Hey everyone! Today, let’s dive into the world of fertility treatments, specifically looking at the cost-effectiveness of Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS) combined with elective Single Embryo Transfer (eSET). For those of you considering your options, this might help clarify the financial side of things.
A recent study from New Jersey tackled a pretty interesting question: Does CCS and eSET make IVF less cost-effective? They compared the costs associated with transferring chromosomally normal (euploid) embryos after screening versus going with unscreened embryos. It’s important to note that the cumulative live birth rates for these two methods are surprisingly similar.
To break it down, the researchers developed a mathematical model that estimated how many unscreened embryo transfers you’d need to either achieve a pregnancy or use up all embryos from one retrieval. They started with a baseline fresh embryo transfer success rate of 30% for unscreened transfers.
In their model, they assumed that all CCS transfers would take place during a subsequent frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycle, and all embryos would be euploid. If all embryos turned out to be aneuploid, while CCS did add some costs, it didn’t increase expenses related to transferring the embryos.
The researchers analyzed data from patients under 42 who had their CCS cycles sent to a genetics lab between January 2011 and March 2016. Using publicly available cost estimates, they found potential costs like:
- Fresh embryo transfer: $1,050
- Embryo biopsy: $1,000
- CCS: $2,000
- Initial vitrification fee: $1,000
- Subsequent FET cycles: $3,812
So, how does it all stack up? In the unscreened group, achieving a pregnancy or using all embryos required about 25,179 embryo transfers. In contrast, the CCS group only needed around 9,750 transfers, leading to an average cost of $7,972.80 for the unscreened group compared to $7,137.99 for the CCS group.
For more on navigating the journey to parenthood, check out our post on why I chose Make A Mom and found success in my journey to parenthood.
Also, if you’re exploring artificial insemination, Cryobaby’s home insemination kit is a great resource to consider. And for further reading on pregnancy and insemination, you might want to visit this excellent resource on pregnancy.
In summary, while CCS and eSET may seem like additional costs in the short term, they actually provide a more economical pathway to achieving successful pregnancies compared to unscreened methods. It’s all about making informed choices that align with your personal fertility journey.