Frozen Embryo Transfer in Medellín: Timeline, Cost Questions and Travel Planning

Bottom line: In a frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycle, the embryo already exists. The work is preparing the uterine lining and choosing the right day. If your clinic will let you prepare at home, the Medellín part can be short, but the transfer date is not set until the lining and the medication schedule say so.

Two different FET trips

Patients usually arrive at a frozen transfer in Medellín by one of two routes, and the planning is quite different for each.

Your embryos are already stored in Medellín. They were created on an earlier trip, perhaps in a freeze-all cycle or because embryos were left over after a fresh transfer. The clinic knows the embryos, the lab records are in-house, and the main job is fitting your preparation around a return trip.
Your embryos are stored somewhere else. They were created at home or in another country and you want the transfer done in Medellín. Before anything else you need to establish whether the clinic accepts imported embryos, what documents it needs from the releasing lab, and who arranges the specialist courier. Do not book flights until the embryos have arrived and been logged.

How a frozen transfer cycle is timed

A frozen transfer depends on matching the embryo’s stage with a lining that is ready to receive it. Clinics broadly do this either by tracking your own ovulation or by preparing the lining with medication on a planned schedule. Some use a mix of the two. Which approach suits you is a medical decision, but it matters for travel. A schedule built on medication is usually easier to plan around a flight than one that waits for your body to ovulate.

Phase	Where it can often happen	What decides the timing
Planning and protocol	Remote consultation	Your history, the embryo records and the clinic’s preferred approach
Starting the cycle	At home	Your period or the start of medication
Lining checks	At home, if the clinic accepts outside scans, or in Medellín	How the lining responds; extra scans may be added
Fixing the transfer day	Decided by the Medellín team	Lining readiness and when the timing medication starts
Thaw and transfer	Medellín	The lab’s thaw schedule on the day
Pregnancy test	Usually at home	The interval your clinic specifies

Our guide to monitoring at home before you fly explains how to set up scans with a local provider so the Medellín team receives results it can act on.

What the evidence says about frozen transfer

The UK regulator’s page on embryo freezing (HFEA) says frozen embryo success rates have risen year on year and are now comparable to fresh embryos. It describes frozen transfer as being as safe as fresh, with multiple birth as the main risk, and that risk is reduced by transferring a single embryo. It also says plainly that not every embryo survives thawing, and that some lose a cell or two, although many recover.

On how many embryos to transfer, the ASRM/SART guidance on embryo transfer limits (2021) applies the same age-based framework to frozen transfers as to fresh ones, with two FET-specific points:

A favourable prognosis is judged by the woman’s age when the embryos were frozen, not her age at transfer.
Features it lists as favourable include high-quality vitrified embryos, euploid (chromosomally tested) embryos, a first FET cycle, and a previous live birth after transferring sibling embryos.

The guidance also says a frozen transfer should not exceed the fresh-cycle limit for the same age group. A long flight is not a medical reason to transfer more.

Ask for the embryo record before you travel

Whether your embryos are in Medellín or elsewhere, ask for a short written record of each one before you plan the trip. It should show the date it was frozen, the day of development at freezing, how the lab graded it, the freezing method, and any genetic test result. With that in hand, you and the doctor can talk about which embryo to use first and how many attempts your remaining embryos might allow. It also gives you something to check against on transfer day.

If the embryos were created at another clinic, the Medellín lab will want the same record from the releasing lab, often before it agrees to receive them. Gaps in that paperwork are a common reason for delay, so request it early.

Decide how many embryos to thaw before the day

Transfer morning is a bad time to discover the thaw policy. Ask the clinic before you travel:

Do you thaw one embryo at a time, or more than one?
If the first does not survive, can another be thawed the same day, and is that priced separately?
If embryos were frozen together on one device, does thawing one mean thawing all of them?
Which embryo will you choose first, and on what basis?

If you have only one or two embryos left, these answers can shape whether you transfer now or wait until you can be in Medellín for longer.

Building the travel window

Treat the transfer date as an estimate until the clinic confirms it. A practical way to plan:

Ask the clinic for the earliest and latest likely transfer dates once your protocol is set.
Choose flights you can change for a modest fee, arriving with some margin before the earliest likely date.
Book lodging that can be extended, close enough to the clinic that transfer morning is not a long drive.
Ask your doctor when you may fly home afterwards. That is a medical question and our guide to travel after embryo transfer lists what to ask.
Carry enough of every medication to cover delays. The CDC Yellow Book (2026) advises medical travellers to make sure they have enough of their regular medications for the whole trip.

Illustrative example only: someone whose clinic accepts home scans might fly in shortly before a provisional transfer date and leave when their doctor clears them. Someone whose lining needs checking in Medellín would arrive earlier and stay longer. Neither timeline is a recommendation. Your clinic sets the real one.

Cost questions specific to a frozen transfer

The line items for a FET are covered in our guide to what a FET quote should include. From a planning point of view, three questions catch most surprises. Is the thaw priced per embryo or per procedure? Are lining-preparation drugs and luteal support in the quote or bought separately? If the transfer is postponed because the lining is not ready, what do you pay for the cancelled cycle and for the next attempt?

When the transfer is postponed

Lining that is not developing as expected, an unexpected cyst, a fluid finding or illness can all lead a doctor to cancel or delay a transfer. That is frustrating when you have flown in, but it is a safety decision, not a failure. Before you travel, ask what the clinic does if this happens. Will it restart straight away, send you home and plan a new cycle, or keep your embryos frozen until you return? Knowing the answer makes it much easier to decide whether to wait in Medellín or go home.

After the transfer

Before you leave, ask for a written summary covering which embryo was transferred, the medication schedule to continue, when to test, and whom to contact with a result or a worry. The CDC also advises discussing in advance, with both your home provider and the overseas clinic, how any complications would be handled. If embryos remain in storage, confirm their number and status in writing too.

Checklist before you book a FET trip

Where the embryos are, and whether they need shipping first.
Which preparation method is planned, and which scans can be done at home.
The earliest and latest likely transfer dates.
Thaw policy: how many embryos, and what happens if one does not survive.
Number of embryos to transfer, with the reasoning.
Postponement policy and what it costs.
When you are cleared to fly home, and the follow-up plan.

Already have a fertility treatment quote?

Compare the scope before comparing the sticker price. If you are gathering written estimates, keep the medication, laboratory, freezing, transfer and follow-up lines separate.

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Considering fertility care in Medellín?

Use the private planning request to describe what you are comparing, your approximate timing and travel readiness. Do not upload medical records; a provider can move clinical information into its secure intake.

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Frequently asked questions

How long do I need to stay in Medellín for a frozen embryo transfer?

It depends on how much of the preparation the clinic will let you do at home. If lining checks happen near where you live and the clinic accepts the reports, the in-person part may be short and centred on the transfer itself. Ask your doctor what window to plan and when you can travel afterwards.

Are frozen embryo transfers less successful than fresh ones?

The HFEA says success rates for frozen embryos have been rising and are now comparable to fresh embryos. Your own chances depend mainly on the embryo, including the age at which the eggs were collected, and on your individual situation.

Can my embryos be frozen somewhere else and transferred in Medellín?

Sometimes. Shipping embryos into Colombia involves the releasing clinic, the receiving clinic, a specialist courier and paperwork on both sides. Ask the Medellín clinic whether it accepts imported embryos and what documents and test results it needs before anything is shipped.

What happens if my embryo does not survive thawing?

The HFEA notes that not all embryos survive thawing. Ask the clinic in advance whether it thaws one embryo at a time, whether another can be thawed the same day, and how that is priced, so you are not deciding under pressure on transfer morning.

Should I transfer two frozen embryos to make the trip worth it?

Not by default. ASRM and SART guidance says frozen transfers should follow the same age-based limits as fresh ones and that single-embryo transfer is strongly encouraged for people with a favourable prognosis. The main risk of frozen transfer, according to the HFEA, is a multiple pregnancy.

Research sources

Primary and reference sources used for this article:

Medical disclaimer: MedellinIVF.co is an independent educational and lead-navigation site, not a fertility clinic. Nothing on this page is diagnosis, treatment advice or a guarantee of outcome. Prices and policies change. Verify current information directly with the treating clinic and appropriate Colombian registries.