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IVF packages and how to make sense of them !


Lots of clinics offer IVF packages these days, and these are helpful because not all patients will get pregnant in their first IVF cycle. Signing up for a package which offers 3 cycles ensures that they have realistic expectations of IVF treatment, and that they understand that it may take time for them to be successful. They start thinking about their cumulative pregnancy rate over two or three cycles, rather than think of IVF as a single shot affair.
The problem is that a lot of clinic which offer these IVF packages hide a lot of fine print in them. This misleads patients, because the clinic does not include the cost of basics such as medications or tests.
Even worse, they will offer "add-on" medications at an extra cost, by up-selling them as being more "effective". This is why patients need to be very careful when signing up for these packages.
Some of the best IVF packages are the shared risk ones. These offer to refund the money if the patient fails to get pregnant, and are extremely popular in the US, because this aligns the interests for the clinic and the patient.
It gives the patient a lot of comfort, because a safety net has been created, and allows them to put a cap on their expenses. This is a progressive measure, which needs to be encouraged in India as well!

What to find an IVF clinic which respects your time and intelligence?





Authored by : Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD and reviewed by Dr Anjali Malpani.