IVF in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

IVF, in vitro fertilisation, is treatment in which eggs are collected from the ovaries after hormone stimulation, fertilised with sperm in a laboratory, and grown for a few days before an embryo is transferred to the womb. Embryos that are not transferred can be frozen for later use. The IVF explainer on this directory sets out each stage and quotes the UK regulator's estimate of four to six weeks for a single cycle for most people. In India IVF is carried out at clinics registered at Level 2 on the national ART registry.

Chennai needs one caveat that other cities do not. The registry records a Level 1 or Level 2 classification for most of India, but that field is empty on every Tamil Nadu entry. So for all 19 Chennai listings on this directory that name IVF on their own website, the registry extract shows no level at all, and this page does not guess one. That does not mean these clinics are unregistered: each listing carries the registration the registry does hold. It means the level has to be confirmed with the clinic. Ask to see its registration certificate and check that IVF falls within what it is registered to do.

6 of the 19 also hold an ART bank registration, the separate registration that allows a facility to store and supply eggs, sperm or embryos; that is worth knowing if you expect to freeze embryos or need donor gametes. This directory has no doctor recorded against these listings yet, so ask each clinic who would lead your treatment and who runs its laboratory.

At a first visit, expect tests for both partners before a plan is made. Ask for a written, itemised estimate that includes medicines, scans, embryo freezing and storage, and any later frozen transfer, and ask whether ICSI is included. Chennai is a large field, 265 registry listings in this directory, and with no level on any of them the list order means nothing; compare clinics on their certificates and their written estimates.