Tag: IVF Price

How much does IVF in Taiwan Cost?

For our second IVF attempt, we went to Lee Women’s Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan.

This hospital is fast becoming a popular option for Filipino couples looking for IVF treatment because of Lee Women’s Hospital’s high success rate, Taiwan is only a 3-hour flight from Manila, visa-free for 14 days, and the costs is comparable to IVF procedures in Philippines.

How much does IVF in Lee Womens Hospital cost?

We paid in total NTD117,650 (equivalent to PhP229,500 or USD3,800) for one cycle.  Here is the breakdown of our expenses:

First Visit to Taiwan/Initial consultation (duration 3 days stay): NTD10,000 (doctor consultation, ultrasound, blood tests) plus NTD30,000 (medicines for stimulating follicles good for 8 days).

We informed the clinic on day 1 of my next menstrual cycle and was told to visit the clinic on day 8.

On our second visit to Taiwan (duration 30 days stay) our medical expenses were:

  • Day 8: NTD4,500 (ultrasound, blood tests and more medicines) plus NTD800 for semen analysis
  • Day 10: NTD6,000 (ultrasound, blood tests and more medicines)
  • Day 11: NTD5,000 (ultrasound, blood tests, urine test, and more medicines)
  • Egg Retrieval: ND30,000
  • Embryo Transfer: NTD60,000 (including fertilization by ICSI and laser assisted hatching)
  • Pregnancy Test: NTD1,350

Our Total Expenses: NTD117,650.

Please note that the above figures are based on our own experience only, for one cycle and using fresh transfer embryos.

The actual costs of treatment will depend on what tests your doctor will order and what kind of medicines you need. It may happen that follicles may not grow as rapidly as hoped, in which case your doctor may change or adjust the dosage of your medicines.  Lee Hospital’s approach is to produce as many follicles and embryos as possible. Therefore, for older women able to produce only a few follicles each cycle, you may have to do a back to back retrieval, in which case your cost of medicines and egg retrieval will be multiplied as well (say total may go up NTD200,000 or USD6,500).

The clinic does not accept credit cards or debit cards so payment is a bit of a hassle. Payment is cash in NTD or USD, or USD telegraphic transfer only.

How about the accommodation costs? We stayed at Alice Hotel where they charged NTD30,000 for a 30-day stay. Taxis cost NTD85 flag down and to go most places will cost you only NTD160 (USD6) or less. Buses around Taichung are free for the first 10km provided you have an easycard. Food in mall foodcourts cost NTD150 per meal on average. Alice Hotel has stoves and a microwave so cooking your own meals is an option.

Including flights, accommodation costs and expenses, the grand total could rack up to P500,000 (USD9,500).  Not cheap at all! 

Visas (for Filipinos)

Taiwan allows Filipinos to visit visa-free for 14 days. If you need to stay longer, apply for a visa in Manila by going to the Taiwanese consulate. Visa when processed in Manila cost Php2,600. 

Otherwise, to extend your stay in Taichung, you need to go to their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The fee to extend the visa once you’re already in Taiwan cost NTD3,200, which is more expensive than when processed in your home country.

The visa requirements include documents to support why you need to visit Taiwan, birth and marriage certificates from PSA (NSO) and income and financial evidences such as bank statements.

Baby Dust to Every Hopeful Parents Out There!

IVF is expensive, invasive to your body and emotionally draining.  Before going, arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible and prepare your wallet, and your heart for a roller-coaster ride of hope, disappointment, despair, frustration, and hopefully a happy pregnancy and a healthy baby at the end of it.

Related: How much does IVF cost in the Philippines?

Please read here for the full story of our IVF Journey at Lee Women’s Hospital, here on how we survived Taichung, and here if you want to know what happens during the IVF process.

IVF at Lee Womens Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

How Much Does IVF in Philippines Cost?

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

IVF at Kato Repro Biotechnology Centre