Purchase IVF Meds from India (Chennai)

indianlady17 · Oct 8, 2014

Hello,

I had 1 failed IVF cycle in Aug 2014 and now have planned to move on to the next cycle in Jan 2015. The reason for the IVF failure was poor egg quality. The eggs did not survive for a transfer.

I dont have coverage for IVF medicines and paid around $2700 for the 1st cycle.
For the 2nd cycle, my RE suggested that I go for long protocol > Lupron, Gonal-F, Menopur and in addition a growth hormone called Omnitrope. Omnitrope cost will be around $1500 for the next cycle.

I have planned a trip to India in Nov and thinking about purchasing a few medicines from India, so that I cut down on the cost for the next cycle.

I have a few questions:

1) Has anyone purchased medicines from india and used in US for an IVF cycle?
2) Did you inform the doctor that the medicines are from another country (The reason I am asking this is, I brought this question to my doctor the last time and he said he cannot be sure, as they will not be FDA approved. I want to know how to handle this situation with my doctor/nurse if they are dont let me use the drugs from another country?)
3) Did you get the medicines with a prescription letter from an Indian doctor?
4) Did you face any issues in Customs in the US airport? How did you overcome them?
5) Were there any difference in the drugs? I mean in terms of the usage and packaging.
6) Can someone please tell me the cost of these medications in Chennai:
Gonal-F 450 IU Multi dose
Menopur 75 IU
Lupron 2 week kit - 1 mg/.2 ml, 2.8 ml

Would really appreciate if someone could answer the abve questions.

Thanks.

sumi2 · Oct 9, 2014

Hi OP,
I don't have any idea on your other queries, but i can help you with the cost of the medications in Chennai. I paid the below for these medicines on my Aug'14 cycle:
Gonal-F 75 Rs 1570
Lupron 1mg around Rs 1k
Menopur 75 around Rs 1k

Hope this helps. My Best wishes to u.

indianlady17 · Oct 9, 2014

Thanks for the response Sumi.
I will check the cost in multiple pharmacies and then purchase. With your information, I now know the cost range.

Thanks for your wishes.

indianlady17 · Oct 13, 2014

Can someone please respond to my queries.
I would liek to know if anyone got IVF done outside of India, but with meds from India.

WiniPooh · Oct 16, 2014

Hi Indianlady...I understand that the cost of the iVF can be considerable in the US and its tough since insurance doesn't cover a lot of stuff. Just as a thought..have you considered the option of going through an IVF cycle in Chennai instead? I am guessing that you must be coming over atleast for a month here and might be a more feasible option. You could definitely run into issues with customs as there would be multiple questions relating to the reason for purchase in India vs. the US, FDA approvals are mandated for doctors to use these which may be under different licenses for the US and India, which could be another catch. While the customs might clear it with valid prescriptions, you could run into an issue in the US from your doctor.

From a cost perspective, the IVF cycle with medications cost about 2L (long protocol) which would translate to about USD 3200. Some places might be even lesser and come with some strings of better guarantees of success (which I don't personally think is right!).

sabkari · Jul 30, 2015

Hi there IndianLady17,

What was the result? What did you end up doing?
I just started an IVF cycle and we had my aunt in India write a prescription for my protocol and ship the medications from India. They were stuck in customs for over a week but with a copy of the prescription and my passport, we eventually got the medications today! The boxes were kind of crushed and the quality of the box paper wasn't that great which made me feel like maybe they weren't authentic. I am a little concerned about using them, but we had to find a way to reduce costs. If they came from a OB/GYN, I am sure they are solid.

skyinsc · Jul 30, 2015

Hi sabkari, I had ivf #1 (fresh cycle)with US ivf medications and it ended as a miscarriage. The medications were very expensive in US so we bought ivf medications from India (andhra pradesh) in dec 2012 for ivf #2 and it costed around 1 lakh. We bought it to US through a friend who was traveling back to US . Fortunately we were able to get them without any issues from customs as our friend had the prescription with him. It was Ivf #2 ( we froze the eggs from fresh cycle in ivf #2 and freeze them and do FET) for me and the medicines worked fine and we now have a 18 months old son. All the best for you