How to Choose an IVF Clinic: A Patient’s Checklist?

 Choose an IVF clinic that:

1. Tests both partners before recommending treatment
2. Is registered under the ART Act, 2021
3. Names the team responsible for your care
4. Explains success rates honestly, by age group and measure
5. Gives a written, itemised cost estimate
6. Offers counselling and support, not just treatment

The right clinic is the one whose plan fits your diagnosis.

You may already have two or three opinions. One clinic suggested IVF at the first visit. Another wanted more tests. A relative recommended a third. Each showed a different success figure and a different price. Feeling unsure at this stage is normal.

This guide explains what to look for at each step, so you can decide with confidence.

Step 1: A clinic that starts with a diagnosis

Imagine a couple told at their first visit that they “need IVF”, before the husband’s semen analysis was even done. A plan made before the tests is a guess.

Treatment should follow the diagnosis. Before recommending IUI, IVF or ICSI, a careful clinic looks at five things:

• Ovulation: whether eggs are being released regularly
• Ovarian reserve: how many eggs are likely available, checked with the AMH blood test and an ultrasound count of small follicles
• Tubes and uterus: whether the path for the egg is open and the womb lining is normal
• Sperm: what the semen analysis shows
• Time and age: how long you have been trying, and at what age

Infertility can come from either partner, or both, so both should be tested. A good clinic explains both sets of results in plain language, tells you why it recommends one option, and describes the alternatives it considered.

“Before we talk about treatment, I want to understand what your tests are telling us. The right option is the one that fits your diagnosis, not the one that sounds most advanced.”
Dr. Aarti Deenadayal Tolani, Clinical Director, Mamata Fertility Hospital

Step 2: Registration under the ART Act

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 came into force on 25 January 2022. Every ART clinic and bank in India must now be registered, and the government’s National ART and Surrogacy Registry keeps a public record of registered clinics.

The Act also requires clinics to counsel couples about what treatment involves, keep their information confidential, and run a grievance cell for complaints. A registered clinic shares its registration number readily and tells you how to raise a concern.

Step 3: A named team for each stage

Many couples meet a senior doctor at the first visit and then see different team members later. A team approach can work well, as long as you know who is responsible at each stage.

A well-organised clinic makes clear who plans your treatment and reviews your scans, who performs the egg collection and embryo transfer, who works in the embryology lab, and who you can reach at night or on a weekend if something feels wrong.

Step 4: Success rates explained honestly

Imagine two clinics: one advertises 70%, the other 45%. The first sounds better, but the two numbers may not measure the same thing.

A clinic that treats more complex cases may show lower overall figures and still be right for you. A clinic-wide rate is not your personal chance. A good clinic explains what you can realistically expect based on your own test results.

Step 5: Costs explained clearly, in writing

Couples often say the hardest part is not the cost itself, but not knowing what the final cost will be. A first quote is usually an estimate for a standard cycle. Your tests decide what is actually needed.

A transparent clinic gives a written, itemised estimate after your first tests. It shows what is included and what may be extra, such as medicines, ICSI, embryo freezing, storage and frozen embryo transfer, and what you pay if a cycle is cancelled.

For more detail, read why your IVF cost can differ from the first quote.

Step 6: An honest approach to add-ons

More advanced does not always mean more appropriate. IUI suits some couples and IVF suits others. Your tests decide.

The same applies to extras offered during IVF. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) does not recommend most add-ons during ovarian stimulation, because there is no strong evidence they improve live birth rates. A careful clinic explains what an add-on can and cannot do, shares the evidence behind it, and is comfortable if you decline it.

Step 7: Support, not just treatment

IVF asks a lot of a couple: several scan visits at short notice, injections, waiting, and sometimes advice from family. Emotional and practical support matter as much as the medical plan.

Look for a clinic that offers counselling before, during and after treatment, explains each step before it happens, and makes monitoring visits practical, for example with early-morning or weekend scans. Distance from home or work also matters, because stimulation involves several visits.

If family members are offering different advice, bringing one of them to a consultation can help them hear the explanation directly. The final decision belongs to the two of you.

Signs to slow down

Take more time before deciding if a clinic promises a guaranteed pregnancy or “100% success”, pressures you to book or pay quickly, recommends treatment before testing both partners, will not give a written estimate, or cannot explain how its success figures are calculated.

Any offer to choose the sex of your baby is illegal in India. Do not go ahead with such an offer.

What to bring to your first consultation

Being prepared helps you get clear answers and avoid repeating tests:

• All previous reports for both partners: blood tests, scans, semen analysis
• Records of any earlier IUI or IVF, including medicines used and how you responded
• Your menstrual cycle history
• Your partner, if possible, so both of you hear the same explanation

If you decide to move to another clinic later, request copies of all reports and treatment records. If you have frozen embryos, both clinics can guide you on the process for moving them.

Your clinic checklist

How Mamata Fertility Hospital meets this checklist?

We believe every clinic, including ours, should be judged by these standards.

Diagnosis before treatment. We test both partners before recommending a plan. Gynaecological ultrasound, including 2D and 3D imaging of the uterus and ovaries, is central to how we assess fertility.

Who leads your care. Dr. Aarti Deenadayal Tolani (MBBS, MS Obstetrics and Gynaecology, FICOG) has been Clinical Director and Scientific In-Charge at Mamata since 2009. Her work covers reproductive endocrinology and infertility, including IUI, IVF and ICSI, and gynaecological ultrasound. The hospital’s founder, Dr. Mamata Deenadayal (MD, DGO), continues as Medical Director.

A team for each stage.

See the full team on our doctors.

Ethical oversight. Mamata has an Institutional Ethics Committee, and Dr. Aarti is its Member Secretary.

Current evidence. Dr. Aarti is teaching faculty at the Kiel School of Reproductive Medicine in Germany and Associate Editor of Minerva Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Continuity. Mamata began as the Infertility Institute and Research Clinic (IIRC), founded by Dr. Mamata Deenadayal, and is now led by a second generation of clinicians.

What patients say about their care?

Reviews can tell you how a clinic communicates, explains and supports, which is what this checklist is about. They cannot tell you what your own treatment outcome will be, because every couple’s situation is different.

These are recent reviews from our Google Business Profile, shown as written by patients.

Read all our reviews on Google

You are welcome to bring this checklist to your consultation with us.

When to seek urgent care?

If you are already in treatment, seek urgent medical care for severe or worsening abdominal pain or swelling, rapid weight gain, difficulty breathing, severe vomiting or very little urine; heavy vaginal bleeding; or fever after a procedure. In India, call 112 for emergencies, or contact your clinic directly.

Next step

To discuss your own situation, you can book a consultation at Mamata Fertility Hospital. If you would like a second opinion on your reports, you can request one here.

This article is for general education and is not a substitute for personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Fertility care depends on your age, history and test results, so please consult a qualified doctor about your situation.

Sources

1. Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. Government of India. Enacted 18 December 2021; in force 25 January 2022. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/17031
2. National ART and Surrogacy Registry, Government of India. https://artsurrogacy.gov.in/pages/national-art-&-surrogacy-registry
3. Mishra and Thakral. Legal subtleties of the Indian Assisted Reproductive Technology Act of 2021. National Medical Journal of India, 2024. https://nmji.in/legal-subtleties-of-the-indian-assisted-reproductive-technology-act-of-2021/
4. ESHRE. Ovarian stimulation for IVF/ICSI: an update in 2025. Human Reproduction, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deag018
5. Mamata Fertility Hospital, Our Doctors. https://mamatafertility.com/all-doctors/