How to turn first IVF consultations into treatment cycles
Find out why patients don't come back, then fix the reasons you can.
How many don't come back?
At one Italian centre, a quarter of couples did not return after the first consultation, and 30.7% in 2021 (Scognamiglio et al., 2025).
Why not?
Most often they were told they needed donor eggs or sperm, got pregnant on their own, or went to another centre.
Why do patients stop later?
Mostly they put it off, or find it too hard on body and mind (Gameiro et al., 2012).
What can you do?
- Offer donation in the same clinic, so a patient who needs it stays.
- Give a date for the next step before they leave.
- Call those who don't book it.
- Count, by doctor, who goes on to treatment.
Does an online first consultation lose patients?
No, see online IVF consultations.
Want appointments that show up and match your criteria?
See if your clinic qualifies →Sources
- Scognamiglio et al. Couples who do not return after the first consultation at a fertility centre. Human Reproduction, 2025. doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deaf012
- Gameiro S, Boivin J, Peronace L, Verhaak CM. Why do patients discontinue fertility treatment? A systematic review of reasons and predictors of discontinuation in fertility treatment. Human Reproduction Update, 2012. doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dms031