Choosing a Fertility Clinic: How to Check Data, Labs and Pricing

Why "best clinic" lists don't help much

People often search for the "best" fertility clinic or the "top" surrogacy hospital. The honest answer is that no single clinic is best for everyone. The CDC, which publishes success rates for U.S. IVF clinics, says that cross-clinic comparisons "may not be meaningful." Clinics treat different patients and use different methods, and a clinic's average result does not predict any one person's chance of success.

The better question is: which clinic fits your diagnosis, your age, your budget, and how you like to be cared for, and can it show you that? This article explains how to answer that question with public data and a short checklist. For the conversation questions to ask at your first visit, see our companion piece, How to Choose an IVF Clinic. This guide focuses on how to check what a clinic tells you.

Step 1: Use the public data correctly

Where the numbers come from

Under the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992, U.S. clinics that perform assisted reproductive technology (ART) must report their cycles and outcomes, and the CDC publishes the data. The CDC's ART Success Rates tool lets you search clinics by state or ZIP code. For each reporting clinic it shows services offered, the medical director, the number of cycles, patient characteristics, and success rates for patients using their own eggs or donor eggs. SART (the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology) publishes similar clinic data for its member practices.

How to read the numbers

The CDC's own guidance on interpreting the tool includes several points that are easy to miss:

Look at the right denominator. For patients using their own eggs, rates are reported per intended egg retrieval, per actual retrieval, and per transfer. "Per transfer" rates look higher because they leave out cycles that never reached transfer. "Per intended retrieval" is closer to what a patient starting treatment experiences.
Cumulative rates count frozen transfers. The CDC's cumulative measure includes embryo transfers within one year after a retrieval. This matters if you are likely to freeze embryos.
Match your age group and diagnosis. Age is one of the strongest factors in success. Compare clinics using the age band and, where available, the diagnosis that applies to you.
Small numbers swing widely. The CDC notes that clinics with few cycles in a category show more variation. A clinic reporting a single cycle will show either 0% or 100%.
The data are not current. Reported cycles were performed more than a year earlier, so they may not reflect the clinic's current staff, equipment, or practices.
Patient selection affects results. The CDC notes that some clinics may accept patients with lower chances of success. Others may steer patients toward donor eggs, which can raise reported rates. The CDC does not collect data on patient selection.

Our guide to understanding IVF success rates explains these terms in more detail.

What to ask instead

Ask each clinic for its own recent outcomes for patients like you: your age group, your diagnosis, and the treatment you are considering (for example, frozen transfer or donor eggs). Ask how many cycles the figure is based on. A clinic that answers clearly is giving you useful information in itself.

Step 2: Verify the laboratory

Much of IVF happens in the embryology lab: fertilization, embryo culture, freezing, and storage. You can't inspect a lab yourself, but you can check a few things:

Accreditation. An ASRM committee opinion on lab operations notes that federal CLIA rules do not extend to the embryology lab. However, clinics that are SART members must have an embryology lab accredited by either the College of American Pathologists (CAP) or The Joint Commission. Ask which body accredits the clinic's lab.
Reporting status. Check whether the clinic appears in the CDC and SART databases. If it does not, ask why.
Who does the lab work. Ask whether the embryology team is on-site, and who is responsible for your embryos if you freeze them or move them later.
Freezing and storage. Ask how embryos and eggs are stored and monitored, what happens in a power or equipment failure, and what the yearly storage fee is.

Step 3: Check the medical approach

Good clinics explain their recommendations and tailor them to you. Some approaches worth asking about:

How many embryos they transfer. ASRM and SART guidance aims to promote single pregnancies and sets limits based on age and embryo factors. Ask about the clinic's typical practice for patients like you. Be cautious if a clinic routinely suggests transferring several embryos to "improve the odds."
How they use add-ons. In a 2024 committee opinion, ASRM concluded that the value of PGT-A (embryo chromosome testing) as a routine test for all IVF patients "has not been demonstrated." This doesn't mean PGT-A is wrong for you. It does mean a clinic should explain why it is recommending PGT-A, or any other add-on, in your case.
Who you will see. Ask whether one physician manages your care, or whether a team rotates. Ask who performs retrieval and transfer, and how quickly questions get answered.
Support. Look for counseling services, nurse coordinators, clear medication teaching, and, if needed, interpreters or staff who speak your language.

Step 4: Demand price transparency

Fees vary a lot, and so does what a quoted "cycle price" includes. For example, MedlinePlus puts a single cycle at about $12,000–$17,000, but other published estimates are higher, and medications are often billed separately. When you compare clinics:

Get a written, itemized estimate that lists monitoring, retrieval, anesthesia, lab fees, ICSI, embryo freezing, storage, frozen embryo transfer, and genetic testing.
Ask what happens to the bill if a cycle is cancelled before retrieval, or if no embryos are available for transfer.
If a clinic offers multi-cycle or refund ("shared-risk") programs, read the eligibility rules and exclusions carefully. ASRM's ethics committee says these programs can be ethically acceptable under carefully limited conditions. Clinics should state the inclusion and termination criteria clearly and help patients understand the real chances of success.
Check what your insurance covers before you start, because coverage depends on your state and the type of plan you have.

For a full breakdown of fees, see our guide to IVF costs in the US.

If you are looking for a "surrogacy hospital"

In the U.S., surrogacy is usually not handled by a single hospital. The IVF clinic handles the medical side: creating embryos, screening, and the embryo transfer to the gestational carrier. The carrier usually gives birth at a hospital near where she lives. Many intended parents also work with a surrogacy agency and separate attorneys, because surrogacy law differs by state.

When you evaluate a clinic for surrogacy, ask how many gestational carrier cycles it does each year and how it screens carriers. ASRM has published practice recommendations for clinics that work with gestational carriers. Its ethics committee also states that carriers should have psychological evaluation and their own independent legal counsel. You can browse agencies in our surrogacy agency directory.

Red flags

Guarantees of pregnancy or a live birth.
Success rates shown without the age group, the denominator, or the number of cycles.
Pressure to sign up or prepay quickly, or "today only" discounts.
Vague answers about lab accreditation or reporting to CDC and SART.
A one-size-fits-all package of add-ons with no explanation of why you need each one.
Refusing to give a written, itemized quote.

A short comparison checklist

Use these columns for two or three clinics:

Check	Clinic A	Clinic B	Clinic C
Listed in CDC / SART data?
Lab accreditation (CAP / Joint Commission)
Outcomes for my age group (per intended retrieval) and number of cycles
Typical number of embryos transferred for patients like me
Itemized quote received? Medications included?
Cancellation and refund policy
Who manages my care; response time
Language and support services

To start a shortlist, browse fertility centers by state and filter by location and services. If you are traveling to the U.S. for treatment, our guide to IVF in the US for Chinese patients covers visas, scheduling, and remote consultations.

References

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Please discuss your situation with a fertility specialist.