Aspire Fertility San Antonio — An Honest Editorial Review

Choosing a fertility clinic in San Antonio means navigating a crowded market with real stakes. Aspire Fertility Institute has built one of the larger footprints in the city, operating three San Antonio-area locations — Stone Oak, Alamo Heights, and Medical Center — all staffed by a team of four named reproductive endocrinologists. For patients researching their options in a state with no fertility insurance mandate, understanding exactly what Aspire offers — and what its corporate model means for your care — matters before you book a consult.

The Physician Team at the San Antonio Location

Aspire's San Antonio practice is anchored by four board-certified reproductive endocrinologists and infertility specialists (REIs):

• Dr. Aimee Browne, MD — Named a 2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctor, Dr. Browne is frequently described by patients as calm, warm, and clinically precise. Her combination of bedside manner and evidence-based directness resonates with patients who want clear answers alongside emotional support.
• Dr. Courtney Failor, MD — Patient reviews consistently highlight Dr. Failor's ability to explain complex treatment plans in plain language, her empathy during difficult cycles, and her accessibility between appointments.
• Dr. Jennifer Knudtson, MD — Dr. Knudtson brings academic and clinical depth to the team; her presence reflects Aspire's recruitment of formally trained specialists with research backgrounds.
• Dr. Ursula Balthazar, MD — Described by patients as thoughtful, efficient, and compassionate, Dr. Balthazar earns particular praise for the preparedness of her entire care team during monitoring and retrieval cycles.

The clinical team is supported by Cheryl Koone, MSN, an advanced-practice nurse who helps coordinate care across the practice's multiple San Antonio sites.

Services Offered

Aspire San Antonio covers the full spectrum of reproductive medicine:

• IVF and ICSI — The core program, with an on-site embryology lab at the Stone Oak location.
• Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT-A and PGT-M) — The clinic's own SART commentary notes that it performs a significant volume of PGT cycles and emphasizes elective single-embryo transfer, which is both a safety best practice and a factor to understand when comparing raw success-rate numbers.
• Egg Freezing — Offered for both fertility preservation and planned delayed childbearing. Aspire is part of the Prelude Network, which has invested heavily in egg-freezing infrastructure across its clinics.
• Donor Egg Cycles — An active program serving patients with diminished ovarian reserve or prior failed cycles.
• Gestational Surrogacy — Coordination services for intended parents working with a surrogate.
• IUI — A less-invasive first-line option for appropriate candidates.
• LGBTQ+ Family Building — Explicitly supported services for same-sex couples and single parents, including reciprocal IVF for female couples and sperm-donor IUI or IVF for gay male couples pursuing surrogacy.
• Male Fertility Services — Semen analysis, and collaboration on male-factor diagnoses.
• Oncofertility — Fertility preservation for patients facing cancer treatment.
• Recurrent Pregnancy Loss — Evaluation and management programs for patients with multiple miscarriages.

What the SART Data Actually Shows

Aspire Fertility Institute San Antonio is a SART-reporting clinic, which means its outcomes are independently submitted and audited. The 2023 SART data (the most recently published cycle as of this writing) reported 1,697 total cycles — a volume that places this clinic firmly in the high-activity tier. High cycle volume generally correlates with a more experienced embryology team and more robust quality-control processes.

Live birth rates per transfer for patients using their own eggs in 2023:

For patients under 35, a 58.4% live birth rate per transfer is a meaningful result. That said, Aspire's own SART notes flag that its high PGT utilization and single-embryo transfer protocols affect how these numbers should be read. Clinics that test and transfer one chromosomally normal embryo at a time will typically show lower per-retrieval rates but better cumulative outcomes and lower multiple-birth risk — a trade-off most reproductive medicine societies now consider the clinically superior approach. See our detailed breakdown in IVF success rates by age (2024) for national context.

What the 4.6-Star Rating Across 461 Reviews Tells You

A 4.6-star average from 461 reviews is statistically significant — this is not a handful of enthusiastic patients skewing a small sample. At that volume, the rating reflects a consistent pattern of experience. Across platforms, the themes that recur are: physicians who communicate well under pressure, a staff that is responsive during the heightened anxiety of stims and retrieval, and a sense that patients feel seen rather than processed. Negative reviews, where they appear, most commonly reference wait times, billing complexity, and the general emotional difficulty of the IVF process — complaints that are common across high-volume fertility practices rather than specific to Aspire.

Aspire as Part of the Prelude Network — What the Corporate Model Means

Aspire Fertility is the Texas-branded network of clinics within the Prelude Network, which markets itself as the largest network of fertility clinics in the United States. Aspire itself operates 20 Texas locations, with heritage going back more than 30 years through predecessor practices RMA of Texas and Houston Fertility Specialists.

For patients, the corporate network model has concrete implications:

Potential advantages. Standardized laboratory protocols, centralized embryology quality control, shared genetic testing infrastructure, and multi-site convenience (you can monitor at any San Antonio location during stimulation) are genuine operational benefits. The scale also supports the recruitment of fellowship-trained specialists like those on the San Antonio team.

Considerations to weigh. High-volume corporate practices can feel less personal than independent boutique clinics. Staffing transitions, care coordination across locations, and billing administration are areas where patient experience at large networks can be uneven. Aspire's review profile suggests it manages this reasonably well, but it is worth asking during your consult how your primary physician will stay involved if you need monitoring at a different site.

The Prelude Network context. Being part of a national network means Aspire's protocols and laboratory standards are subject to network-level oversight — which, when that oversight is rigorous, is a benefit to patients. It also means the clinic operates with a private-equity-backed business model. That is not inherently a problem for clinical care, but patients should go in with clear eyes about how corporate fertility medicine works.

Texas Has No Fertility Insurance Mandate — Plan Accordingly

Texas is one of the majority of states that does not require health insurers to cover fertility treatments. This means that unless you have employer-sponsored coverage with explicit fertility benefits — increasingly common at larger employers — IVF at Aspire will be an out-of-pocket expense. A fresh IVF cycle in Texas typically runs $12,000–$18,000 before medications, which add $3,000–$6,000 more. PGT-A testing adds $3,000–$6,000 on top of that. Aspire participates in financing programs and may offer multi-cycle packages, but you should request a complete fee schedule before your first appointment.

For a full breakdown of what patients pay across states, see our guide to fertility insurance by state and our IVF cost by state analysis. If you are comparing Aspire against other Texas providers, our Texas fertility clinic directory lists all SART-reporting options by city.

How to Use This Information

A 4.6-star rating, a strong physician team, SART-reported outcomes, and a full service menu make Aspire Fertility San Antonio one of the more credible choices in the market. The Prelude Network affiliation brings scale advantages and some trade-offs. Texas's lack of insurance mandates means cost planning is non-optional. Before committing, read our how to choose a fertility clinic guide — particularly the sections on evaluating SART data and asking the right questions about laboratory quality and physician involvement in your cycle.

Considering At-Home Insemination?

Not every fertility journey begins in a clinic. At-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option that suits patients with no known fertility diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical treatment.

At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom come with step-by-step instructions designed for donor or partner sperm. Kits are a one-time purchase that can be reused until conception succeeds, require no clinic visit, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients use them as a first step while working toward a fertility consultation — or alongside ovulation tracking while they wait for an appointment slot.

If you have a known fertility diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months without success (six months if you're over 35), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.

Frequently Asked Questions

What IVF success rates does Aspire Fertility San Antonio report?

According to 2023 SART data, Aspire Fertility Institute San Antonio reported a 58.4% live birth rate per transfer for patients under 35 using their own eggs, across 1,697 total cycles. Rates decline with age: 33.8% for ages 35–37, 27.4% for ages 38–40, and 15.4% for ages 41–42. The clinic notes that its high use of preimplantation genetic testing and elective single-embryo transfer protocols influences how these figures should be interpreted relative to national averages.

Which doctors practice at Aspire Fertility's San Antonio location?

The San Antonio physician team includes four board-certified REIs: Dr. Aimee Browne, MD (2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctor); Dr. Courtney Failor, MD; Dr. Jennifer Knudtson, MD; and Dr. Ursula Balthazar, MD. Cheryl Koone, MSN, serves as an advanced-practice nurse on the care team. The Stone Oak location at 150 E Sonterra Blvd serves as the primary IVF lab site; Alamo Heights and Medical Center are satellite monitoring locations.

Does Aspire Fertility San Antonio accept insurance for IVF?

Texas does not have a fertility insurance mandate, so most patients pay for IVF out of pocket unless their employer plan includes fertility benefits. Aspire works with financing partners and may offer multi-cycle package pricing — ask for a detailed fee estimate at your initial consultation. For a broader overview of coverage options, see our fertility insurance by state guide.