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Embryo storage fees: know who bills you and when the price starts

Before renewing storage or moving embryos, confirm what is already paid, who holds the embryos and what it costs to leave.

A storage bill and a transport quote are different things. Get both before arranging a move.

Compare the billing unit and the time you will actually use

Terra Fertility publishes $100 per month or $1,000 per year paid upfront, with each specimen type stored and charged separately. Twelve monthly payments would be 12 × $100 = $1,200, versus $1,000 upfront, a $200 difference if you need the full year and those terms apply.

That comparison changes if you use the material sooner or store more than one type. Six monthly payments would be $600; the upfront option is not automatically cheaper unless the unused-time rules make it so. Ask for those terms rather than assuming the advertised annual price is the best choice.

The annual rate also does not tell you what it costs to move. New England Cryogenic Center's schedule lists $475 for annual embryo storage, a separate $100 withdrawal fee, tank rental, preparation and shipping items. Which charges apply depends on the move. Do not interpret $475 as the cost of storage plus getting embryos to the next clinic.

Check the renewal, not just the annual price

• Included time: when it starts and ends, and whether another retrieval changes the end date.
• Billing unit: whether the fee covers your account, a type of material or a defined number of containers.
• Billing company: who invoices you now and whether that changes when storage moves off site.
• Renewal terms: payment date, rate changes, unused-time refunds and the process for stopping charges.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California, for example, describes six months of courtesy storage followed by transfer to ReproTech, whose fees apply. It also lists exceptions where samples move immediately. Read the conditions, not just "storage included."

Get the receiving clinic's agreement before shipping

Ask whether it can accept your embryos and which laboratory records, screening results, consents and signatures it needs. Then request separate quotes from the sender, courier and receiver.

Ask about release fees, tank or courier charges, receiving fees and new storage. Mark anything not quoted as unknown, not zero.

ReproTech's transport guidance describes its shipping arrangements. Your clinics still need to confirm the requirements for your shipment and how receipt will be recorded.

Keep your instructions and contact details current

Keep the storage agreement and consent documents with your invoices. Ask how to update your address, authorized contacts and instructions for future use or disposition.

If you want to end storage, ask for the required forms, signatures and the date billing will stop. Do not assume a canceled card or unanswered invoice ends the agreement. Calendar the end of included storage even if you have no transfer planned. Keep the quoted rate and ask how you will be notified of changes.

Price is only one question. Ask the facility who responds to alarms, how it handles equipment failure and how it verifies identity during a move. A low fee is not evidence of poor storage, and a high fee is not proof of safety.

Planning to use stored embryos? Check the transfer quote →

Last updated: November 6, 2026