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Fertility & IVF · Specialty guide

Choosing an IVF clinic

A short, factual guide to comparing fertility clinics — how success rates are reported, why headline figures can mislead, and how to read a clinic's GCR Rating for fertility care.

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IVF is emotionally and financially demanding, and clinics present their results in very different ways. The goal of this guide is to help you compare clinics fairly, and to read success rates with the right questions in mind.

Why success rates are hard to compare

A “success rate” can mean very different things: pregnancy per cycle, live birth per cycle, or per embryo transfer — and rates change sharply with patient age and whether donor eggs are used. A clinic that treats more straightforward cases can show higher headline numbers without being better at difficult ones.

Ask for like-for-like

Request live-birth rates per started cycle, broken down by age group and by own-egg versus donor-egg. A single headline percentage, without that context, tells you little.

What to confirm before you commit

Treatment, in plain terms

A standard IVF cycle

Ovarian stimulation, egg collection, fertilisation in the lab, and transfer of one or more embryos. Several monitoring visits are needed during stimulation, so plan for time in the destination.

ICSI and donor cycles

ICSI injects a single sperm into each egg; donor-egg cycles use eggs from a donor and have their own success profile and regulations. Confirm the legal framework in the destination country before you travel.

How the GCR Rating for fertility works

What the number means

A clinic's GCR Rating for fertility is a single score out of 5, calculated from verified patient reviews and — increasingly — patient-reported outcomes for this specialty, using a model that accounts for how many reviews a clinic has. No clinic can pay to change it.

Use it alongside the clinic's own published outcome data and your consultation. See how each GCR Rating is calculated →

Questions to ask in your first consultation

Compare the ranking

See the fertility clinics GCR rates, ordered by their GCR Rating for this specialty:

If a clinic you are considering is not listed, you can suggest it for review.

Choosing an IVF clinic — GCR guide