My husband and I have been trying to have a child for years. We have done everything, we have seens lots of doctors and taken lots of tests already and nobody still could say what is hindering us having a child. Its called unexplained infertility. Infertility is nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of couples experience it and its a medical condition, meaning its a disease, its not your fault, and its treatable. IVF is the last solution for couples who have been trying to have kids on their own but with no success.
IVF stands for in vitro fertilization. In vitro is Latin for “in glass”, it means outside of the human body. In IVF the fertilization, the meeting of the egg and sperm, is done in a laboratory. Its also called sometimes test tube babies, but actually the fertilization is not done in a test tube, but in a petri dish, and the baby is still grown inside the mother’s womb for nine months, not in a laboratory!
In the Philippines, there are several clinics that offer IVF. In Manila there are 4 clinics: Carmi at St Lukes Hospital, Kato Repro Biotechnology Center, CARE and ART Victory. There are also clinics in Cebu and Davao. We chose to go to Kato for our first IVF attempt as they are cheaper than Carmi. The IVF cycle at Kato takes place over two months. The first month is to collect eggs from the ovaries of the woman, and the second month is the transfer of embryos into the woman’s womb.
How much does IVF in Kato costs?
In total we paid P296,000 (USD5,800) for the costs of procedures at Kato. This is staggered over the 2-month period and payments are based on actual costs of procedures done during each clinic visit.
Here are the expenses that we incurred:
Initial consultation with a doctor (no tests done): P1,680.
After the initial consultation, we were told to text the clinic on day 1 of my next menstrual cycle, and to visit the clinic on day 2.
Here are the expenses for the first month:
Day 2 visit: P38,000 (ultrasounds, blood tests and medicines good for 8 days)
Husband Sperm Analysis: P5,000
Day 7 visit: P10,500 (ultrasound to check if the follicles are growing and more medicines)
Day 9 visit: P6,000 (ultrasound to check if the follicles are growing, blood tests and more medicines)
Day of retrieval cost: P62,160 (covers cost of operation to pick up the eggs) and P89,600 (fertilisation and freezing of 1 embryo)
Total of P212,940 for first month
In Kato they do not transfer embryos right after retrieval. They allow the body to rest after retrieval and for the medicines to wash out of the woman’s body first. They say that this allows for higher chance of success. In the meantime, they would freeze the embryo (baby) first.
We came back the next month for our transfer procedure. Here are our expenses on the second month:
Day 2: P6,000 (consultation, ultrasound, blood tests)
Day 10: P7,500 (ultrasound, blood tests, medicines)
Day 13: P3,800 (medicines and consultation)
Day of transfer: P60,416
Pregnancy test after 7 days: P5,000
Total of P82,716 for the second month
Not cheap at all! Payments were staggered over two months and the clinic accepts credit cards and debit cards, except for the P89,600 cost of fertisation which is payable in cash.
Do note that the above figures are based on our own experience only and the costs for patients depends on the tests that need to be done, and the dosages of the medicines. Sometimes it can happen that the follicles do not grow as fast as desired, so the clinic has to change or adjust the medicines. If you happen to produce more than 2 follicles/embryos that is good for you, but you need to pay for additional cost of freezing of embryos.
The above figures are based on Kato’s minimal stimulation IVF program. They have another, cheaper program, Natural IVF, where no medicines are used. In this program, the patients only pay for the costs of ultrasound, blood tests, doctors visit and egg retrieval. Natural Cycle IVF is for younger women who are still able to produce good quality eggs. It costs around P60,000 per cycle. After the transfer, and in the happy case of a successful pregnancy, there is an additional cost of P100,000 so total costs only about P160,000 (USD3,150).
Related: How much does IVF in Taiwan cost?
Please read here for our IVF Journey at Kato and read here if you want to know what happens during the IV Process
What if po pag hindi sya na buo babayaran pa din ba yun 295k?
Yep you have to pay; the costs are for the medicines and procedures.