For a growing number of hopeful parents, international travel includes more than just exploring a new destination. Their itineraries are packed with timed injections, clinic appointments, and the dream of bringing home the ultimate carry-on: a positive pregnancy test.
About 2.6% of babies born in the U.S. are born via in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.[1] But the average procedure costs $12,400 (with some parents spending upwards of $25,000). Many Americans are looking beyond the border for a better option.
IVF in other countries may be cheaper (in some, less than half of what it costs in the U.S.). Still, medical tourism isn’t all passport stamps and poolside mocktails. Curious as to what the process is actually like? Three women share their hopes and hiccups in their own words.
‘Global Entry made it easy to cross the border for appointments’
Name: Mariana Romero
Age: 39 (35 at time of treatment)
U.S. Location: Lived in Antioch, California at the time of treatment
IVF destination: Tijuana, Mexico
Cost quoted for IVF at home: $50,000 per round
Paid for IVF abroad: Around $7,000 per round; total of $19,700 for three rounds
Total cost of trips, including IVF: Between $25,000 and $30,000
“I got pregnant without any assisted reproductive technology in 2017. Unfortunately, the pregnancy was ectopic, causing my fallopian tube to rupture. After I had recovered, my husband and I tried to get pregnant again, but three years later, it still hadn’t happened yet. We met with a fertility specialist where we lived in Antioch, California. I learned that I had a low egg count, and an X-ray showed I had a blocked fallopian tube. My only option for getting pregnant would be IVF.
The specialist also shared a breakdown for the cost per cycle: $50,000. I was crushed. Even though my husband and I both worked, it was more than we could afford. My friend then told me about an OB/GYN she sees in Tijuana, Mexico, 15 minutes from where she lives in Chula Vista, California — 500 miles away from us. The doctor does IVF, and she suggested I talk with him. I speak Spanish, so I wasn’t worried about the language barrier and arranged a virtual call.
During this call, I shared the X-rays and the doctor told me that he didn’t see a blockage. I was shocked! My own OB/GYN in California then further confirmed that there wasn’t a blockage. This made me really wonder about the fertility clinic near me. I felt very unsettled and even more inclined to work with the doctor in Tijuana.
My husband and I flew down for an appointment and decided to move forward with treatment. We stayed with my friend in Chula Vista for most of our three-week trip, but quickly realized it could take hours to drive the short distance across the border due to security wait times. We got an Airbnb in Tijuana for the rest of the trip for easier access.
The day after my egg retrieval, the doctor told me I had produced four eggs, but they were not mature. This meant they couldn’t be used. It was a very low moment for me. I just had no idea that you could put the best medicines in your body, and IVF still couldn’t work.
Once back home, I continued to work with the doctor in Tijuana. Based on how my body responded to medication the first time, he suggested we double my dose and try again. I went back to Tijuana a few months later for a second round. I stayed with my friend the whole time, since it was a shorter visit than my first one. This time, I also had Global Entry, which made it so much faster to cross the border.
In this round, I had produced six mature eggs. The doctor suggested doing one more round for even more mature eggs. The clinic froze my six mature eggs for free, since they charge for yearly storage and it was only going to be a few months.
I went back down to Tijuana three months later for the third round. The result was four more mature eggs. Now that I had 10, the doctor felt we were ready for a transfer. We paid extra for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which is when a single sperm is injected directly into the mature egg. Eight of the 10 eggs developed into embryos, and I decided to do a two-embryo transfer and freeze the remaining six embryos, just in case. The entire process took three weeks. I spent part of this time at my friend’s home and the rest of the trip at a hotel in Mexico — I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
A week later, I was back in the States and the doctor called. He said that those six embryos did not survive the freezing process. This meant that if my recent transfer didn’t result in a pregnancy, we’d have to start all over. I was freaking out. You are supposed to wait two weeks after a transfer to take a pregnancy test, but I took a test after just one week anyway and saw the faintest line. I was pregnant. I immediately started crying, overwhelmed with joy.
My insurance didn’t cover the cost of IVF at all. Since my first round didn’t produce any mature eggs, I didn’t do an insemination or transfer; it was just a retrieval. The cost of that was $5,000 for the egg retrieval and $700 for the medications. The next two rounds cost closer to $7,000 per round, plus the cost of medication. Including the cost of travel, accommodations, food, and a pet sitter for my cat back at home, I ended up paying between $25,000 and $30,000 total.
My twins, a boy and a girl, are three years old now and as healthy as can be. My husband and I went through a lot to have our babies. But I would 100% go through everything again to have my twins.”
‘Our mindset was, if IVF fails, we didn’t go broke trying it and we got an experience out of it in the process’
Name: Leah Barker
Age: 35 (29 at time of treatment)
U.S. Location: Strongsville, Ohio
IVF destination: Prague, Czech Republic
Cost quoted for IVF at home: $20,000 for one round
Paid for IVF abroad: $4,700 for one round
Total cost of trip, including IVF: $10,000
“I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility when I was 28, after trying intrauterine insemination (IUI) three times. IUI involves placing the sperm directly into the uterus to fertilize the egg naturally, while IVF involves fertilizing eggs in a laboratory dish to create embryos, which are then transferred to the uterus. Everything test-wise came back perfect, but I couldn’t get pregnant. My husband and I decided to pursue IVF. To get it done where we live in Ohio, it was going to cost $20,000 and nothing was covered by insurance. We just couldn’t afford that.
My husband stumbled across someone’s blog, which was about their experience doing IVF abroad for a fraction of the price. We began doing research. Our mindset was, if IVF fails, we didn’t go broke trying it and we got an experience out of it in the process. We liked the idea of removing ourselves from the stressors of everyday life so that all we had to focus on was the IVF process. Traveling is relaxing for us, so it seemed like a good fit.
We used a [medical tourism] company called Medistella that helped us find a clinic in Prague and served as the point of contact leading up to the trip. They did not charge us a fee; they make money by getting a cut from the clinic. We did one Skype call with the clinic and were sold immediately. One of the biggest reasons why we moved forward was the cost difference. It would cost $4,000 for the procedure and $700 for the medications — much less expensive than the $20,000 it would have cost to do IVF here.
Before the trip, I worked with a local fertility clinic to prepare. The doctor performed necessary ultrasounds and bloodwork and checked my ovaries (to estimate my ovarian reserve) and hormone levels. I got the medication I needed before the retrieval shipped directly to me through FastIVF.com. I took this while still in the U.S. Then, my husband and I traveled to Prague for 10 days. This gave me enough time to have one ultrasound with the doctor there prior to the egg retrieval. At the time, I did contract work, so I didn’t need to ask for any time off. For both trips, my husband’s time off was approved under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
I felt very comfortable at the clinic in Prague — everyone spoke perfect English, including the doctor. I did my egg retrieval on my third day there. It led to 30 mature eggs. We planned on doing a frozen transfer at a later time because the success rate was higher.
After the retrieval, we stayed in Prague for seven more days to explore the city, which made it feel like a vacation and not just a medical trip. A month later, we returned to Prague together for the transfer, staying for another two weeks in an Airbnb. This time, we decided to stop in Paris on our way to spend Valentine’s Day there. Since we’d bought the tickets last minute, they were expensive.
For the clinic, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which is when a single sperm is injected directly into the mature egg, is a standard practice; they don’t charge extra for it. I have friends who told me they paid $3,000 for ICSI in the U.S., so that was another cost savings for us.
Another reason why I wanted to do IVF in Prague was because I could have two embryos transferred at the same time, something many clinics won’t do in the U.S. because the chance of twins is, like, ginormous. But I figured, if I’m paying all this money to come here, why not get two kids out of it? And that’s exactly what happened. I got pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, after that first transfer.
Flying home after the transfer, I felt a little overstimulated, sore, and bloated, but not too bad otherwise. After working with the clinic in Prague, transferring to my OB/GYN in Ohio was pretty seamless. The Prague clinic checked in with me remotely for 10 weeks after the transfer, which is how long I had to take progesterone. They just wanted to make sure I was doing okay. After that, I was released to the care of my local OB/GYN, who treated it as a typical pregnancy.
I still have frozen embryos in Prague, but my husband and I aren’t sure if we want more kids. The storage is only $130 a year, so I’m happy to pay that forever just to have the option. If I wanted to do another transfer, it would be $1,200 for the transfer.
In total, I ended up spending $4,700 for the one round of IVF — not counting the flights, accommodations, food, and other expenses. The total we spent on both trips — including going to Paris — was about $10,000.
The shots are horrible, no matter where you take them. But doing IVF abroad made it a magical experience for us.”
‘We chose the location that seemed like the prettiest place to go’
Name: Jessica Reedy
Age: 32
U.S. Location: Kissimmee, Florida
IVF destination: Colombia
Cost quoted for IVF at home: Between $20,000 and $30,000 per round
Paid for IVF abroad: $6,500 per round
Total cost of trips, including IVF: $27,700
“My husband and I tried to conceive naturally for four years. During that time, we did get pregnant once, but I ended up having a miscarriage. We saw a fertility specialist in Florida, who educated us on the differences between IUI and IVF. IUI involves placing the sperm directly into the uterus to fertilize the egg naturally, while IVF involves fertilizing eggs in a laboratory to create embryos, which are then transferred to the uterus. We decided to try IUI because it was more economical. After three failed IUIs, I felt so mentally drained and didn’t think I could do it again, so we decided to move forward with IVF.
Our insurance wouldn’t cover IVF and the costs were between $20,000 and $30,000 per round. I had a few friends who’d gone to Colombia for different medical procedures and had told me how comfortable and safe they felt there, so I explored the possibility of doing IVF abroad. My mom speaks Spanish and was open to coming with us to translate in a Spanish-speaking country. This sounds silly, but we ultimately chose Colombia because it seemed like the prettiest place to go.
We researched different clinics there and went for one that had multiple locations, including one right by the ocean. Being part of a larger medical network seemed more reputable to us than a stand-alone clinic. I read their online testimonials and also came across someone on Instagram who went there and got pregnant, so I messaged her. She gave me a lot of advice.
I had a virtual consult with the doctor. He was amazing and spoke English, but he also had an interpreter just in case we needed one. I had a good feeling from the start.
My husband and I decided to go to Colombia for three weeks in August and September of 2024. Fortunately, both of our jobs were really understanding and supportive. My job at a church offered unlimited PTO as long as it was requested in advance. I left during a slow season at work and logged in remotely a few days a week. My husband was in his “off” season during our trip, which made the timing easier.
We planned a long trip because we wanted to be in Colombia working with the doctor for the entire process.
My egg retrieval happened on day 14 of our trip and I ended up producing 30 eggs. From there, six embryos were created. I decided to do a fresh transfer of one embryo instead of a frozen transfer because I didn’t want to have to travel back to Colombia again for the transfer. Unfortunately, the transfer failed.
We froze the remaining embryos before going home. A couple of months later, my husband and I returned to Colombia for eight days. We did a single embryo transfer, using another one of the eggs that was retrieved during the first trip. That transfer ended up failing, too. I was really discouraged, but my doctor was hopeful, recommending I come back for a third time. He wanted to do a hysteroscopy, which is a procedure to see if there was anything going on with my uterus that wasn’t showing up on the ultrasound.
By this point, I trusted this doctor completely and wanted him to be the one to do the hysteroscopy. So, I went back to Colombia for a third time a few months later for eight more days. This time I went with a friend who spoke Spanish because my husband had to stay home and work.
From the hysteroscopy, the doctor was able to discover that I had a uterine septum, a piece of muscle or tissue on the uterus that prevents embryos from attaching to the uterine lining. The doctor went ahead and removed it. After that, he felt really strongly that I’d be able to get pregnant.
Through the whole process, I’ve kept my OB/GYN and primary care doctor in the loop and they’ve been very supportive. One time, the medication my doctor in Colombia prescribed me ran out. I messaged my primary care doctor and she called in the prescription for me.
My husband and I went to Colombia for a fourth time, eight weeks ago, for what we hoped would be the final transfer. The transfer was successful and I’m now pregnant with fraternal twins. My first OB appointment is in a few days, but we’ve been able to get a few ultrasounds done to send to my doctor in Colombia. The twins are measuring well and have strong heartbeats. We’re so grateful!
The cost of each cycle of IVF, including the medications and procedures, was $6,500. The transfer I just did cost $1,800. The first trip cost the most — between the plane tickets, Airbnb for three weeks, medications, and the egg retrieval procedure itself, we paid $15,000. The second and third trips have cost between $3,500 and $5,000, including the plane tickets, Airbnb, and procedure.
To help ease the costs, my husband and I created a GoFundMe, which was a difficult decision. I never want to take advantage of people’s generosity, especially since I work at a church. After talking with my pastors, they encouraged me to see it as an opportunity for others to bless us. We were amazed at the outpouring of support — from close friends to people we hadn’t connected with in years. It was deeply humbling and we’re so grateful.
For me, leaning on my community has been key. They’ve been there for me when there’s been good news to celebrate and to lean on when I needed them. It’s helped give me the confidence to continue. I’m not pregnant yet, but I am hopeful.”
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