What are the reasons behind people using fertility tourism?
The main reason behind people seeking fertility tourism is the quality of fertility treatment available in local clinics, and usually it is the absence of a good and complete fertility solution in your home country which compels you to move abroad to avail the treatment. Another underlying reason could be the procedure for fertility treatment you are looking for which is not available locally. Hence, the need to go abroad in the quest for the specific procedure could be a solution to the infertility issue you are facing.
There are a few clearly identifiable reasons that usually lead to a trip abroad for seeking fertility treatment. They are outlined as follows:
The expense factor:
The cost of various fertility treatment procedures like IVF, ICSI, PGD and the allied fertility services like egg and sperm donation, surrogacy, cryopreservation of eggs and sperms constitute the major reason for intending parents travelling to foreign countries instead of having treatment back home. Fertility treatment costs in countries like India, Thailand, Cambodia, Ukraine, Georgia and Greece are much lower than what they would cost an US citizen in their own country.
Legal constraints:
The law of your own country could be a big obstacle in your attempt to avail fertility treatment in your own country. Some laws defend the right of the surrogate mother to be the legal guardian of the baby she gives birth to. The intending parents are helpless here and often compelled to part with the newborn on which they had given so much physical, mental and financial efforts.
Unavailability of donors and surrogate mothers:
Unavailability of potential egg and sperm donors and surrogate mothers could be a limiting factor for the reason you opt abroad instead of your native country to get a satisfactory fertility treatment. Some countries are not so supportive towards the profession of egg donation and surrogacy. The social attitude is not congenial at all. Intending parents belonging to those countries are forced to look elsewhere for the required fertility treatment.
Gender preference:
Pre-implantation genetic Diagnosis (PGD), which is an extension of IVF, is prohibited in a number of countries except for screening of genetic diseases. PGD is a potent medical procedure for gender selection. The absence of this fertility service will force intending parents look elsewhere. For this reason, a substantial number of fertility tourists move from the United Kingdom where sex selection is banned to the US where one can have a baby of desired gender.
Donor insemination:
Sometimes a woman might have to travel overseas to get an artificial insemination by the donor. However, this type of migration depends upon the statute that governs the sperm donation practice in that country. Potential sperm donors are of great demand and they literally attract intending parents from other countries.
Availability of the right infrastructure:
A combination of factors crucial to a successful fertility treatment could trigger fertility tourism. This will certainly include availability of good fertility specialists, existence of proper medical facilities and the right attitude of the society. These features might be absent in home country necessitating a tour abroad where the pastures are greener.
HIV patients:
HIV patients also have equal right to enjoy the bliss of parenthood as do the normal intending parents have. But the concept is easier said than done. Not all countries have the facility for providing fertility treatment to HIV patients. Nor are all countries extend fertility service facilities to same sex customers.
It is these added fertility treatment facilities that pull a huge crowd to foreign countries for availing the treatment. Additionally, the facility of PGD service would screen the traces of HIV infections that might have been still inside the male and female gametes.