Shannon Buck was starting to feel hopeless.
For four years, she’d been trying to have a baby with husband Ryan — but natural conception, which seemed to come so easily to everyone around them, and sometimes even accidentally, just wasn’t happening for the would-be parents.
So, in April 2024, the Austin, Texas, couple boarded a packed flight to Istanbul — joining men traveling to Turkey for cheap hair transplants and women chasing bigger breasts at smaller prices — embarking on a nearly 6,500-mile and weeks-long journey to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.
“IVF in America is just so expensive,” Shannon, 35, a health insurance agent, told The Post.
“I researched how much cheaper it is in Turkey,” she said. “I found myself making a slideshow presentation for Ryan titled, ‘Reasons we need to go to Turkey for IVF.’”
At the top of her list? The $4,000 cost of the procedure at the Bahceci Fertility Clinic, ranked one of the top IVF clinics in the world by Newsweek — and certainly one of the more affordable, considering the average price of $25,000 per cycle in the United States.
Shannon and Ryan, 39, an architect, are among the growing number of hopefuls pursuing the dream of destination fertilization — jetting off to parts unknown in search of accessible assisted reproductive care.
It’s a market projected to reach $6.18 billion by 2030, owing to the budget-friendly offerings in countries such as Turkey, Spain, the Czech Republic, India and more, per a recent report.
Here in the United States, in a bid to “drastically” boost affordability, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last February to expand “reliable access” to IVF, “including by easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens.” Just last month, the White House announced an agreement with Merck KGaA’s U.S. arm, EMD Serono, to offer IVF drugs at “very, very heavily reduced prices,” the president said, via the administration’s pending TrumpRx plan.
In the meantime, many Americans struggle with IVF — the creation of an embryo in a lab — financially, physically and emotionally. It is a lengthy, multistep process that doesn’t just happen over a long weekend out of town. It can take several weeks and require careful monitoring.
The Bucks spent a whole month in Turkey, taking off work and living in an Airbnb during treatment. They spent roughly $20,000 on round-trip flights, food, lodging and IVF in total.
Mothers-in-the-making like Shannon must begin taking hormonal injections 10 to 12 days before the procedure. Then there’s the egg retrieval and freezing, sperm collection, embryo fertilization, and either a fresh or frozen embryo transfer into the uterus.
The pair took all those things into consideration before selecting Dr. Gürkan Bozdağ of the Bahceci Clinic, which uses AI technologies to select the best-quality egg and sperm for the procedure.
While there was a “huge” language barrier, Shannon admitted, an English-speaking care coordinator smoothed the way, she said.
The trip ultimately saved the pair $5,000 and gave them their now 10-month-old son.
“It’s unbelievable — I almost still can’t believe it,” Shannon gushed, calling their journey “the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Jaime Knopman, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist in Manhattan, told The Post she understands the urge to go abroad — but advises against it, even if the price is right.
“Of course, it’s less expensive,” said the author and director of Fertility Preservation for CCRM Fertility New York. “But IVF regulations in the US — infectious disease screening, genetic testing, how we maintain our tanks and patients’ tissues — are set to ensure safety and quality. Those guidelines aren’t as strict across the world.”
Jessica Hodges heard all the warnings before jetting off to Greece to begin her own journey to parenthood, where she told The Post the cost and quality of care at Ark IVF were “significantly better” than her initial IVF experience in her hometown of Seattle.
“The way they’re monitoring the embryos and how my body is responding to certain medications is incredible,” said the professional baker and married mom of one. “And my embryo quality is far more superior than the results that I had stateside.”
She and husband Phillip first pursued IVF at a local facility in April 2022, after almost a decade of unsuccessfully going it alone.
Jessica depleted her 401(k) savings for $30,000 treatment, not including the additional $7,500 she paid for medication and $8,000 for genetic testing. She welcomed a son, Julian, in January 2023.
But the nearly $50,000 charge was one Jessica, who wants four children, wasn’t prepared to re-incur.
So to realize her big family dreams without breaking the bank, she laid out $10,000 for a three-week stay in Athens.
“You get IVF and a vacation at a fraction of the cost,” said Jessica, adding that the procedure cost $5,100 — and just one moment of embarrassment.
“Everyone in Athens speaks English, but obviously not perfectly,” said Jessica, recalling an awkward encounter at the clinic. “The nurse said I’d do my egg retrieval while my husband gave his sperm sample. And I was like, ‘Who’s going to watch Julian?’”
“The nurse said, ‘Your son can join your husband,’” Jessica chuckled at the suggestion that their toddler would accompany Phillip during the private occasion. “Thankfully, another nurse explained that there’d be overlap between the time I came out of recovery and Phillip’s deposit.”
The Hodges — now back in Washington — haven’t announced the results of their IVF excursion.
But Jessica’s already planning future pregnancy pilgrimages to Greece, where they’ve stored embryos for $500 per year (less than the $1,020 annual cost to keep them on ice in Seattle).
“I can do this exact trip three times before it costs as much as I paid for IVF in America,” she said. “And I’ll do it again and again.”
Sierra Ochieng, 31, a Michigander currently in Nairobi, Kenya, for fertility support, is also prepared to make repeat trips to Africa as she and husband Michael, 45, grow their family.
“We were quoted $29,000 for one IVF cycle in Michigan, but the clinician wasn’t attentive,” said Sierra, a field marketer. “Compared to the treatment I’m receiving at The Nairobi IVF Centre, it’s like night and day.”
She and Michael — a native Kenyan and father to a 15-year-old, Isaac, from a previous relationship — spent a total of $10,000 on treatment, flights and lodging for their four-month stay abroad.
They plan to return to the Midwest — hopefully pregnant — in January.
Until then, Sierra is detailing her international IVF experience online, inspiring others to think beyond US borders.
“You’re not limited to unreasonable costs,” she told The Post. “There’s life outside of America.”
“You can have a child. Your dream is accessible.”
Brian Levine, a founding partner of CCRM Fertility, another US-based IVF provider, told The Post he encouraged potential IVF travelers to thoroughly evaluate a facility’s success rate, staff qualifications and areas of expertise before surgery.
“The procedure carries inherent risks, including those related to egg retrieval, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and multiple pregnancies,” he told The Post.
Here are Dr. Levine’s top tips for pursuing IVF abroad:
- Success Rates: Seek clinics that provide transparent and up-to-date success rates for live births, ideally categorized by age groups and specific medical conditions. Keep in mind that success rates alone do not provide the full picture, as they are influenced by numerous factors.
- Staff Qualifications: Ensure that both the physicians and embryologists have the necessary qualifications and extensive experience. Verify their certifications and board specializations, particularly in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
- Medical Compatibility: Determine whether the clinic’s expertise aligns with your specific medical needs. Some clinics specialize in particular cases, such as patients with a history of failed IVF cycles, which may be critical to your success.
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