Infertility

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) costs £3,000 to £5,000 per cycle in the private sector and has a 20-30 per cent success rate, but few couples inquire what the cost is or how many cycles they are likely to need in advance, leaving them facing huge bills for treatment that may not work.

In the US, the average cost of a cycle of treatment is $12,400 (about £7,000), but the average cost of a baby obtained through IVF is $58,000 - something prospective parents are not told before they sign up for treatment.

Professor Spar, who has spent five years researching the fertility industry in the US, will tell the annual meeting of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) today that unless tighter commercial regulation is introduced, Britain will go the way of the US and fertility treatment will become the preserve of the rich.

"There is a market for babies which people don't like to acknowledge.

Doctors see themselves as building families and parents see themselves as conceiving a child, not purchasing one.

Price is not mentioned, parents have treatment that doesn't work, they ...

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Same-sex couples, single people, patients with genetic disorders and couples wanting to select the gender of their child also seek treatments.The disparity in the cost of treatments and what is allowed in various countries has created an international market, with people travelling abroad to get what they can't get at home or for a cheaper price.

Related storyNew test may help women predict fertilitySpar, who will present her findings on Wednesday at the annual conference of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) which regulates treatments in Britain, said the cost of egg donation in the United States ranges from $4,500 to $50,000.She predicts the new wave will be embryo donation or sales."When people want children and cannot produce children they will do virtually anything," she said, adding that infertile couples do not behave as rational consumers.1 percent getting treatmentBecause several treatments may be necessary, the average price of a baby conceived through assisted reproduction in the United Stat...