How to save the cost of IVF
IVF is an expensive medical process, and for many couples, cost may be an important consideration. However, there are some ways to help you save money on IVF. This article will elaborate on how to realize cost saving from four aspects.
Choose an affordable hospital
Choosing a hospital with relatively affordable price and reliable quality is an important part of saving IVF costs. When choosing hospitals, you can first conduct investigation and research to find out the hospitals that provide IVF services, and understand their professional level and success rate. Then, compare the costs of these hospitals and choose a hospital with good reputation and relatively low price.
In addition, some public hospitals can also be considered, because they often have lower costs and may have rich experience in the field of IVF. For example, Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Shanghai Jiaotong University Medical College Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital are well-known public hospitals in China, providing IVF services.
Finally, you can ask the hospital whether to provide installment payment or medical insurance reimbursement services. These additional payment methods may help to share the cost pressure.
Pay attention to the cost of drugs
In the IVF cycle, a large number of drugs are needed to stimulate the ovary to produce multiple follicles. The price of these drugs is relatively high, but there are some ways to save drug costs.
First, you can ask your doctor if there are cheap alternatives to drugs. Sometimes, some relatively inexpensive drugs can achieve the same effect.
Second, you can try to buy drugs in pharmacies or online to find cheaper prices. Compared with internal pharmacies in hospitals, external pharmacies and online pharmacies often have more discounts and concessions.
In addition, you can also ask the drug manufacturer whether there is a drug discount plan or discount activities. Some drug companies will provide specific preferential policies to help patients reduce their financial burden.
Take advantage of medical research opportunities
Participation in medical research projects may be an opportunity to save money. Sometimes, some medical institutions or universities will carry out research projects in the field of IVF and invite volunteers to participate. These research projects usually provide certain cost compensation and more preferential IVF services.
If you are interested in the research project of a medical institution or research team, you can take the initiative to contact them and find out if there is an opportunity to participate. However, participating in research projects needs to fully consider their own physical conditions and risks to ensure that participation will not have a negative impact on their health and life.
Use natural cycle or frozen embryo transfer
IVF cycle can be divided into natural cycle and artificial hormone cycle. Natural cycle refers to the operation of IVF according to women's natural ovarian cycle, without the use of additional hormones. In contrast, the artificial hormone cycle requires the use of a large number of hormone drugs.
Although the success rate of natural cycle is relatively low, the cost is lower. For some specific patient groups, such as younger women or women with better ovarian reserve, natural cycle IVF can be an option.
In addition, frozen embryo transfer is also a cost saving option. Frozen embryo transfer is usually cheaper than fresh embryo transfer, and requires less hormone dosage. Therefore, if there are multiple embryos available for freezing, frozen embryo transfer may be a more economical option.
Summary
By choosing an affordable hospital, paying attention to drug costs, taking advantage of medical research opportunities, and using natural cycles or frozen embryo transfer, couples can save money on IVF. However, while considering the cost, it is also necessary to ensure that the selected method and medical scheme are suitable for their own conditions. While pursuing the dream of IVF, it is vital to balance economy and health.
