Minimal Stimulation IVF Program

The Muasher Center for Fertility and IVF is pleased to announce the Minimal Stimulation IVF Protocol which  could be an option specifically tailored to those patients (who meet certain clinical criteria) and do not have insurance coverage.

Dr. Muasher was one of the originators of the Minimal Stimulation IVF Protocol while he was the Director of the In Vitro Fertilization Program and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the prestigious Jones Institute. He is one of a very few fertility experts who have achieved good success rates using this innovative protocol.

In a standard IVF cycle, the patient receives FSH (Gonal-F®, Follistim®, Bravelle®, and Menopur) for the entire stimulation period.  Using the Minimal Stimulation IVF Protocol, Clomid is administered on Days 3-7 of the cycle followed by FSH starting on Day 8 until the follicles reach maturity and are ready for retrieval. Since FSH is not used during the first days of stimulation, medication costs are greatly reduced.  In fact, the standard estimated drugs cost is only $600- $800 versus $3,000 to $5,000 with standard IVF.

The global fee for physician and laboratory services is $5,500.00; which includes all labs, ultrasounds, office visits during the course of stimulation, IVF retrieval, and insemination of eggs, embryo transfer, and assisted hatching, if necessary. There will be an additional fee of $1,000.00, if ICSI is necessary. This is a highly discounted fee for IVF that we hope will enable more couples to realize their dreams of having children. The cost of a full stimulation IVF cycle ranges from $10,500 - $13,500 (not including the cost of medications).

Not every patient is a candidate for minimal stimulation; those excluded include:

  • Age > 43 years
  • Day 3 FSH Level > 20 miu / ml
  • Azospermia (sperm count = 0)
  • Presence of a hydrosalpinx
  • Patients with insurance coverage for IVF

Success Rates for Minimal Stimulation
2008 - 2009

Number of patients 31
Average Age (yrs) 36 ± 4
Cancellation 1
Average Vials of FSH / hMG 10.5 ± 3.2
Average Mature Eggs 4.2 ± 2.7
Average of Embryos Transferred 2.4 ± 0.9
Clinical Pregnancy / Cycle % 42 (13 / 31)
Clinical Pregnancy / Transfer % 43 (13 / 30)

The Minimal Stimulation protocol is particularly advantageous to patients who are low responders (do not produce many eggs) and require a lot of medications that are very costly. The following chart illustrates this point.

Success Rates for Low Responders
2008 - 2009

  Minimal Stimulation IVF Full Stimulation
IVF
Number of patients 13 42
Age (yrs) 38.7 38.9
Vials of FSH / hMG 9.7 50
Mature Eggs 2.4 3.8
Number of Embryos Transferred 2.0 2.1
Cost of Medications $600-$800 $3,000-$4,000
Cost of IVF with Medications $7,000 - $8,000 $15,000 - $18,000
Clinical Pregnancy / Cycle % 38 (5/13) 36 (15/42)
Clinical Pregnancy / Transfer % 42 (5/12) 47 (15/32)

Please contact us for more information about the program or to schedule an initial evaluation to find out if you might be a candidate for a Minimal Stimulation IVF Protocol.