COMUNICATO STAMPA - CONTENUTO PROMOZIONALE
A landmark international study has found that halving patient out-of-pocket costs was associated with a 2.67-fold increase in births achieved through assisted reproductive technology (ART).
LONDON, July 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European
To compare countries/regions consistently, researchers developed a 'cost-to-baby' affordability metric estimating the cost required to achieve one live birth through ART.
Gross cost-to-baby was calculated using average per-cycle treatment costs, including embryo transfer, preimplantation genetic testing where used, and medications, alongside the age-weighted number of cycles required to achieve a live birth. Net out-of-pocket cost-to-baby then accounted for reimbursement programmes, subsidies and tax benefits applicable to each country/region. Both gross and net costs were expressed as a percentage of median after-tax household income.
The results revealed significant international differences in affordability. Gross cost-to-baby varied more than 12-fold across countries and regions, ranging from 66% of median household income in Israel to 833% in Africa (excluding Egypt, Tunisia and South Africa), while net out-of-pocket cost-to-baby ranged from 13% in Israel to 825% in Africa.
Countries/regions with gross cost-to-baby below 100% and net out-of-pocket cost-to-baby below 50% of median household income consistently achieved the highest levels of ART utilisation, including South Korea (11.8% of births via ART), Spain (11.7%) and Japan (9.3%).
Conversely, in countries/regions such as Brazil, India and South-east Asia, where costs approach two or three times the annual median household income, the proportion of ART births plummeted to between 0.2% and 0.4%.
Lead author Dr Stephanie Kuku of Conceivable Life Sciences said, "It was genuinely striking to see how much of the variation could be explained by a single affordability metric. Our models explained between 77% and 84% of the variation in ART utilisation."
Looking ahead, Dr Kuku said that the findings provide a clear benchmark for improving access to fertility treatment. "Our analysis is fundamentally patient-centric: it asks what a typical household actually earns and what they would actually have to spend to have a baby through ART. The 50% threshold isn't a theoretical construct; it's a grounded observation of what top-performing nations have achieved."
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