One of the things that people tell you about when doing IVF is think about the hidden costs. IVF is expensive and if you go private you fail to realise that not all costs are included in the overall treatment plan costs.
I feel lucky that I’ve been able to get some of my tests, consultants and scans on the NHS. This is because I was referred by my GP to my clinic, even as a solo mum. I know I’m quite lucky in this respect. This has probably saved me hundreds of pounds that I know other people have had to pay for. Right at the beginning when I was looking at IVF this is the way that I thought I would have to go so I am extremely grateful that I didn’t have to.
That’s not to say that I’ve still not incurred hidden costs. I say there hidden costs but in reality I’ve generally known that I needed to pay them.
For instance I knew that the AMH blood test was not a test that I could have done on the NHS. It was a paid for test which the cost of varies between clinics. It’s one of the reasons I’m not really discuss costs of things in my blog so far, it’s purely because everything every clinic charges different prices for things.
One of the other things I had to pay for I was my donor matching. I wrote a blog on my donor matching appointment and you can read it here. I knew that that was a cost that I would have to pay for, it was something that I’d planned and budgeted for so it wasn’t really a hidden cost. But for people who have not thought about this or did not know that it was something that they have to pay for it could be a hidden cost that they were not expecting. It seems that not all clinics charge for this and it would also seem that different clinics include different things in their donor matching. My clinic included my nurse consultation, a tracking cycle scans, additional blood tests as and when needed, such as virology, my CMV bloods plus my counselling appointment if I’ve not already had it.
I thought upon paying for my donor sperm and my package for my IVF and items mentioned above plus my medication I I had paid for everything. But I hadn’t.
One thing I had overlooked was that I actually needed to pay for donor sperm storage. Now I do find it a little bit funny because I can’t have the sperm shipped to me it has to be shipped and stored at the clinic. But the invoice landed on my doorstep today and it was something that I’d not been expecting. It’s one of those things that unfortunately it needs paying for and I need it storing until my treatment starts. If I was paying the clinic directly for treatment then it may have been included, as my donor matching would have been. But because I am doing a package with assured fertility, it is something I just need to pay for.
When you are going for treatment try and think of everything as I’m sure like me despite being planned and thoroughly investigated there will be something you forget.
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