Fertility

A no-cost first step for anyone considering fertility treatment abroad - a chance to talk through your medical history, prior investigations or treatment (if any), and get an honest read from a specialist on what options are realistic before committing to anything. This consultation can be done online from home before any travel, so there's no need to commit to a trip before understanding your options. For many international patients this is also the moment travel logistics, timing around your cycle, and required pre-travel tests are mapped out, so the trip itself runs smoothly.

IUI is typically the first-line fertility treatment offered before moving to IVF - it's simpler, faster and considerably less expensive, and can be effective for couples with mild fertility factors, unexplained infertility, or those using donor sperm. The cycle involves ovulation tracking (sometimes with mild stimulation medication), followed by a quick, painless insemination procedure timed to ovulation. Because it requires far less monitoring than IVF, it's often achievable in a shorter, more affordable trip.

For patients who already have frozen embryos - from a previous IVF cycle here or elsewhere - FET avoids repeating the egg retrieval process entirely. The uterine lining is prepared with medication over roughly 2–3 weeks, then the embryo is thawed and transferred in a short outpatient procedure. Because there's no retrieval involved, it's a considerably lighter procedure both physically and financially than a full IVF cycle, and is often used for a second or third attempt at pregnancy from a single retrieval.

A proactive fertility-preservation option for patients - often in their late 20s to late 30s - who aren't ready to have children now but want to protect their chances of doing so later, using their own eggs at a younger, more fertile age. The process involves ovarian stimulation with daily medication over roughly 10–12 days, monitored by ultrasound and bloodwork, followed by a short outpatient egg retrieval under sedation. Eggs are then vitrified (flash-frozen) and stored for future use whenever the patient is ready. This is a treatment worth genuinely planning a trip around, given the cost difference versus Switzerland, the UK or the US can be substantial.

For patients who need a fully donated embryo - whether due to both egg and sperm factors, prior unsuccessful IVF cycles, or by choice - this uses an embryo created from anonymous donor gametes, matched to the patient's profile. The recipient's uterine lining is prepared with medication and the embryo transferred in a short outpatient procedure, without the recipient needing to undergo any stimulation or retrieval herself. Donor programmes at EU-certified clinics are rigorously screened and regulated, and pricing is a fraction of equivalent donor programmes in Switzerland, the UK or the US.

The same donor embryo pathway as above, but using an embryo that has undergone PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy) - screening for the correct number of chromosomes before transfer. This additional screening step is associated with higher implantation rates and lower miscarriage risk, since chromosomally abnormal embryos (a common cause of failed implantation and early pregnancy loss) are excluded before transfer. A common choice for patients who have had previous unsuccessful transfers or who want to maximise the odds of success per attempt.

The complete IVF process: daily stimulation medication over roughly 10–12 days to encourage multiple eggs to mature, close monitoring by ultrasound and bloodwork throughout, a short outpatient egg retrieval procedure under sedation, fertilisation of the eggs in the lab (via IVF or ICSI), and finally transfer of the resulting embryo (or embryos) into the uterus a few days later. At EU-certified clinics with strong embryology labs, success rates are comparable to Western European and US clinics - at a fraction of the price, which is why fertility travel has become one of the most established corridors in medical tourism. Requires one extended trip covering the full stimulation-to-transfer window.

For patients whose own eggs are unlikely to result in a successful pregnancy - often due to age, diminished ovarian reserve, or a genetic condition - this programme uses eggs from a carefully screened, anonymous donor, fertilised with the intended parent's or partner's sperm (or donor sperm) and transferred as an embryo. Because it removes age-related egg-quality decline from the equation, donor egg IVF typically has meaningfully higher success rates than standard IVF for older patients. Donor egg programmes are considerably more expensive in Switzerland, the UK and especially the US, making this one of the largest potential savings categories on the platform.

A preconception genetic carrier screen that checks both partners for recessive genetic conditions - mutations that cause no symptoms in a carrier but can result in a serious inherited condition if both partners carry a mutation in the same gene. Increasingly recommended as a routine step before any fertility treatment, or simply before trying to conceive naturally, since it identifies risk early enough to change the plan (e.g. via PGT-tested embryos or donor gametes) rather than discovering it after a diagnosis in pregnancy.