Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) — Process, Cost, and When It’s Better Than Fresh

If IVF has a best-kept secret, it’s that the second attempt is dramatically simpler and cheaper than the first — because it uses embryos already frozen from the original cycle. A frozen embryo transfer (FET) skips stimulation, skips retrieval, skips sedation, and costs roughly a quarter of a fresh cycle. For many patients, it’s also more effective than fresh transfer. Here’s everything you need to know.

How FET Works

Step 1: Prepare the lining. Starting from a period, your doctor prepares the endometrium using either hormone tablets (estrogen to thicken, then progesterone to mature) or a natural cycle where your own ovulation provides the progesterone. The medicated protocol is more common because timing is controllable; natural cycles suit women who ovulate reliably and prefer fewer medications. Either way, 2–3 monitoring visits over two weeks confirm the lining is ready.

Step 2: Thaw. On transfer morning, the embryology lab thaws one embryo (or the number agreed). In experienced vitrification labs, 95%+ survive thawing — the embryo resumes development exactly where it paused. The lab confirms survival and re-expansion before proceeding.

Step 3: Transfer. Identical to a fresh transfer — five minutes, no sedation, thin catheter through the cervix, embryo placed in the uterus. You rest briefly and go home. Progesterone support continues for 10–14 days until the pregnancy test.

Why Frozen Is Now Equal to — or Better Than — Fresh

For IVF’s first decades, fresh transfer was the gold standard and freezing was a backup. Vitrification technology reversed the logic. A fresh transfer happens in a body still flooded with stimulation hormones — the uterus that just supported the growth of a dozen follicles isn’t always at its most receptive. A frozen transfer happens weeks later, in a calm and precisely prepared cycle. The accumulated evidence: equal or better implantation rates, lower OHSS risk (the ovaries fully recover before pregnancy), and some data suggesting healthier placental development.

Many leading clinics now use a freeze-all strategy as their default — particularly for PCOS patients, high responders, PGT cycles, and elevated progesterone on trigger day. If your clinic recommends freezing everything and transferring next cycle, that’s current best practice, not a setback.

FET Cost in Ahmedabad

₹40,000 – ₹70,000 per transfer — covering lining preparation, monitoring scans, thaw, and the transfer itself. Compare that to a fresh cycle at ₹1.5–2.5 lakh (plus medication). The arithmetic writes itself: every frozen embryo banked in cycle one buys a future attempt at a fraction of the price. A sibling years from now might cost ₹50,000 instead of ₹2 lakh.

How Many FETs Can You Do?

As many as you have frozen embryos — each transfer uses one (or rarely two). A strong first IVF cycle might produce 3–5 freezable blastocysts, giving you three to five independent chances without ever repeating stimulation. This is why embryo freezing isn’t an add-on; it’s central strategy. The cost of freezing (₹20,000–40,000 + storage) is paid back the moment you avoid a single fresh repeat.

FET Success Rates

Equivalent to fresh transfer for most patient groups — and the embryos don’t lose quality in storage. A blastocyst frozen at 30 and transferred at 35 carries the original 30-year-old’s age advantage. Thaw survival in experienced labs exceeds 95%. The only question is how many embryos you have: the per-transfer odds are the same, but cumulative success depends on having enough embryos to try again if needed.

The NRI Advantage

FET is the backbone of the NRI two-trip strategy: complete the full stimulation cycle during one India visit, freeze everything, fly home. Return months later — or next year — for a short 7–10 day FET trip. The sibling trip years later needs only another FET. No second stimulation, no schedule Tetris, no cancelled flight anxiety.

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