IVF and Other Fertility Treatments in Spain
Spain has always been a popular destination for tourists from the UK and elsewhere in Northern Europe, due to its great weather, fantastic scenery and vibrant, interesting cities. However, now many people are finding a new reason to travel to Spain – to receive IVF or other assisted reproduction treatments.
In Spain, high tech facilities like those operated in many Spanish locations by IVI clinics, allow women and couples to have conventional IVF, egg donation treatments and artificial insemination for what is often a very good price, while still receiving the very high standard of care and professionalism you would expect from a major European country. With the technology they use and the high standard of technicians and doctors that they can attract, IVI are able to boast that 90% of the women who receive assisted reproductive treatments in their clinics do become pregnant. This is a very impressive success rate, and with locations like Malaga, Valencia, Barcelona, Alicante and Las Palmas one would normally associate with luxury city breaks or beach holidays, it is easy to see why travelling to Spain for this kind of treatment appeals to many people.
Human embryo, 8 cells on day 3 photo: ekem, Courtesy: RWJMS IVF Program via wikimedia commons
Why Spain Is So Appealing to Those Seeking Assisted Reproductive Treatments
There are numerous good reasons why people from the UK and elsewhere decide to have their assisted reproduction treatments in Spain at places like IVI. For one thing, the UK has a distinct lack of egg donors, whereas this is less of a problem in Spain, even though regulations on who can donate eggs are similarly strict to ensure only quality ova are used. For another, IVF and other treatments can be hugely expensive in the UK, whereas having the same procedure done in Spain, where the technology and standard of care is equivalent, can save as much as 60% in some cases. This can be especially important if you have to go through a few rounds of treatment before you are successful in becoming pregnant and carrying your baby to term.
These financial and availability issues are just one side of the coin however. People tend to be comfortable with having procedures done in a country like Spain which has a good standard of healthcare and is one of the major economies in the EU, rather than travelling to what are considered to be ‘poor’ countries in Eastern Europe or Asia. It is debatable whether the standard of care and the technology used actually is better in countries like Spain and the UK, but it does give patients some peace of mind. Of course, then there is the matter of how pleasant it is to stay in a place for the duration of your treatment (which in some cases may take weeks of daily visits to the clinic, due to the period of fertility treatment to cause the potential mother to produce more eggs). Most people would be fairly happy to spend this time in the pleasant surroundings of some of Spain’s most beautiful cities!
If you are considering travelling to Spain for IVF or artificial insemination, it can be well worth contacting clinics like IVI to learn more.
Guest author: Lolita Di
