After two years of trying to get pregnant, Maggie Quinn and Ricardo Escobar faced a financial obstacle they didn't expect: the cost of in vitro fertilization in the United States.
“It was astronomical and you don’t know how many rounds you’re going to need,” Quinn said.
With limited insurance coverage, a Florida couple began exploring what is known as “fertility tourism,” in which patients travel abroad for more affordable fertility treatments.
Ricardo, originally from Colombia, found a clinic in the capital Bogota that offered a significant price difference: a four-round IVF package in Colombia costs $11,000, compared to about $60,000 for four rounds in the United States. The cost of the drugs was also less than half of the cost in the United States.
“It’s not hard, especially because that’s where I’m from,” Escobar said. “We found that the clinic has an excellent rating and really good results.”
At the Inser Clinic, the couple met Dr. Juan Luis Giraldo, who treats patients from all over the world. He said nearly half of his clients come from outside Colombia and about 15% from the United States.
“From the U.S., they mainly come for two reasons,” Giraldo said. “Firstly, there is cost, and secondly, individual treatment. “Very often, patients feel like they don't have a close relationship with their doctor.”
The couple made several trips to Colombia, where the first round of IVF produced four viable embryos. After several embryo transfers, Quinn became pregnant and gave birth to her son, Lorenzo, in 2023. The following year they returned for another cycle and are now expecting again.
Quinn estimates they saved between $15,000 and $20,000 per round. Her flexible work schedule allowed her to travel, and some blood tests and ultrasounds were done in Florida.
Dr. Sangeeta Jindal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine advises Americans undergoing fertility treatment abroad to carefully review local laws.
“I would like to know that there is a flexible legal framework that will allow me to return my embryos to the United States to be transferred into my uterus,” Jindal said. “Some countries may have laws against this.”
The global fertility tourism market has grown by more than $50 million in the past year and is projected to reach $800 million by 2030.
For Quinn and Escobar, who became pregnant again after two rounds of IVF, the journey was more emotional.
“It’s actually a blessing,” Escobar said. “To be able to have our first child and then give our first boy a brother is just a blessing.”
