IVF Add-Ons Questioned
University of Melbourne Research Confirms Most IVF Add-Ons Fail to Boost Birth Rates
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Key Points
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In Australia, up to 90% of IVF patients have tried at least one add-on, according to the Australian-led study reported by PerthNow, highlighting far higher uptake than some earlier estimates.
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Across the UK, Australia and New Zealand, more than 70% of IVF patients pay for one or more add-ons, underscoring widespread reliance on unproven treatments in private clinics.
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Among 157 potentially eligible trials for the add‑on review, 72 were excluded on trustworthiness grounds, underscoring significant concerns about the reliability of the evidence base.
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Some patients report feeling pressured by clinic staff to pay for add-ons, illustrating the emotional and financial stress that can accompany IVF treatment.
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Monash IVF has publicly acknowledged that many add-ons lack proven benefits, reflecting transparency about the limited evidence behind some offered treatments.
Most IVF add-on treatments do not improve the chance of having a baby, according to a major new study led by the University of Melbourne. The research, released June 15, 2026, reviewed more than 150 clinical trials and found that popular extras — from acupuncture to steroids — offer little to no proven benefit, yet up to 90% of Australian IVF patients have paid for at least one, PerthNow reported.
Add-ons typically cost between $500 and $5,000 per cycle, on top of standard IVF fees of $10,000–$15,000, Mirage News noted. Despite a decade of growing add-on use, global IVF live birth rates have stayed flat — around 20–30% per cycle for women over 35.
Nearly Half of All Trials Thrown Out for Bad Data
Researchers started with 157 eligible trials. They threw out 72 of them — nearly 46% — because the data could not be trusted, Mirage News reported. Professor Ben Mol of Monash University helped lead that screening. He has warned that reproductive medicine has a "trust problem that needs urgent surgery." The sheer scale of excluded research raised alarms about the entire field's reliability.
Of the 85 remaining high-quality trials, the vast majority showed no meaningful benefit for common add-ons, Newsy Today reported. Only three treatments showed any small potential benefit at all: EmbryoGlue (a fluid used during embryo transfer), endometrial scratching (a procedure to stimulate the uterus lining), and PICSI (a method for selecting sperm). Even those three came with caveats about limited evidence.
Patients Feel Pressured to Pay for Unproven Extras
More than 70% of IVF patients across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand pay for at least one add-on, Head Topics reported. Some patients say clinic staff pushed them to buy extras. Lead researcher Dr. Sarah Lensen said patients are often in "desperation-driven decision making, which clinics are commercially incentivized to exploit." For many, the fear of missing a possible edge outweighs the cost.
Patient groups say the problem is not just money. Buying add-ons — then having a failed cycle — adds emotional pain on top of financial loss. Advocacy groups like Fertility Network UK argue that patients want to "leave no stone unturned" but are not given clear tools to understand that more treatment does not mean better odds.
Industry Defends Add-Ons as Patient Choice
Some private clinicians push back on the study's findings. They argue that meta-analyses look at average patients and may miss benefits for specific groups. One Sydney clinic spokesperson told the Head Topics-cited press: "We see patients who have failed five cycles. Telling them we have nothing new to try is professionally and humanly difficult." Monash IVF, one of Australia's largest providers, has publicly said many add-ons lack proven benefits — but still offers some, framing them as patient-led choices.
Industry lobbyists call the Melbourne study "reductionist." They say patients are well-informed adults who have the right to try any safe procedure that might help. The Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand has argued the research threatens the doctor-patient relationship. Critics say this framing puts profit ahead of patient welfare.
Regulators Eye New Rules for Clinic Marketing
Following the report's release, regulatory bodies in Australia and the UK began reviewing how clinics market add-ons. The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) already bans clinics from charging for treatments it labels "red" — meaning no evidence they work. Australia's consumer watchdog, the ACCC, is now analyzing whether selling unproven add-ons could count as "misleading and deceptive conduct" under consumer law, Head Topics reported.
Policy experts expect new informed-consent rules to follow. Governments may soon require clinics to hand patients a government-vetted fact sheet on every add-on before taking payment. The fertility add-on market is worth hundreds of millions of dollars globally. A real regulatory crackdown could hit the share prices of listed providers like Virtus Health — and reshape how IVF is sold across the English-speaking world.
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