How long does IVF take? The full timeline

Before the cycle even begins

Referral to a fertility clinic, whether through the NHS or privately, often comes with a waiting list before your first appointment. Once you're seen, initial tests such as blood work, scans and semen analysis can take several weeks to arrange and get results back for.

Stimulation phase: roughly 8 to 14 days

Once injections start, this phase is fairly predictable in length, though it can run a few days longer or shorter depending on how your ovaries respond. Scans every two to three days track progress.

Trigger to retrieval: about 36 hours

The trigger injection is timed precisely, and egg retrieval follows roughly 36 hours later. This timing is fixed once set, which is why the trigger shot is usually given at a specific time of day.

Retrieval to transfer: 3 to 6 days

Embryos are cultured in the lab for a few days before transfer. Some clinics transfer on day 3, others wait until day 5 (blastocyst stage), depending on how many embryos are developing and their own protocols.

Transfer to test day: 10 to 14 days

This is the two week wait. Testing too early can give an inaccurate result, so clinics usually give a specific date to test on rather than leaving it open.

If your clinic recommends freezing all embryos rather than a fresh transfer, for example after an add-on test or a strong response to stimulation, the timeline extends because the frozen transfer happens in a later, separate cycle.

What extends the overall timeline

• Waiting lists for NHS-funded treatment, which vary considerably by area.
• A cancelled cycle needing to restart with a different protocol.
• Time needed to recover from ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome before a transfer.
• Choosing to freeze all embryos and transfer in a later, better-timed cycle.
• Additional testing, such as PGT-A, which needs time for results to come back.

A rough week-by-week shape

• Weeks 1 to 2: stimulation injections and monitoring scans.
• End of week 2: trigger injection and egg retrieval.
• Days after retrieval: fertilisation and embryo development in the lab.
• Around day 5 or 6: embryo transfer, fresh or in a later frozen cycle.
• The following two weeks: progesterone support and the wait to test.

Planning around work and life

Many people find it helpful to keep the retrieval and transfer days flexible for rest, even if they work through most of the stimulation phase. Some appointments are early morning to fit around jobs, but this varies by clinic, so it's worth asking about typical appointment times when you start.