For couples experiencing infertility difficulties there are several assistive reproductive steps, of increasing cost and invasiveness, to try. These are IntraUterine Insemination (IUI), InVitro Fertilization (IVF) and IntraCytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). IUI is the least invasive as it does not involve removing eggs from the woman, only injecting sperm into the uterus. This approach increases the chances of conception by placing the sperm much closer to the eggs than they would naturally during intercourse. While the odds of success depend greatly on the cause of infertility (discussed more below), in general the success rate is 10 to 20 percent. This is significantly less than IVF and ICSI, but both the cost and the invasiveness is also that much lower. Usually a doctor will recommend trying IUI before the more invasive InVitro techniques if the specific type of infertility issue has a chance of being overcome with IUI. In addition to the injection of sperm (with a catheter), the doctor usually prescribes some type of hormone treatment targeted at increasing the women’s egg production. This often leads to multiple eggs being released per cycle, as opposed to a single egg as the norm, which basically gives more targets for the injected sperm making contraception that much easier. The next two paragraphs describe the types of male, and female infertility issues for which IUI is appropriate. Then we discuss the cost breakdown of an IUI cycle.
As a male infertility treatment option, IUI is useful for low sperm count, or low sperm motility. This means that a man produces fewer than average sperm, or that there is not enough strong, fast sperm to swim the distance required to the women’s uterus and awaiting eggs. In these cases, the IUI procedure essentially places the sperm very close to the eggs such that they don’t have to swim, and their shortcomings are less important. However, the sperm still have to fertilize the eggs naturally, in contrast to IVF where this is done outside the body by a embryologist in a lab.
For female infertility, the IUI procedure is an appropriate assistive reproductive method for cases where the woman’s body makes it difficult for the sperm to swim to the eggs. Such conditions include above average cervical mucus viscosity or cervical scar tissue. In these cases, the IUI procedure delivers the sperm via the catheter to the woman’s uterus directly such that the sperm do not have to swim through the difficult regions.
The total cost of an IUI cycle is not the same as the cost of the IUI procedure itself. Often quoted prices for an IUI procedure are a few hundred dollars (we only estimate out-of-pocket costs, and assume no insurance throughout this article). However, the total cost of an IUI cycle is much different and ranges from about $1200 to $2500 based on a survey of many couples who have recently undergone IUI. The total IUI cost can vary significantly depending on your Obstetricians (OB) or Reproductive Endocrinologists (RE) practices and rates. This is especially true when it comes to the cost of ultra-sounds, medications and the number of appointments.
A typical breakdown of the total IUI cycle cost is the following:
- IUI procedure itself ~ $250.
- Sperm wash ~ $100.
- Blood work ~ $150.
- Ultrasounds ~ $65 to $450 each, and you can expect 2 or 3 per IUI cycle.
- Hormone trigger ~ $110
- Other medications ~ $50
The sperm wash is a procedure that converts the mans semen sample into what is ultimately used in the IUI procedure. The washing removes much of the non-sperm material that makes up the semen. This means that what is placed into the uterus is basically just the sperm, and none of the other liquids that typically make up semen.
The hormone trigger is something that most OB and RE’s will likely recommend. This hormone will increase the likelihood of producing more than one egg, enhancing the number of target eggs for the sperm to fertilize. You should not that this also increases the chances of having twins. Also, there are typically two types of medication trigger. The standard type is usually referred to as a “Clomid” cycle that uses the cheap (generic available) Clomid trigger. The other, and more expensive by between $500 and $750 are called “Inject” cycles. These usually involve at home injections to enhance the hormone levels of the woman prior to the IUI procedure.
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