How Long Do You Need to Stay for IVF Abroad?
Most people assume they need a month. For the way IVF is done in 2026, most people need about five days.
This is the question that decides whether treatment abroad is possible for you at all. Nobody has a month of leave. Fortunately, the way IVF is practiced now means you probably do not need one.
Why the answer changed
A decade ago, IVF meant a fresh transfer: retrieve the eggs, fertilize, and transfer an embryo three to five days later, all in one continuous stretch. That required being in one place for about three weeks.
Then vitrification — the flash-freezing technique that replaced slow freezing — got good enough that frozen embryos survive thaw at very high rates at competent labs. Freeze-all cycles became standard practice, driven by better outcomes and by the near-elimination of severe ovarian hyperstimulation risk. And once the transfer is decoupled from the retrieval, the retrieval becomes a short, self-contained event.
That is what makes international IVF logistically workable for people with jobs.
Model one: the split trip
This is what most international patients do now.
Before you go — at home, roughly two weeks
You take your stimulation medications at home and get monitored at a local clinic: baseline ultrasound and bloodwork, then follow-up scans every two to three days for eight to twelve days. Results are transmitted to your treating clinic abroad, which adjusts your dose remotely. You never leave your city.
Trip one — retrieval, four to six days
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | Fly in. Trigger shot is usually timed for the night before or the night of travel |
| Day 1 | Clinic visit, consent forms, final scan, meet the physician in person |
| Day 2 | Egg retrieval under sedation. Fifteen to twenty minutes. Rest of the day is rest |
| Day 3 | Fertilization report. Mostly free. Mild cramping is normal |
| Day 4–5 | Recovery, follow-up if needed, fly home |
Embryos continue growing in the lab after you leave. You get culture updates by email, and PGT results, if you elected testing, arrive one to three weeks later.
Trip two — transfer, three to five days
The frozen embryo transfer happens in a later cycle, typically six weeks to several months after retrieval depending on your lining preparation protocol and PGT timing. Lining prep is medication and monitoring at home again. The transfer itself takes about ten minutes, requires no anesthesia, and needs one clinic visit. Two or three days on the ground covers it comfortably.
Total time abroad: roughly eight to eleven days across two trips.
Model two: the single long stay
Some patients prefer to do everything in one continuous trip — stimulation, monitoring, retrieval, and transfer all at the destination clinic. This runs about three to four weeks.
It makes sense if you have flexible work, if arranging local monitoring at home is difficult or expensive, if you are combining treatment with time off you wanted anyway, or if you want the treating clinic doing your monitoring rather than relaying results. It is also simpler: one clinic, one set of hands, no data transmission gaps.
The cost tradeoff is lodging for three weeks instead of one, offset partly by not paying for home monitoring.
If you are doing PGT-A, a fresh transfer is generally off the table regardless of which model you choose. Results take one to three weeks, which is longer than an embryo can wait. PGT effectively commits you to a frozen transfer and therefore to two separate trips or one very long stay with a gap in the middle.
What actually determines your number
- Whether you can monitor locally. The single biggest variable. If there is a clinic near you willing to do monitoring-only cycles, the split trip is available. If not, you are looking at the long stay.
- Whether you are doing PGT. Adds a mandatory wait between retrieval and transfer.
- Your protocol. Antagonist protocols are shorter than long agonist protocols by roughly two weeks of pre-treatment, though most of that happens at home either way.
- How your body responds. Stimulation can run two or three days longer than planned. Book refundable or changeable flights.
- Donor cycles. If you are using a local egg donor, timing is set by the donor's cycle, which can shift your dates on relatively short notice.
Planning around work
The split trip typically means about a week of leave for trip one and two to four days for trip two, plus half-days scattered through the monitoring window at home. Monitoring appointments are usually early morning specifically so patients can go to work afterward.
Build in slack. The most common scheduling problem is not a long delay but a two-day one: follicles growing more slowly than expected, pushing the trigger and therefore the retrieval. If your return flight is rigid and your leave is exactly counted, a two-day shift becomes a crisis. If you have a buffer, it becomes an inconvenience.
A note on the recovery day
People underestimate how they will feel after retrieval. It is a minor procedure and most patients are functional the next day — but you will have been sedated, you will be bloated, and you may be crampy for several days. Do not schedule a red-eye home for the evening of your retrieval. Give yourself at least one full day.
Common Questions
Can I fly home the day after egg retrieval?
Usually yes, though most clinics prefer you stay at least one full day past the procedure so they can rule out complications while you are still in reach. Give yourself two if you can. Bloating and cramping for several days afterward is normal and more comfortable on the ground than at altitude.
How far in advance do I book flights?
Book changeable fares and set the dates only after your baseline scan, when the clinic can estimate your retrieval window. Booking months ahead saves money you will lose again on change fees when your follicles set their own schedule.
Can my partner come for just part of the trip?
Often, yes. If fresh sperm is being used, the partner needs to be present on retrieval day for collection. Many clinics will freeze a sample in advance instead, which removes the constraint entirely. Ask about this early if travel logistics are tight.
Is it possible to do the transfer at a clinic closer to home?
Sometimes, though it requires shipping embryos internationally and finding a clinic willing to transfer embryos it did not create. It adds cost and complexity. Most patients find a second short trip simpler than an embryo shipment.
Thinking about IVF in Colombia?
Medellín and Bogotá clinics run internationally accredited labs at a fraction of US pricing. We can point you toward the right questions and the right people.
See Colombia IVF Options →We may receive referral compensation from clinics at no additional cost to you. This page is information, not medical advice.
Sources & further reading
- ASRM — practice guidance on frozen embryo transfer and freeze-all cycles
- Human Reproduction — published outcomes on vitrification and thaw survival