The Bottom Line
In 2008, after two years of failing to make a child organically, we learned the doom Kathy had already been feeling for more than a year was justified: I was diagnosed with male-factor infertility. Our only real chance to move forward would be in vitro fertilization. We couldn’t afford it; we couldn’t afford not to do it. One way we tried to work through that diagnosis, our anger, and our options was to start a secret infertility blog, “Less Than a Million.” This post and what comments from 2008 that are attached to it come from that blog.—gb
After adding up all of our expenses to date related to infertility testing, I found that we’ve spent over $3,500 in the past four months. And it’s important to note that while my diagnostic testing reflects about 28% of this total, I have not had a full work-up myself (no HSG, most importantly, which was going to cost us around $2,000).
Of course, many who are undergoing ART are spending much, much more out-of-pocket—and making serious sacrifices to do so. For us, the diagnostic expenses so far have meant putting on hold paying off credit card debt. We’ve been able to pay cash to the RE and Urology clinics, but it very much hurts our overall financial situation. It’s nearly impossible for us to imagine using a credit card or taking out a loan to cover IVF, given that we are already carrying a significant amount of consumer debt. We have frustratingly few choices in all of this.
