You’ve been trying, and each failed embryo transfer exacts a crushing emotional and financial toll.

The accumulated costs from procedures, medication, and lost time add up much faster than anyone anticipates.

Fill out our simple form now to learn more about the costs involved in surrogacy and how they contribute to helping you become parents faster.

If you’re asking if it’s time to stop pursuing IVF for a more predictable path, you’re asking the right question. Let’s weigh the costs of continued failure against the stability of surrogacy.

The Real Financial Implications of Multiple Embryo Transfer Failures in IVF

Many Intended Parents who have endured two to three full failed IVF cycles (including retrievals) and multiple frozen transfers realize they have already spent between $75,000 and $150,000.

That is often the lower range of a full surrogacy journey, yet they remain without a baby and without a guarantee of future success.

Know the Starting Investment: The average cost of one full IVF cycle (including egg retrieval, lab work, and necessary medications) typically runs between $15,000 and $30,000. That’s just the starting point.

The core problem is the speed at which costs stack up after that initial investment:

• Repeated transfer attempts: Each individual frozen embryo transfer (FET) runs $3,000 to $7,000, plus required medication protocols and monitoring appointments adding another $3,000 to $5,000 per cycle.
• Multiple egg retrievals: If you need further egg retrievals, add $12,000 to $15,000 for each one, pushing the total past $100,000 much faster than you ever thought possible.

The Financial Trap: Paying for Uncertainty

The most devastating financial implication is this: you are paying enormous sums for a process with decreasing odds of success, and without an ultimate guaranteed outcome.

At this crossroads, the unpredictable and potentially endless cost of continued IVF must be contrasted directly with the predictable, structured investment of surrogacy.

Why IVF May Not Be Working—Even If You Have Healthy Embryos

If your fertility specialist keeps telling you the embryos look perfect after yet another failed transfer, the sense of hopelessness is understandable.

The urge to scream, to understand why something that looks perfect on paper keeps failing—it’s overwhelming.

Embryo quality matters, but it’s not the whole story. Even genetically normal embryos with beautiful development patterns can fail to implant or result in early pregnancy loss for reasons that doctors still can’t always predict or fix.

Why Your Healthy Embryos Keep Failing

• Severe Uterine Issues: Uterine conditions like adenomyosis, advanced endometriosis, or significant fibroids can create an implantation environment where success is nearly impossible.
• Immune System Response: For some, the immune system treats the embryo like a foreign invader. While certain immune factors are treatable, many are not, regardless of aggressive protocols, supplements, or perfect adherence to instructions.
• Maternal Age and Cellular Quality: Maternal age impacts egg quality beyond genetics. Cellular function, metabolic capacity, and the embryo’s ability to develop post-transfer all decline in ways that testing cannot measure or fix.
• Subtle Underlying Conditions: Blood clotting disorders, chronic inflammation, and subtle hormonal imbalances can derail the transfer process. Although these issues are treatable, success is not guaranteed.

When There’s No Answer At All

Sometimes there isn’t a clear explanation for why this keeps happening to you. “Unexplained infertility” is the label doctors use when they can’t figure out why your transfers keep failing.

Without clear answers, you’re left weighing whether to keep trying the same approach or consider alternatives that work around these obstacles entirely.

Should We Try One More Cycle or Move to Surrogacy?

This is probably the hardest decision you’ll face after everything you’ve already been through.

I wish I could tell you there’s one right answer, but there isn’t. However, there are ways to think through your specific situation with clarity instead of just clinging to hope because you’re terrified of giving up.

What You’ve Already Invested

Sit down and add up what you’ve spent on IVF so far. Everything—medications, procedures, genetic testing, all those extra interventions your doctor suggested.

Now compare that to what a complete surrogacy journey costs. A lot of people are genuinely shocked when they realize they’re already halfway to surrogacy costs, but they’re not anywhere near the same chance of actually holding their baby.

Your Medical Reality Check

Has your doctor actually identified something specific and treatable that would improve your next cycle? Or are they suggesting “one more try” without a clear reason why this time would be different from the last three times?

That distinction matters so much more than doctors want to admit.

The Emotional Calculation

Failed transfers take a toll that your bank statements can’t capture. Your mental health is suffering.

Your relationships are strained. If thinking about another failed cycle makes you feel physically sick, that’s real information about where you are emotionally.

Your emotional reserves aren’t infinite, even though you’ve been acting like they are.

IVF vs. Surrogacy: A Cost Comparison After Multiple Failures

One full IVF cycle with egg retrieval: $12,000 to $30,000, depending on your clinic and where you live.

Three cycles—pretty common for people over 35—puts you at $45,000 to $105,000 in cumulative costs.

Failed frozen transfers add up at $3,000 to $7,000 per attempt, plus meds and monitoring. Three of those can hit $20,000 to $35,000 before you even realize it.

Most of us who’ve been through this end up spending $75,000 to $150,000 on IVF over several years without ever achieving a successful pregnancy.

Without ever getting to meet our baby.

What Surrogacy Actually Costs

A complete surrogacy journey through American Surrogacy runs $187,500 to $202,500 using our Limited Risk program.

That includes comprehensive support and a much higher chance of bringing home your baby because of how thoroughly we screen surrogates. Here’s where it gets interesting, though.

The Probability Factor Everyone Ignores

First-time embryo transfers with a carefully screened surrogate? 60-75% chance of working per transfer. Compare that to 20-40% for IVF, depending on your age and other factors.

So let’s say you have a 25% shot per IVF cycle and end up needing four cycles at $25,000 each. Spending $100,000 gets you a cumulative 68% chance of bringing home your baby.

With surrogacy at around $190,000, you’re getting a 70-75% chance per transfer, and many programs guarantee an outcome or refund your money.

Yes, you’re paying more upfront. But you’re buying predictability and odds that are higher than continuing IVF instead of just spending money on hope.

How Surrogacy Can Offer a Predictable Path Forward

After years of unpredictable IVF outcomes, certainty starts to matter as much as anything else.

Maybe even more. Surrogacy lets you use your existing genetically-tested embryos with someone who has proven fertility. That combination changes the probability equation entirely.

How Screening Changes Your Odds

We only work with surrogates who’ve already carried at least one healthy pregnancy to term.

They have proven fertility, excellent health, and have passed comprehensive medical and psychological evaluations. Less than 2% of potential surrogates pass our screening process.

That’s not us being picky for no reason. It translates directly to better outcomes for you.

Instead of hoping this cycle will somehow work despite the same underlying issues that caused all your previous failures, you work with someone whose body has already proven it can carry a pregnancy to term.

Learn more about why screening matters in your family building journey.

Knowing What You’re Paying For

With surrogacy, you know the total cost range upfront. Our Limited Risk program guarantees you’ll bring home a baby or receive a significant refund.

That removes the awful uncertainty of spending $150,000+ on IVF with no promise you’ll ever actually become parents. There’s no more gambling. Just investing in something with real guarantees.

What’s Included in the Cost of Surrogacy (and What’s Not)

When you’re making financial decisions this big, you deserve full transparency about where your money goes.

No surprises. No hidden fees showing up later. Our Limited Risk program runs $187,500 to $202,500. That’s comprehensive—here’s the breakdown of what’s included and what you’ll pay separately.

What the Program Fee Covers

• Finding and vetting your surrogate: Complete screening and qualification—medical, psychological, personal history, everything. We only match you with surrogates who meet strict standards. Plus all the marketing efforts to recruit high-quality candidates in the first place.
• Financial guarantees: Protection through our guaranteed outcome structure. Bringing home a baby or receiving a significant refund is guaranteed. Period.
• All surrogate-related costs: Her base compensation, monthly allowances, all pregnancy-related expenses. Medical coordination and insurance fees, including pregnancy insurance for your surrogate if she needs it.
• Legal protection: All legal fees for contract development and establishing your parentage. No surprise legal bills.
• Full support throughout: Agency support from matching through delivery, available 24/7 when you need us. Complete administrative services and accounting throughout your journey so you’re not managing spreadsheets while trying to become parents.

What You’ll Pay Separately

• Creating or transferring embryos: $3,000 to $7,000 if you’re using existing embryos, or $15,000 to $25,000 if you need to create new ones. Using donor eggs or sperm adds to this cost.
• After birth: The baby’s medical expenses aren’t included—that’s the newborn hospital care after delivery.
• Travel: Travel and lodging for key appointments and the birth itself will be your responsibility. Being there for these moments matters, and those costs are separate.

It’s a substantial investment, yes. But it’s one with a clear endpoint and success rates higher than continuing IVF after you’ve already failed multiple times.

Financing Options After IVF Failure: What You Need to Know

Affording surrogacy is more accessible than you might think right now, especially after you’ve already been pouring money into IVF.

Fertility-Specific Financing

We’ve partnered with Sunfish, a company that specializes in surrogacy loans.

They get the financial dynamics of family-building in a way regular banks don’t, and they offer flexible payment plans designed for people like you who’ve already invested heavily in IVF.

Traditional Financing Routes

Personal loans from banks or credit unions usually beat general consumer credit on interest rates.

Some people use 401(k) loans to borrow against their retirement savings without penalties. This requires serious thought about long-term impacts, obviously. But it’s an option that’s helped a lot of people.

Health Savings Account funds can sometimes cover surrogacy-related medical expenses—check yours to see what applies.

Grants and Alternative Funding

Organizations offer grants and scholarships for family-building, particularly for LGBTQ+ families, cancer survivors, and people with specific medical conditions. They’re competitive, but they exist and they’re worth applying for.

Redirecting Your IVF Budget

Here’s something that clicks for a lot of people: the money you would keep spending on more IVF cycles can be redirected toward surrogacy instead.

You’re essentially converting those ongoing monthly costs into a structured payment toward something with way better odds of actually working. You were going to spend the money anyway.

This way, you’re spending it on something that has a real chance of ending with you holding your baby.

Is Surrogacy the Next Step? Let’s Talk.

You’ve carried the financial implications of multiple embryo transfer failures and the emotional weight long enough.

If you are questioning whether to endure another unpredictable IVF cycle or choose a proven path, we are here to talk.

Reach out to a surrogacy specialist today to get more financial insight into your surrogacy journey.

The smartest choice, financially and emotionally, is the one that finally leads to your baby.