Fertility tourism

Fertility tourism or reproductive tourism is the practice of traveling to another country or jurisdiction for fertility treatment, and may be regarded as a form of medical tourism. The main reasons for fertility tourism are legal prohibitions or regulation of the sought procedure in the home country, the non-availability of a procedure in the home country, as well as lower costs in the destination country. The main procedures sought are In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor insemination, but also surrogacy.

It has been proposed to be termed reproductive exile to emphasise the difficulties and constraints faced by infertile patients, who are "forced" to travel globally for reproductive procedures.

About 20,000 to 25,000 women (often accompanied by their partners) annually seek cross-border assisted reproductive technology (ART) services.

Israel is the leading fertility tourism destination for In-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. The United States is the destination of many Europeans because of the higher success rates and liberal regulations. In turn, India and other Asian countries are the main destinations for U.S. women seeking fertility treatment, being the destinations for 40% of U.S. women seeking IVF and 52% seeking IVF with egg donation. Many travel from countries like Germany and Italy, which are very restrictive of the number of eggs that may be fertilized and how many embryos can be used for implantation or cryopreservation. In recent years, Mexico has become a popular destination for cross border IVF treatment due to its liberal ART and egg donation policies. Even small countries such as Barbados provide JCI-accredited IVF treatment aimed at women from abroad.

Women from countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom may travel for IVF treatment and medications to save money. The cost for 1 IVF cycle in the United States averages US$15,000, while for comparable treatment in Mexico it is about US$7,800, Thailand $6,500, and India $3,300.

Egg donation is illegal in a number of European countries including Germany, Austria and Italy. Many women then will seek treatment in places where the procedure is allowed such as Spain and the United States where donors can be paid for their donation. Almost half of all IVF treatments with donor eggs in Europe are performed in Spain. IVF with anonymous egg donation is also the main ART sought by Canadians traveling to the U.S, and is the sought procedure for 80% of cross-border treatments by Canadians.

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