How can an IVF clinic abroad get patients from the UK?
UK patients look abroad for price and for donors, and their regulator gives them a list of questions for you.
Why do they look abroad?
Price: the regulator says so itself, “because the price is often lower”, and the NHS funded 27% of IVF cycles in 2023 (HFEA).
What will they ask you?
- Is fertility treatment regulated in your country, and which rules do you follow?
- What are your success rates and how are they calculated?
- What is your multiple birth rate?
- Will you provide a costed treatment plan?
- Do you store embryos, and for how long?
- Are people allowed to donate anonymously?
Answer them on one page.
What about donor anonymity?
The UK has none, “It's not possible to donate anonymously in the UK”, so say before the first consultation if your donors are anonymous.
How should you show success rates?
By age group and as births, because patients are warned that a clinic may show only patients under 35, or pregnancies.
Want appointments that show up and match your criteria?
See if your clinic qualifies →Sources
- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Fertility treatment abroad. Published 14 July 2016. hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/fertility-treatment-abroad
- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Fertility treatment 2023: trends and figures. Published June 2025. hfea.gov.uk/about-us/publications/research-and-data/fertility-treatment-2023-trends-and-figures
- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Donating your sperm. Last reviewed 18 May 2026. hfea.gov.uk/donation/donors/donating-your-sperm