Private fertility clinics are charging up to €450 for blood tests that some couples can get from their GP for a fraction of the cost.

It comes as two leading Irish fertility doctors warned IVF clinics have become “commercialised,” and are charging couples for expensive “add-on” treatments which claim to improve a couple’s chances of getting pregnant but are not supported by evidence.

A fertility consultant told the Irish Independent couples are spending hundreds of euro on treatments that he doesn’t believe will work. Meanwhile a former staff member said she had to leave a separate clinic after being made to feel she was “selling” IVF.