To Freeze Their Eggs, Some Women Travel for a Better Deal and a Vacation

Many even return to the same clinic to do I.V.F., the process they have to go through if they want to use their eggs, because that is also less expensive in other countries.

There are also a few cheaper options domestically. CNY, for example, a fertility clinic with eight locations in the United States, tries to keep costs about $3,000 (which doesn’t include medicine or pre-procedure monitoring).

Sixty-five percent of CNY’s patients travel more than an hour to get there, the company said. “Probably the most number of travel patients we have are from the greater New York City area,” said William Kiltz, a spokesman for the company. “We’re just more affordable.” The closest location to New York City is Albany.

Women who have traveled to freeze their eggs said it transforms the procedure, which can be arduous, into something that almost resembles a vacation.

Gillian Morris, 36, a software developer, flew from San Juan, P.R., to Madrid in June 2019 to do the procedure. “So many of my friends had big tech companies paying for their egg freezing, but I had my own company, so I couldn’t afford it,” she said. “I didn’t think it was accessible to me until someone told me it costs about a fifth as much to do it in Spain.”

After she posted her plans on social media, two friends ended up joining her to freeze their eggs as well. Two of them rented an Airbnb, and in between doctor’s appointments (which happen every few days) and shots (which happen daily but can be done wherever), they acted like tourists, dining at trendy restaurants and visiting museums. Ms. Morris even took short trips to Valencia, a city along the Mediterranean Coast, and London.