How much does IUI cost in India-Is it a successful fertility option?

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Time is changing and people are changing Working style is being changed a now days and this caused a growing rate of Infertility. People keen 2 know what is IUI and how it's helping childless couple

When couples move towards fertility, they face several challenges from time to time, which are of varying forms in terms of the emotional, hormonal and physiological nature. Generally, when medications and tests fail to produce desired result in the form of natural pregnancy, doctors seek help of artificial reproductive technologies (ART) like intra-uterine insemination (IUI) or in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

In this article, we will discuss about IUI, IUI cost in India, and how successful is this treatment in terms of mediating conception.

IUI- What do you need to know?

IUI is a procedure that involves washing of sperms to remove dead, slow moving sperms and sort only healthy, fast sperms which have higher chances of fertilizing an egg, thereby reducing the competition. The sperms are placed directly into the uterus of a woman, during ovulation, with the help of a catheter. The procedure is generally combined with few fertility drugs. In layman terms, IUI is very similar to the natural process of conception, and facilitates sperm to reach egg by bypassing some obstacles.

When is IUI recommended?

IUI is, generally, recommended in cases of mild endometriosis, unexplained infertility, poor cervical mucus, ejaculatory failure, mild male sub fertility or ovulatory dysfunction. IUI is an efficient, cost effective and less invasive treatment and therefore, preferred as first line of treatment for infertility.

IUI Cost in India

The major factor that leads couples to choose IUI over IVF, when considering beyond fertility drugs, is the relatively low IUI cost. The average cost of IUI In India is Rs. 8000/-though this cost varies from city to city and clinic to clinic. The average IUI cost in different major cities of India is as follows:

Bengaluru- Rs. 8,000- Rs. 9,000

Delhi- Rs. 6,000- Rs. 8,500

Mumbai-Rs. 10,000- Rs. 15,000

Pune- -Rs.4,000

However, couples need to understand that this cost includes only the final IUI procedure. Ovulation induction and tracking of ovulation involves various consultations, medicines and scans which are over and above the cost of the procedure. Moreover, the success rate of IUI in single cycle is less and you may have to undergo procedure several times which will increase the total cost, depending upon the number of times IUI is performed. The cost of multiple IUI cycles (average number of 3-5 cycles) combined is still less than single IVF cycle, and therefore, it is suggested to undergo IUI.

Success rate of IUI

The success rate of IUI is similar to the pregnancy rate of fertile couples achieving conception on their own. The chances of getting pregnant is 10%-20% with single IUI cycle but can be increased to as high as 80% with 3 to 6 cycles of IUI. However, the success rate of IUI depends on several factors like age of woman, semen sample of man and medical condition. The data suggests that the success rate of IUI decreases with age and the chances of success for a woman >40 years of age has less than 8% and therefore, IUI is not recommended in women above 40 years of age. The success rate of IUI is highest for the infertility with unexplained reason and dysovulatory infertility.

The final decision of couple to go for IUI should, therefore, be weighed on the factors including age of woman, type of infertility and personal finances.

Source of this article Subhag