Business Insider: Inside the internet's underground fertility drug trade
UC fertility expert discusses hazards of purchasing fertility drugs via internet
In vitro fertilization drugs are expansive and only 13 states mandate insurance coverage in this area. Even when patients are insured, essential in vitro fertilization drugs, which can cost up to $5,000 per round, are often excluded. Just as patients overcome biological hurdles to parenthood, they need to clear financial ones as well. That has led to a booming underground drug trade on Instagram.
Suruchi Thakore, MD, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UC, warns that patients who source their own drugs may compromise their own fertility treatment. Medications from unconventional sources, whether it’s a neighbor, Instagram follower, or overseas pharmacy are more likely to have been improperly stored. And that can lower their effectiveness, Thakore, a UC Health physician, told Insider.
Related Stories
$15 million bequest supports endowed chair at UC College of Medicine
May 19, 2026
As a student and resident at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, George G. Bemis, Jr., MD, Med ’64, saw firsthand that medicine was more than a profession for those teaching and leading him. Inspired by their sense of calling, he knew he wanted to pursue the same path.
Pocket-sized population threat
May 18, 2026
The Financial Times took a deep dive into why populations around the world continue to be on the decline. The publication cited new University of Cincinnati research as part of the investigation that looks at the fall of fertility in the digital era.
UC finds integrating substance use disorder treatment into clinic-based internal medicine expands access to care
May 18, 2026
A University of Cincinnati primary care teaching clinic integrates substance use disorder treatment into resident training, expanding access to addiction care and boosting physician confidence.