Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The cost of IVF varies depending on the type of IVF protocol and medications used, the clinic, and any insurance cover you might have. As a rough guide, one cycle of IVF can cost between $2,000 and $12,000 AUD.

Some clinics offer what they call low-cost or affordable IVF. These clinics may take different approaches to making IVF more affordable, often using Medicare rebates, bulk-billing for certain services, or simplifying treatment protocols to lower costs.

In some states, publicly funded IVF is available, which may be free for patients. Eligibility criteria may apply.

On average, the chance of having a baby from one complete cycle of IVF is about 40%. Success rates vary depending on different factors, such as female age.

YourIVFSuccess has a calculator to help predict your chance of conceiving from IVF

IVF optional extras are any procedures, medicines, treatments, techniques or complementary therapies that are used in addition to standard IVF protocols. They are sometimes referred to as add-ons or adjuvants. They are usually used with the aim or hope of improving some aspect of IVF success. These optional extras involve something additional to standard IVF, so they are usually associated with an extra cost. Sometimes, a technique or procedure might be offered as an optional extra at one clinic but included as part of standard care at another. For example, EmbryoGlue is available as an optional extra at some clinics but is routinely included in embryo transfers at others. This variation makes it difficult to establish a clear rule about what qualifies as an optional extra or add-on.

The Evidence-based IVF website provides information about the evidence for common IVF optional extras.

Not all fertility clinics offer IVF optional extras, or the same range of IVF optional extras. It varies between clinics and even between IVF specialists.

Some clinics may use certain optional extras as standard practice and include them automatically in all IVF treatments

Evidence-based IVF doesn’t provide the evidence for every IVF optional extra because our resources are limited.

However, for those we do not cover, we offer a brief description below. This might help you to identify which aspects of IVF treatment should be considered as optional (rather than necessary), if you hear about these options at your IVF clinic or from other sources.

Artificial oocyte activation is a lab technique which applies a chemical or electrical stimulus to an egg after sperm injection.

Aspirin is a medication used for pain relief, inflammation, and blood clot prevention. It is considered an IVF optional extra when used specifically for IVF purposes.

Assisted hatching of embryos is a lab technique that makes a small hole in the outer shell of an embryo before transfer.

Blood thinners are medications used to treat and prevent blood clots, common types are heparin and clexane. They are considered an IVF optional extra when used specifically for IVF purposes.

Chinese medicine is a traditional system of medicine that includes herbal remedies, and dietary therapy, based on the principles of Qi, Yin-Yang balance, and meridians.

Elective freeze-all is a planned approach where all embryos from an IVF cycle are frozen for future use, rather than performing a fresh embryo transfer.

Embryo culture media containing growth factors is a liquid used for growing embryos, including EmbryoGen and Blastogen.

Herbal remedies include plant-based pills or treatment options.

Homeopathy is a pseudoscientific practice that relies on extreme dilutions of substances, often to the point where no active ingredient remains.

IMSI (Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection) is a variation of ICSI where sperm are selected using high-magnification imaging before injection into an egg.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is an infusion of antibodies derived from donated blood.

Natural killer cell testing measures the levels of an immune cell (natural killer cell) in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) or blood stream.

Naturopathy is a broad alternative health approach that promotes natural treatments such as herbal medicine and detoxification.

Reflexology is a complementary therapy that involves applying pressure to specific points on the feet, hands, or ears, believed to correspond to different organs and systems in the body.

Sperm DNA fragmentation testing is a laboratory test that examines the integrity of sperm DNA.

Testosterone and androgens including dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androderm patch.

Timelapse imaging of embryos is a method that continuously photographs embryos in the lab to track their development without removing them from the incubator.

IVF optional extras may be suggested to IVF patients by their IVF doctor or clinic, or patients may ask their IVF doctor or clinic to provide an optional extra after learning about it somewhere else (e.g. online IVF forums, friends or family).

IVF patients may feel compelled to try something new to help their treatment, especially after experiencing unsuccessful IVF cycles.  It is unusual for optional extras to be relevant for the first one or two IVF attempts.

Optional extras that aren’t proven to work may be offered by IVF specialists or clinics based on various factors - such as the theory of why it might help, clinical experience, or because of strong patient requests.

When there isn’t much evidence one way or another about an IVF optional extra, we usually rate this as “Unclear”. While it is true that what may lack evidence today could become supported by research in the future, this is uncommon. If there is no good-quality evidence that something works, then there is no good reason to think that it does. Learn more about the evidence categories we use.

IVF patients often feel they should try different IVF options after having one or more unsuccessful IVF cycles because “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. While this may be true in some circumstances, do you expect the same result if you role a dice over and over again? Probably not.

As the success rates from IVF are modest at approximately 40% per complete IVF cycle, IVF patients often need to undergo multiple IVF cycles and embryo transfers to have the best chance of success. Just like you might expect to role a dice a few times before you get a six.

The optional extras included on Evidence-based IVF are some of those which are known to be available in Australia. We will continue to expand the list of options included on our website over time. We recognise that our list is not comprehensive. If we are missing an important option that you think we should include, please let us know.

We include information about side effects and risks of harm and long-term outcomes for each IVF optional extra. Side effects are adverse reactions that happen shortly after taking a medication or undergoing a treatment. Risks of harm and long-term outcomes are adverse consequences that usually occur in the longer term, including risks to the IVF patient and the embryo or baby. Unfortunately, most of the time there is not much data about the possible long-term effects of IVF treatment options.

Your medical history and personal circumstances may influence the safety and risks of an IVF optional extra. You should discuss any questions or concerns you have about the safety and risks of any IVF optional extras with your fertility specialist.

Deciding whether to use an IVF optional extra or add-on may involve more than just looking at the scientific evidence about its effectiveness and safety. It can be personal choice that depends on your individual values and circumstances, as well as the cost and other practical considerations.

It’s helpful to consider how using the optional extra might make you feel, both if your IVF cycle is successful and if it isn’t. For some, an optional extra can bring hope and optimism, and if the cycle doesn’t work, they may feel reassured that they tried everything they could. Others might feel upset if the optional extra doesn’t lead to success, particularly if it involved significant time, money, or practical challenges, without any benefit.

Thinking through these possibilities and how they might affect your emotional well-being can help you make a decision that feels right for you. Taking the time to weigh the potential benefits, risks, and how you might feel in different scenarios can provide clarity and confidence in your choice. Learn more about discussing IVF optional extras with your IVF specialist.

Please see ‘Our Research Methods’ section for an explanation of the evidence categories we use.

"Unclear" means we have no idea whether the optional extra affects the chance of  the outcome - for example, whether it affects the chance of getting pregnant or having a baby. This is usually because there are only a few studies, or the studies have serious flaws or limitations. We need more studies before we can tell if the it makes a difference.

"No effect" means we have sufficient evidence, and it looks like the optional extra doesn't make a difference - for example, it has no effect on the chance of getting pregnant or having a baby. In this case, we don't need any more research as we are confident it makes no difference.

Learn more about the evidence categories we use.

No.

When any IVF treatment is proven to improve the chance of pregnancy from IVF, it means it improves the probability or the chance of getting pregnant. For example, if the chance of getting pregnant is usually about 30%, an optional extra might increase that chance to 35% or 40%. But it does not increase it to 100%.

To put it another way, imagine 100 people undergoing IVF. Without the optional extra, about 30 might become pregnant. With the optional extra, that number might increase to 35. But there will still be 65 out of 100 people who don’t become pregnant even when using the optional extra.

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard in research because they provide the most reliable evidence about whether a treatment or intervention works. Learn more about randomisation.

Blinding is an optional aspect of randomised controlled trials, which means that some groups involved in the study (usually either the participants, the clinical staff, or the researchers) are blind to the treatment assignment, meaning they don't know who is receiving the treatment and who is not. This helps to prevent bias in the results.

We don’t consider evidence from any other types of study design, such as observational or retrospective studies. This is because these studies are prone to bias, and the results are not reliable. These studies can be thought of as “hypothesis generating” and their results may indicate a treatment that then needs to be evaluated with a randomised controlled trial.

When a doctor or patient refers to examples of IVF success or failure with a particular IVF option, it's referred to as an anecdote or anecdotal evidence. For example, when someone you know got pregnant from IVF after using a specific IVF option.

While these stories can sound compelling, they aren't reliable indicators of whether a specific IVF option is effective or not. What happens to one person might not happen to everyone else. Just because someone used a specific IVF option and conceived does not necessarily mean that it was the specific IVF option that resulted in the pregnancy. The only way to evaluate whether an intervention affects the chance of any health outcome is to study that in a scientific study. The best type of scientific study design to use is a randomised controlled trial.

In general, the more trials conducted and the greater the number of participants involved, the better the evidence. Larger participant numbers increase the likelihood that a trial accurately measures the true effect of the intervention being studied. Likewise, consistent results across multiple randomised controlled trials strengthen the reliability of the evidence.

The number of participants required for robust evidence varies depending on the specific IVF optional extra being studied and the characteristics of the patient population. As a general guideline, evaluating an optional extra with data from 1,000 to 5,000 relevant patients across multiple trials is considered a good amount of evidence.

It is important to consider the results of all available randomised controlled trials, rather than just the results from one single study. It is also important to critically appraise individual studies to determine if they are reliable. Unfortunately, many research studies have serious flaws or are poorly conducted, and the results are not reliable. Critical appraisal requires specialised expertise, which is why we have assembled an international team of experts to thoroughly evaluate every study that we consider including in our analysis.

We conduct comprehensive searches on international databases to identify all relevant randomised controlled trials. This includes searching through clinical trial registers, conference proceedings, and peer reviewed publications. If we cannot find any randomised controlled trials for an IVF optional extra, we will clearly state this on the website. We do not consider evidence from any other types of study design, such as observational or retrospective studies. This is because these studies are prone to bias, and the results are not reliable.

This happens because some studies only track whether participants became pregnant, and they stop collecting data after the pregnancy is confirmed at the first scan (around 6-8 weeks gestation). As a result, it is common to have fewer trials reporting live birth data compared to pregnancy data.

Our default outcomes to report for every option are: live birth, pregnancy and miscarriage. Sometimes other options may be relevant, depending on the optional extra. For example, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is relevant for the option of ‘elective freeze-all’ and time to pregnancy is relevant for the option of PGT-A. When extra outcomes might be relevant, this is determined by our Expert Researchers. More information about our research methods.

Sometimes optional extras are relevant for multiple subgroups of IVF patients, such as those with thin endometrium and those with recurrent implantation failure. In these cases, where it has been agreed ahead of time by the Expert Researchers, we present the evidence separately to see if the optional extra appears to have a different effect in different subgroups.

We have a team of trusted Expert Researchers perform all the steps of identifying, appraising and synthesising evidence for this website.

We aim to update the information for every optional extra every 6-12 months.