Cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm

The cost of starting a family with donor sperm involves a lot more than the price of the sperm itself. In this article, you receive an overview of the cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm. It includes what you will be spending your money on when trying to conceive your dream child with price examples from four countries and four couples.
Fertility treatment
Lotte Sørensen
Feb 20, 2026
7 min. read
7 min. read

Please note that the following price examples e.g. the cost of donor sperm, are if you were to pay for everything yourself. Under each country, we list the funding possibilities which can lower the cost of donor sperm and treatment.

Cost of donor sperm for fertility treatment

The cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm depends on whether you need an ID Release donor or a No ID Release donor, and what type of treatment you will be having.

The cost of a donor sperm straw for fertility treatment is between €685-€1295. Be aware that you may need more than one sperm straw to have enough for your full course of treatment.

In some countries you also need to buy a pregnancy slot, which is one way for a country to govern how many families a donor contributes to. A pregnancy slot is €350 in Denmark and €550 for the rest of the world.

The UK: The cost of fertility treatment with IUI, IVF or ICSI

The cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm varies, depending on the treatment type:

IUI: £700 to £1600 (€813-€1860)
IVF: £3000 to £10,000 (€3400-€11700)
ICSI: £4000 to 13650 (€4600-€16000)

Sources: NHS and Total Fertility.

Funding

A lot of women and couples will be eligible to have fertility treatments with funding from the NHS. Whether you are eligible depends on your age, lifestyle factors and where you live, which is sometimes referred to as the postcode lottery.

The website Fertility Mapper has a tool, that we find useful. You input your information and it estimates whether you can be treated within the NHS.

It might also be a good idea to check your health insurance as some companies cover fertility treatment with donor sperm (such as BUPA).

Germany: The cost of fertility treatment with IUI, IVF or ICSI

The cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm varies, depending on the treatment type:

IUI: €250-€1000
IVF: €2500-€8000
ICSI: We haven’t been able to find specific prices for ICSI treatment for Germany, as most clinics consider it as an add-on to IVF.

Sources: MVZ Fertility Center Hamburg

Funding

The availability of treatment and funding varies a bit from state to state. Generally, the statutory health insurance will cover 50% of the costs of three rounds of treatment for married couples who live up to a list of criteria. Private health insurers may cover more and cover unmarried couples or single women as well, but this also varies quite a bit from insurer to insurer – so check with your specific health insurance company.

The Netherlands: The cost of fertility treatment with IUI, IVF or ICSI

The cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm varies, depending on the treatment type:

IUI: €300-€1000
IVF: €2000
ICSI: €2300

Sources: Nij Geertgen

Funding

Basic health insurance in The Netherlands will cover three rounds of IVF treatment.

Denmark: The cost of fertility treatment with IUI, IVF or ICSI

The cost of fertility treatment with donor sperm varies, depending on the treatment type:

IUI: 1400-4310 DKK (€190-€580)
IVF: 24000-70.000 DKK (€3200-€9400)
ICSI: 27000-40000 DKK (€3600-€5400)

Sources: Trianglen Fertility Clinic.

Funding

In Denmark, you get 3 free rounds of fertility treatment in the public system. The government plans to extend this to 6 free rounds of treatment by October 2024.

You will however still need to pay for any medication or hormone treatment. If you have private health insurance, it may cover all or some of the costs for this.

Person holding an ultrasound scan photo over a pregnant belly while sitting on a sofa at home.

Price examples: fertility treatment with donor sperm

Katja and Hayley

When German-English couple Katja and Hayley first decided to grow their family, they didn’t know how much they would spend on fertility treatment. They were driven by their desire to have children - and the cost of fertility treatment was not going to be an obstacle to their dream. They knew they had to make it happen even though fertility treatment comes with a cost. The couple, who lives in Hamburg, travelled to Denmark to get IUI treatment. They had six rounds of IUI - three for each of their two children.

Expense DescriptionAmount (€)
Sperm straws€10,862.10
Shipping of straws€1,102
Straw storage€759
Medication€534
IUI cycles€2,238
Supplements & Vitamins€230
Ovulation tests€250
Pregnancy tests€230
Psychological evaluation€270
Tube check (HSG)€380
Pre-Blood tests€150
Ultrasounds€120
Travel to Denmark€160
Total amount spent€17,285.10

Today, the same-sex couple has two children with the help of a sperm donor: “The total amount that we have spent undergoing our fertility treatments in no way reflects the amount of love that we have for our children,” says Katja.

Jo and Viv

Expense DescriptionAmount (€)
Initial virtual consultation at the clinic€135
Blood tests in Poland, required by the clinic€100
1 sperm straw€648
Pregnancy slot€350
Shipping and handling€120
Tax€279.5
1 round of IUI treatment€520
Clinic storage and handling fee€210
Plane tickets + petrol€100
Transport in Denmark, food, daily expenses (ex. accommodation as the couple stayed with friends)€400
Total amount spent€286

Holly and Rumer

UK-couple Holly and Rumer’s initial plans included that Rumer would carry the first pregnancy with one of Holly’s fertilised eggs – then reverse it for their second child. But the results of a fertility check showed that Rumer’s fertility was in poorer state than expected.  They chose to use one of Rumer’s eggs instead and due to the declining fertility, they skipped IUI treatment and went straight ahead with IVF.

Expense DescriptionAmount (€)
2 × consultations€276
2 × AMH blood tests€300
2 × initial ultrasounds€479.50
4 × MOT 10 sperm straws€4,416
1 × Pregnancy Slot€679
Shipping€339.50
Import Fee€420
Medication€2,147
Infection Blood Tests€337
Extended Culture / Blastocyst€487.50
Use of Donor Sperm (clinic fee)€1,379
Care Maps (Time lapse embryo imaging)€1,079.50
Embryo Freeze (1 year storage at clinic)€779.50
Elective all-freeze cycle (clinic)€3,658
ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection)€1,559
IVF/ICSI Round 2€10,490.50
Frozen embryo transfer€3,112.50
Progesterone pessaries€270
Oestradiol medication€98.50
Pharmacy dispensing fee€51.50
Annual Embryo storage charge (IVF Round 1)€438
Total amount spent€32,797.50

Holly and Rumer’s fertility journey involves costs for IVF treatment. This kind of treatment is more expensive than IUI which also shows in how much they have spent so far. Every fertility journey is different – it all depends on your fertility status and what kind of treatment you need.

Jake and Karin

Same-sex couple Jake and Karin live in the Netherlands where they also had fertility treatment. Many of their treatment costs were covered by the government. They could get up to 12 IUI treatments without paying and if they didn’t get pregnant, they would be categorised as having a medical reason to have another kind of treatment such as IVF.

Expense DescriptionAmount (€)
Personal contribution for treatment€192.50
All medical exams (ultrasounds, fallopian tubes etc.)paid by health insurance
IUI treatment (not including sperm straws)paid by health insurance
3 × sperm straws€3,611.85
Storage (6 months)€100
Pregnancy slot€665.50
Shipping€97.35
Registration of the straws€130
Storage (1 year)€78.22
Therapypaid by health insurance
Yearly fee for all medical costs€385
Total amount spent€2,852

Jake and Karin got pregnant on their first try with IUI treatment. They bought three straws of sperm to make sure they had enough for a few tries – or for a sibling in the future.

Costs vary depending on your situation

As these examples show, the cost of fertility treatment varies widely when it comes to starting a family with the help of a donor. The type of treatment and the country where the treatment takes place will have a big impact on what you end up spending. For this reason, it is not possible to give a formula for the cost of fertility treatment using donor sperm. However, you can research what it costs having treatment at different clinics to get an estimate of what it will cost you. You can also see our prices on donor sperm and services.

Other costs related to fertility treatment with donor sperm

Apart from the treatment itself, you may also need to set aside money for the following:

Cost of hormone treatment during your treatment course

Depending on your unique situation, the carrying parent will most likely need some form of hormone treatment.

If you are attempting to get pregnant through insemination and have no fertility issues you may skip the hormones. But often fertility specialists will still recommend boosting your natural cycle with hormones to increase the chances of pregnancy.

Consultations, scans and tests

Apart from the fertility treatment itself, you will need to go to consultations and perhaps undergo some tests and scans. Often, the clinics offer packages where both the treatment and other services are included, but this varies. We recommend that you ask your clinic what is included in their prices and, just as importantly, what other expenses you can expect.

What are my options, if the cost of my fertility treatment isn’t covered by the public health care system or insurance?

Access to have your treatment funded varies quite a lot in different countries and regions, and can depend on your marital status, age and lifestyle factors. But fear not, if you find yourself without funding. A lot of clinics and sperm banks such as European Sperm Bank offers flexible payment solutions.

Other factors that you need to consider

You may not get pregnant on your first attempt

Even if you have no fertility issues, it often takes more than one attempt to get pregnant. This means you need more consultations and treatments with your clinic, as well as more sperm straws from your donor. We recommend buying 3 - 5 sperm straws. We offer to store the sperm at our facilities and only ship them when you need.

You might earn less

When going through fertility treatment you may need to take time off work to go to your treatments or just to look after your mental health. Now is a good time to check up on your contract and, if you are comfortable with it, talk to your manager to see whether this impacts your earnings.

The emotional costs

For some people, the cost of going through fertility treatment goes beyond that of donor sperm and medication - it can take its toll on their mental health. Make a plan for how you want to take care of yourself and consider setting aside money for therapy or the like.

What do I do now?

If you want to start a family and are interested in fertility treatment with donor sperm, but aren’t sure what your possibilities are, we offer free consultations in 12 different languages with our friendly customer care specialists.

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