We turned to the team at Redia IVF and asked them to talk about IVF in Ireland, including cost and legislation
The frustrating fact about IVF treatment, is that it is expensive, and doesn’t promise success. In fact, it takes on average 3 rounds of IVF to achieve a live birth.
Dr Harry Hiniadis, Consultant Reproductive Gynecologist and Vice President at Hygeia IVF Embryogenesis. explains:
“Statistically, this is self-explanatory. Considering that the average age of a woman having IVF treatment is more than 37 years old, where the success rate is approximately 35%, the rest -that is 65%- will not achieve a pregnancy in the first attempt.”
So when you bear in mind the cost of a single round of IVF, and the reality that you might need up to 3 rounds of treatment, it can all become somewhat overwhelming.
Some examples of costs around the globe
In the UK, a single cycle of IVF, without any associated costs, would be between £4,000 to £6,000 depending on the clinic.
In Ireland a single round of IVF can cost around €5,000.
In the USA, the average cycle cost would be around $12,000 and medication costs would be around $7,000.
The cost of a cycle varies from 4,500 to 7,000 euros in Spain.
This is why we have highlighted the option of a money-back guarantee program. These refund programs, like the company Redia offer multi-cycle IVF packages with all medical costs included until a live birth is achieved, with a refund guarantee if such a result is not achieved. You also have the option of paying 50% up front, with the remainder in instalments over 6 months. Planning ahead like this really does help patients avoid the “financial darkness” of fertility treatment.
Irish Assisted Human Reproduction Legislation
In Ireland, Assisted Reproductive Technology has been available since 1987. However, for decades this field has remained unregulated by legislation.
On 28th February, for the very first time in Ireland, the Government approved the publication of the Health Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Bill, legislation which would lay out regulations for AHR and related areas of research and establishment of a regulatory body, the AHR Regulatory Authority (AHRRA).
The Irish Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly stated:
“I am delighted that Cabinet has approved this much-needed and historic piece of legislation. It will lead to a robust, specific regulatory framework being put in place in respect of this complex, innovative and fast-moving area of medicine, which is currently predominantly provided through the private sector. This will assist thousands of people who wish to have children safely through AHR, it will clarify the legal position of children born from AHR, and it will ensure that research and new reproductive technologies are carried out within a prescribed ethical context.”
Accordingly to Donnelly, the next focus would be on providing fertility treatments in the public healthcare system. However, it means that a publicly-funded model of care for fertility treatment has yet to be implemented in Ireland.
Meanwhile, private IVF clinics are filling the gap. Fertility clinics are regulated by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
Ireland offers a wide range of fertility treatments available, such as IVF, Reciprocal IVF, Egg Donation, PGT, among others, to help those struggling with infertility to become parents.
The cost of IVF in Ireland
A single round of IVF can cost around €5,000 in Ireland. But patients need to be aware of add-ons too. The associated costs when ICSI is needed, blastocyst culturing, embryo cryopreservation and storage, among other procedures, add a few thousand more to the initial cost of the treatment. In addition, patients may require multiple rounds of IVF to get to the desired outcome.
Some expensive private health insurance packages partially cover infertility treatment.
Medications can account for up to 35% of those charges. Likely, the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) in Ireland covers medicines and drugs used as part of fertility treatment, meaning that an individual or family will pay no more than €100 each calendar month.
In addition, fertility patients can claim tax relief on the costs involved in IVF treatment as part of the tax relief for medical expenses scheme.
Redia IVF’s refund scheme in Ireland
The unpredictable outcome and cost of fertility treatments are other barriers infertility patients face who opt for assisted reproduction. The team at Redia said:
“Our main goal is to eliminate the financial barriers and darkness and give patients peace of mind to focus on their fertility journey. From now on, fertility patients can access Redia IVF refund guarantee programmes in Irish fertility clinics. We offer several packages with a fixed cost that include up to a 100% money-back guarantee if the live birth is not achieved.
“Our Life Birth Refund Guarantee programmes include up to 3 complete stimulation cycles, any number of frozen embryo transfers (FET), depending on how many embryos are developed, ICSI, monitoring, scans, blood studies, and embryo freezing and storage costs.
“And if, after these three cycles, patients don’t get pregnant and consequently have a baby, we give them the financial assurance that they will get their money back”.
IVF Clinics in Ireland
Redia IVF assumes all the financial risk (both patients’ and clinics’) to provide refund guarantee plans. This is one of the reasons they ensure that they only partner with the best IVF Clinics. These are clinics with high success rates, highly experienced medical and lab teams, excellent patient care approach, etc.
Contact Redia IVF for more information about their Live Birth refund guarantee programmes by clicking here.
Related content:
“What are the chances of IVF working the first time around?”
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