What is IVF?

Some couples get pregnant quickly and easily, others can take a lot longer. There is no set point to seek fertility help, although generally many people turn to their GP if they have not conceived after a year of trying for a baby. 

There are no effective, simple measures to instantly improve sperm quality. However, adopting a healthy lifestyle is beneficial so men should not smoke or drink excessive amounts of alcohol. It’s a myth that wearing loose underwear can help improve sperm quality or count.

Firstly visit the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s website (HFEA) for a list of registered clinics local to you. Then ring up the fertility clinic and ask for brochures or information, or visit the clinic’s website. Don’t be afraid to go and tour the clinic. At Manchester Fertility you can book in for an informal, free 'one-to-one' appointment so that you can come and visit us, our friendly team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Fertility treatment costs start at the point of an initial consultation with one of our fertility consultants. As we are a private clinic we do not offer free fertility consultations. View our prices page for more information about our fees and charges. 

IVF costs vary depending on which clinic you choose. You will need to pay for the initial consultation, any pre-treatment tests or scans, and then for the actual treatment itself and any necessary medications. For more details, see our prices page. 

To undergo IVF treatment it's not about your weight but your BMI. If you're struggling to do find work out your BMI, try this handy online BMI calculator. 

Generally to receive IVF treatment on the NHS your BMI needs to be over 19 and under 30. To request IVF treatment with Manchester Fertility your BMI needs to be over 19 and under 35.

You do not need a referral for an appointment with us. You can self-refer.

Manchester Fertility has been at the forefront of IVF technologies since we opened over 30 years ago. Back then, IVF was a fairly new development, but it is now used the world over. We now welcome hundreds of new patients each year and have seen over 5,000 babies born thanks to the skill and expertise of our team.

We are continuously looking at new ways to overcome fertility issues, through dedicated research, to make sure our patients always benefit from the latest fertility treatments available. 

Yes, we welcome many same-sex couples through our doors for pregnancy help, in fact we have a great reputation for it - whether you need surrogacy, a donor egg or donor insemination. For information about the fertility treatments we offer to help you, visit our donation section. 

Secondary infertility – the inability to have a second or third child despite have a successful pregnancy before – is not uncommon. But you may be worrying over nothing. Remember, infertility isn’t defined until you have been having regular, unprotected intercourse for up to two years without falling pregnant, so it could just be that this time it’s taking longer than before to conceive. Your age could also be a factor, remember that fertility starts to decline from age 30 onwards and even more so from age 35. But if you think you need fertility help, don’t hesitate seeing your GP or contact us,

Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) decide whether to fund IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment on the NHS. Guidance from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that up to three IVF cycles should be available on the NHS if:

• the woman is aged between 23 and 39 at the time of treatment, and
• one or both of you has been diagnosed with a fertility problem (such as having no sperm or both fallopian tubes blocked), or
• you have been infertile for more than three year

Women aged 40-42 who have not conceived after two years of regular, unprotected sex or after 12 cycles of artificial insemination should be offered one IVF cycle if the following criteria are met:

• they have never previously had IVF treatment
• there has no evidence fertility problems due to a low amount of eggs (low ovarian reserve)
• there has been a discussion of the risks of IVF and pregnancy at this age

Implementation of this guidance by CCGs currently varies as it is only guidance and not mandatory and some CCGs apply additional criteria that affect access to NHS-funded IVF treatment. You can find out more on the NHS website. 

No, we do not offer fertility treatment on the NHS as we are a wholly private fertility clinic. However certain Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will consider allowing you to transfer the funding for your NHS IVF cycles to us. If you’re eligible for fertility treatment on the NHS, you may be able to Transferring your NHS funded IVF treatment unit but would firstly need to discuss this with your CCG.  More information can be found from Fertility Network UK.

No, there is no waiting list for fertility treatment with us. This includes IVF treatment, donor sperm, donor eggs, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination. We also have our own successful egg-sharing programme.

Yes, we do infertility procedures for women up to the age of fifty. However, you need to consider the fact that live birth rates for older women in their mid-40s, who wish to use their own eggs to conceive, is generally extremely low. Your options will include ovarian stimulation, and intrauterine insemination or IVF. Dependent upon your individual case, you may need to consider using donor eggs to get pregnant. For more details, call us on 0161 300 2730. You can also read our Guide for Older Women.

Being flexible with our opening times is vital for our patients at Manchester Fertility. We always aim to see you at times convenient to you. Our current opening times are shown on our contact page. You will always see the most appropriate staff member for your needs.

EmbryoGlue is not a treatment we charge extra for – we use it as a supplement to the culture media used in the development of your embryo in our laboratory. We started using it because studies have shown it helps improve the chances of pregnancy by encouraging your embryo to implant successfully. It is a culture medium that mimics the natural molecules and fluids you’d find in your own body if you were going through pregnancy naturally.

Your embryo is placed into the EmbryoGlue just prior to transfer – and the properties it contains helps the embryo ‘stick’ to your uterus. Once an embryo transfer is carried out, we can never guarantee it will successfully implant for pregnancy – but 13 separate studies have concluded that the use of EmbryoGlue, thanks to its high levels of hyaluronan, increases both clinical pregnancy rates and live births. And so we now use EmbryoGlue for all embryo transfers at no extra cost to you. For more information about EmbryoGlue, you can visit this link.