PGT-A in IVF: What It Costs, Who It Helps and What the Evidence Says
PGT-A (preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy) is a test carried out on IVF embryos before transfer to check whether each one has the right number of chromosomes. It costs about €1,000-€2,000 for a batch of embryos in the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Denmark, €1,800-€3,000 in Spain, £1,400-£1,500 per embryo plus a set-up fee in the UK, and $4,000-$7,000 in the United States, on top of the IVF cycle and a frozen embryo transfer. It identifies chromosomally abnormal embryos with high accuracy, but the best evidence shows it does not raise the overall chance of a baby per IVF cycle. It can shorten the time to pregnancy and reduce miscarriages in women over 35 who produce several embryos, and it is of little use when there are only one or two embryos to test.
This guide explains what PGT-A does, what it costs in each country, who it helps, what the regulators and the trials say, and the questions to ask a clinic. The expert articles from our partner clinics are linked throughout for the clinical detail.
PGT-A – key facts
- PGT-A tests a few cells from the outer layer of a day 5 or 6 embryo and reports whether it is euploid (normal), aneuploid (abnormal) or mosaic (mixed). It replaced the older PGS test and uses next-generation sequencing.
- The share of abnormal embryos rises with the woman’s age: roughly 30% under 35, 40% at 35-37, 50% at 38-40, 70% at 41-42 and 85% or more from 43 (Franasiak et al., 2014).
- The largest randomised trial (STAR, 2019) found no difference in ongoing pregnancy per cycle between PGT-A and standard IVF. In a secondary analysis of women aged 35-40, PGT-A raised the pregnancy rate per transfer. The ASRM says routine PGT-A for all IVF patients cannot be recommended, and the HFEA gives it a red rating for improving the chance of a birth.
- Where it helps: women over 37 or 38 with several embryos, couples with recurrent miscarriage or repeated failed transfers, and patients who want to transfer one embryo at a time with fewer failed attempts.
- Where it does not: patients with one or two embryos, where testing can leave nothing to transfer, and younger patients with a good prognosis.
- Cost in Europe is a third to a half of the US price, which is why PGT-A is often included in IVF packages abroad for patients from the UK and the US.
What PGT-A is and how it works
Every embryo should have 46 chromosomes. An embryo with a missing or extra chromosome is aneuploid, and most aneuploid embryos either fail to implant or miscarry; a few, such as those with an extra chromosome 21, can lead to a live birth with a condition. Aneuploidy is not inherited. It arises mostly in the egg, which is why the rate climbs with the woman’s age.
PGT-A adds four steps to a normal IVF cycle:
- Embryos are grown to the blastocyst stage, day 5 or 6.
- An embryologist removes five to ten cells from the trophectoderm, the outer layer that becomes the placenta, not from the cells that become the baby.
- The embryos are frozen while the cells are sent to a genetics laboratory, which counts the chromosomes using next-generation sequencing. Results take one to two weeks.
- A euploid embryo is thawed and transferred in a later cycle, so a PGT-A cycle almost always means a frozen embryo transfer rather than a fresh one.
Each embryo is reported as euploid, aneuploid or mosaic. Mosaic embryos have a mix of normal and abnormal cells in the sample; low-level mosaic embryos are now transferred at many clinics when no euploid embryo is available, and a good number lead to healthy births. Some laboratories also report the sex chromosomes, which is why PGT-A results can reveal the sex of each embryo; in the UK and the EU clinics may not use that information to choose an embryo except for a sex-linked disease (see our guide to IVF gender selection).
PGT-A is one of three embryo tests. PGT-M looks for a single known gene fault such as cystic fibrosis or Huntington’s disease, and PGT-SR looks for structural rearrangements when a parent carries a balanced translocation. Both are diagnostic tests with clear benefit for the families that need them. PGT-A is a screening test, and that is where the debate lies. For a clinician’s explanation of how aneuploidy arises and how the test is run, see how PGT-A detects aneuploidies in IVF by Dr Josep Pla of IVI, and for a newer approach that analyses the whole genome of the biopsy, advanced PGT-A testing by Dr Belén Lledó of Instituto Bernabeu.
How much PGT-A costs by country
| Country | PGT-A price | How it is charged | IVF cycle with own eggs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | €1,000-€2,000 | Per batch, usually up to 4 embryos, then per extra embryo | €2,500-€3,500 |
| Greece | €1,000-€2,000 | Per batch or per embryo (about €300-€400 each) | €2,500-€3,500 |
| Poland | €1,000-€2,000 | Per batch, biopsy sometimes charged separately | €2,200-€2,500 |
| Denmark | €1,000-€2,000 | Per batch | €3,300-€4,500 |
| Spain | €1,800-€3,000 | Per batch of 4-8 embryos; biopsy and lab fee often listed separately | €3,600-€6,700 |
| North Cyprus | €2,000-€2,500 | Per batch, often included in packages | €3,000-€5,000 |
| United Kingdom | About £1,400-£1,500 per embryo plus a set-up fee of £300-£700 | Per embryo; four embryos cost about £6,000-£7,000 | About £5,000 average |
| United States | $4,000-$7,000 | Biopsy $1,500-$2,000 plus laboratory $1,500-$3,000, often per batch of 4-6 embryos, then $250-$400 per extra embryo | $15,000-$30,000 with medication |
European prices from our 2026 survey of clinic price lists; UK and US prices from published clinic price lists checked in October 2026. A frozen embryo transfer (€700-€2,500 in Europe, £1,500-£3,000 in the UK, $3,000-$6,000 in the US) is needed after testing and is sometimes included.
Two things change the final bill. The first is how the test is priced: a batch price covering four to eight embryos suits patients who produce many embryos, while a per-embryo price suits those with two or three. The second is what happens if every embryo is abnormal. Some clinics then charge a reduced fee for a second egg collection; ask before you start. Our IVF Cost Calculator adds PGT-A to the total for each country, and our guide to the cheapest IVF in Europe compares the full packages.
What the evidence says
PGT-A is accurate at what it measures: the chromosome count in the cells sampled. The argument is about whether that information produces more babies.
- The STAR trial (Munné and colleagues, Fertility and Sterility, 2019) randomised 661 women aged 25-40 with at least two blastocysts to PGT-A or standard IVF. The ongoing pregnancy rate per cycle was the same in both groups. In the subgroup aged 35-40, the pregnancy rate per embryo transferred was higher with PGT-A (51% against 37%), because fewer abnormal embryos were transferred.
- The ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) concluded in its committee opinion that PGT-A does not improve the overall live birth rate, that its value in reducing miscarriage is unclear, and that “the routine use of blastocyst biopsy with aneuploidy testing in all infertile patients undergoing IVF treatment cannot be recommended”.
- The HFEA, the UK regulator, rates PGT-A red in its treatment add-ons list, meaning the evidence shows it may reduce the chance of a birth for most patients, mainly because embryos that could have produced a child are discarded or never transferred.
- ESHRE‘s good practice recommendations describe how PGT-A should be performed and reported and note that mosaic results need careful counselling.
What this means in practice: PGT-A does not create good embryos, it sorts the ones you have. For a woman with six blastocysts at 39, sorting them can avoid two or three failed transfers and miscarriages and get to a healthy pregnancy months sooner. For a woman with one blastocyst, the test adds cost and a small risk to the embryo, and tells her nothing she cannot find out by transferring it.
Who should consider PGT-A
- Women aged 38 and over with several blastocysts. The share of abnormal embryos is above half from 38, so testing avoids transferring embryos that will not implant. Dr Laura Garcia de Miguel of Clinica Tambre describes typical cases in PGT-A in patients of advanced maternal age.
- Recurrent miscarriage, where most losses are caused by aneuploidy.
- Repeated implantation failure after transfers of good-quality untested embryos. Dr Jakob Doblinger of IVI covers the wider work-up in recurrent implantation failure, PGT and complex cases.
- Severe male factor infertility, which raises the rate of abnormal embryos. See the case of a successful pregnancy after male factor infertility, PGT-A and frozen transfer.
- Patients who want single embryo transfer with the lowest chance of a failed cycle, or who have embryos in storage and want to know which to use first.
- Patients with a known chromosome rearrangement need PGT-SR, and families with a single-gene condition need PGT-M, not PGT-A.
Dr Valeria Sotelo of UR Vistahermosa walks through four real decisions in IVF and PGT-A: real patient cases.
When PGT-A is not worth it
- Fewer than three blastocysts, especially over 40. Testing may leave no embryo to transfer, and an untested transfer would have answered the question at no extra cost.
- Under 35 with a good prognosis. The STAR trial found no benefit, and the HFEA advises against it.
- As a way to raise success rates. It does not. Clinics that quote 60-70% success “with PGT-A” are quoting the rate per euploid transfer, which excludes the cycles that produced no euploid embryo.
- With donor eggs. Donors are young, so the aneuploidy rate is low and most clinics do not recommend testing donor embryos.
Non-invasive PGT-A
Non-invasive PGT-A (niPGT-A) analyses DNA that the embryo sheds into its culture medium, so no cells are removed. It avoids the biopsy and costs less, but its accuracy is lower than biopsy-based PGT-A and it is still considered experimental by ESHRE and the ASRM. Some Spanish clinics offer it; UR Vistahermosa describes its approach in IVF with non-invasive PGT-A. Treat it as an option to discuss, not a replacement for the standard test.
Where PGT-A is allowed
PGT-A is legal and widely offered in Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Latvia, North Cyprus, the United States and Mexico. In the UK it is allowed at licensed clinics as an add-on. Germany allows PGT only after approval by an ethics committee and mainly for serious genetic conditions, and Italy allowed embryo testing only after a court ruling in 2015. Switzerland allows it since 2017. No country that permits PGT-A allows the sex information to be used for family balancing except the United States, Mexico and, in practice, some clinics in North Cyprus.
Questions to ask a clinic
- What is the price per batch and per extra embryo, and is the biopsy included?
- Which laboratory runs the test, and does it use next-generation sequencing?
- Do you report mosaic embryos, and will you transfer a low-level mosaic if there is no euploid embryo?
- What are your live birth rates per euploid transfer and per egg collection started, by age group?
- Is the frozen embryo transfer included in the price?
- What do I pay if all embryos are abnormal?
If you are deciding whether PGT-A makes sense for your age and embryo numbers, or want to know which clinics abroad include it in their packages, contact our patient support team. The conversation is free and we will say plainly if we think the test is unlikely to help you.
PGT-A in summary
PGT-A tells you which of your embryos have the right number of chromosomes. It costs €1,000-€3,000 in Europe and $4,000-$7,000 in the US, and it needs a frozen transfer afterwards. It does not raise the chance of a baby per cycle, but it can save failed transfers and miscarriages for women over 35 with several embryos, and it helps couples with recurrent miscarriage or implantation failure. With one or two embryos, or under 35, the money is usually better spent elsewhere.
What is PGT-A in IVF?
PGT-A, preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy, checks whether each IVF embryo has the right number of chromosomes. A few cells are taken from a day 5 or 6 embryo, the embryo is frozen, and a genetics laboratory reports it as euploid (normal), aneuploid (abnormal) or mosaic. A euploid embryo is then transferred in a later frozen cycle. It used to be called PGS.
How much does PGT-A cost?
About €1,000-€2,000 for a batch of embryos in the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Denmark, €1,800-€3,000 in Spain, €2,000-€2,500 in North Cyprus, about £1,400-£1,500 per embryo plus a set-up fee in the UK, and $4,000-$7,000 in the United States. The IVF cycle and a frozen embryo transfer are extra, and some clinics charge per embryo rather than per batch.
Is PGT-A worth it?
It depends on your age and how many embryos you have. For women over 37 or 38 with several blastocysts, and for couples with recurrent miscarriage or repeated failed transfers, it can avoid failed transfers and shorten the time to a healthy pregnancy. For patients under 35, or with only one or two embryos, the large STAR trial and the ASRM found no benefit, and the HFEA rates it red.
Does PGT-A increase IVF success rates?
Not per cycle. The STAR randomised trial found the same ongoing pregnancy rate per cycle with and without PGT-A. It raises the success rate per embryo transferred, because abnormal embryos are not transferred, which is the figure clinics usually quote. PGT-A sorts the embryos you have; it does not create more good ones.
Is PGT-A legal in the UK?
Yes. PGT-A is allowed at HFEA-licensed clinics as an optional add-on, but the HFEA gives it a red rating, meaning the evidence suggests it may reduce the chance of a birth for most patients. UK clinics may not use the sex information from PGT-A to choose an embryo unless there is a serious sex-linked condition. PGT-M for single-gene conditions needs a specific licence.
What is the difference between PGT-A, PGT-M and PGS?
PGS is the old name for PGT-A, which screens embryos for the wrong number of chromosomes. PGT-M tests for a specific inherited gene fault, such as cystic fibrosis, in families known to carry it. PGT-SR tests for structural chromosome rearrangements when a parent carries a balanced translocation. PGT-M and PGT-SR are diagnostic tests; PGT-A is a screening test.
What percentage of embryos are abnormal by age?
Roughly 30% under 35, 40% at 35-37, 50% at 38-40, 70% at 41-42 and 85% or more from 43, based on a review of more than 15,000 embryo biopsies. This is why PGT-A is most often suggested to women over 38 with several embryos.
Can PGT-A tell the sex of the embryo?
Yes. The test counts all chromosomes including X and Y, so the laboratory knows whether each embryo is XX or XY. In the UK and the EU clinics cannot use that information to choose an embryo except to avoid a sex-linked disease. The United States and Mexico allow it, and some clinics in North Cyprus share the full results with patients.
What is a mosaic embryo?
A mosaic embryo has a mix of chromosomally normal and abnormal cells in the biopsy sample. Low-level mosaic embryos are transferred at many clinics when no euploid embryo is available, and a good number lead to healthy births, which suggests some are misclassified or self-correct. Ask the clinic how it reports and handles mosaic results before testing.
Is PGT-A cheaper abroad?
Yes. The test costs €1,000-€3,000 at clinics in Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Denmark, against $4,000-$7,000 in the United States and £6,000-£7,000 for four embryos in the UK. Many clinics abroad include PGT-A in multi-cycle or donor egg packages. Add the cost of the IVF cycle, a frozen transfer and one or two trips to compare the totals.
Sources
- HFEA – Pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), treatment add-on rating
- ASRM Practice Committee – The use of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy: a committee opinion
- ESHRE – Good practice recommendations for preimplantation genetic testing
- Munné S et al., Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy versus morphology as selection criteria for single frozen-thawed embryo transfer in good-prognosis patients: a multicenter randomized clinical trial (the STAR trial), Fertility and Sterility, 2019
- Franasiak JM et al., The nature of aneuploidy with increasing age of the female partner: a review of 15,169 consecutive trophectoderm biopsies, Fertility and Sterility, 2014
- CARE Fertility – PGT-A pricing and CNY Fertility – PGT testing IVF cost (UK and US clinic pricing)
- IVF Abroad Patient’s Guide – our survey of European clinic prices
Prices and policies differ between clinics. Ask for a written, itemised quote and for success rates per egg collection, not only per transfer, before you decide.
