situation → and we’ll help you figure out what to ask your clinic.