Inside an IVF clinic: a room-by-room walkthrough
Walking into a fertility clinic for the first time can feel daunting. Take a look around the kind of rooms you might find in a fertility clinic, from the front door to the lab.
Tap the numbers or use the buttons to move between rooms. The rooms are shown as a walk around a building, not in the order of any treatment.
Outside the clinic
Fertility clinics come in all shapes and sizes. Some are part of a hospital, while others are in a townhouse, an office building or a business park. Signs can be low-key, to help protect people's privacy.
Good to know
Some clinics are spread across more than one floor or building.
Reception and waiting area
This is often where visitors arrive and check in. A reception team often looks after things like appointments, payments and paperwork. Waiting areas can be designed to feel calm and private.
Good to know
Clinics may carry out identity checks, such as asking for a name and date of birth, to help keep every sample matched to the right person.
Consultation rooms
A consultation room is often a quiet, private room with a desk and a few chairs, where clinic staff and visitors can sit down and talk. Some may also have an examination couch, often behind a curtain or screen.
Good to know
Some clinics have several consultation rooms, and some may call them consulting rooms or clinic rooms.
Men's collection room
A private room where a sperm sample can be produced. Some have a small hatch in the wall, so the sample can be passed through to the lab.
Good to know
Collection rooms are generally designed with privacy in mind, and can often be locked from the inside.
Nurses' station and ward
The nurses' station is often a base for the nursing team. Nearby there may be a ward area with beds or reclining chairs, often with curtains for privacy.
Good to know
Layouts can vary a lot. In some clinics the ward is a single room; in others it's shared with other hospital departments.
The IVF laboratory
The IVF laboratory is generally where embryologists work with eggs, sperm and embryos. It may contain equipment such as incubators, designed to hold a steady temperature, and microscope workstations. The air and lighting are often carefully controlled.
Good to know
Labs are generally kept as clean and undisturbed as possible, so access is often limited to lab staff.
The andrology lab
The andrology lab is generally where scientists look at and prepare sperm samples. Equipment here may include microscopes and a centrifuge, a machine that spins samples at high speed.
Good to know
In some clinics the andrology lab is part of the main IVF lab; in others it's a separate room.
The operating room
Often a clean, clinical room that may be used for some procedures. It may have a treatment bed, a bright overhead light and an ultrasound machine. In some clinics a hatch links this room to the IVF lab next door.
Good to know
Some clinics call this room a theatre or a procedure room.
The cryostorage room
Frozen eggs, sperm and embryos can be kept here in special tanks of liquid nitrogen, at around −196°C. The tanks can be monitored and fitted with alarms to alert staff if anything changes.
Good to know
Often, access to this room is limited to trained staff.
The embryology office
Behind the scenes, the embryology office is often where records are kept up to date, paperwork is double-checked and the lab's work is planned. Calls to patients may be made from here too.
Good to know
You might never see this room, but it can play an important part in keeping records accurate.
Every clinic is different. Rooms may be combined, named differently or in another building, and you may not see every room. This walkthrough is a general illustration of clinic rooms only. It isn't medical advice and doesn't describe any treatment or the order of treatment. For questions about your own care, please speak to your clinic.
About myIVFCompare
myIVFCompare brings information about selected IVF clinics together in one place. It does not recommend a particular clinic.
Information can change. Current details of treatment, eligibility, funding and prices are held by each clinic, the NHS and the relevant official bodies.