Questions and costs

A couple is considered infertile when no pregnancy has occurred after at least one year of regular unprotected intercourse. If the woman is over 35, it is worth seeing a specialist sooner, because fertility declines with age.

We talk through your medical history in detail: how long you have been trying, previous pregnancies or treatments, medication, operations and lifestyle. Then we make a plan together, which may start with some tests. We always discuss every step with you first.

Any test results you already have, so that treatment can start sooner. For example:

• For the woman: latest Pap smear, hormone tests (FSH, LH, E2, AMH, TSH, FT3, FT4, PRL, testosterone, DHEA-S), rubella antibodies, HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis tests, chlamydia, mycoplasma and ureaplasma tests, karyotype, hysterosalpingography, reports from previous operations and protocols from previous IVF cycles.
• For the man: previous semen analyses, HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis tests, chlamydia, mycoplasma and ureaplasma tests, karyotype.

They depend mainly on age and on the cause of infertility. In general, each couple has a 25–30% chance of pregnancy with each attempt, and overall 70% of couples become parents. You can see our laboratory’s detailed results by age on the clinic page.

Ovarian stimulation usually takes 10 to 12 days, with regular ultrasound scans and blood tests. Egg retrieval is done under brief anaesthesia and takes no more than 10 minutes. The embryo transfer follows 2 to 5 days later and is painless.

The results of fertility treatment have been recorded and evaluated for many years, and they show that IVF does not pose risks to children’s health. However, the chance of a multiple pregnancy (twins or more) is higher, so the number of embryos transferred is decided together with you.

Yes. Egg donation offers a real chance of pregnancy to women with ovarian insufficiency, early menopause or repeated failed cycles with their own eggs, with pregnancy rates of up to 70% at our clinic. Read more about egg donation.

Yes. With vitrification, eggs, embryos and sperm can be stored for years in liquid nitrogen at −196 °C. Greece’s first babies after vitrification were born at our clinic. Read more about egg, embryo and sperm freezing.