The benefits of Infertility Treatment Abroad

Over 3.5 million people are affected by infertility or problems conceiving. For most people, becoming a parent is an excepted part of adulthood and most take for granted the idea that pregnancy will happen naturally. Infertility is not always a symptomatic condition – there is often no warning that conception will be difficult until attempts at conceiving naturally fail.

For the past twenty-five years, fertility treatments such as In-Vitro fertilization, commonly known as IVF, have helped couples achieve successful pregnancies.

IVF is the preferred treatment choice for infertility. The first ‘test-tube baby’ was born in 1978 and since then the continued advances in fertility medicine have aided the conception of over 3 million babies.


Today, infertility specialists offer patients a range of treatment methods combined with IVF to ensure that conception is not only successful but that the pregnancy itself is a success. However, infertility treatment comes with a high price tag – one cycle of IVF can cost as much as $20,000 or £10,000 and if national healthcare systems do not offer free infertility treatments, the treatment options are limited. Couples may be limited to only one or two treatment cycles. This means that even patients who are eligible to receive IVF treatment free of charge in their own country, may still need to find financing for a second, third or even fourth attempt.

Due to financial limitations and restrictions imposed on infertility treatments by local laws, more and more patients are travelling abroad for infertility treatment. For UK based patients, Turkey is one of the most popular destinations. With its close proximity to Cyprus, where gender selection and egg donation are not prohibited, as well as the lower treatment costs, Turkey attracts more foreign IVF patients every year. According to Ugur Camlibel, Business Development Director at Istanbul’s Jinemed Clinics, more than 40,000 in-vitro fertilization procedures are performed in Turkey every year.

Travelling abroad for infertility treatment has many benefits. Older women are able to access treatment that is restricted to them in their own country. Couples have more freedom over the treatment methods combined with IVF as many practices that are medically approved, such as egg donation, are restricted in certain countries. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for gender selection or pre-genetic diagnosis of inherited conditions, for example, is more readily available in countries such as Cyprus or Costa Rica. Furthermore, safe practices proven to increase the amount of successful IVF cycles are banned for religious, moral or political reasons in certain countries, such as Italy. The Italian government banns embryo freezing, which helps couples preserve embryos for future treatments or donate the embryos to other infertile couples. 

While the idea of travelling abroad for infertility treatment may sound confusing, complicated and a little intimidating, in reality it is not a difficult process. Many health care companies specialize in coordinating IVF treatment in Turkey and other countries abroad, providing patients with an international co-coordinator who helps confirm the details involved. Doctors and hospitals ensure the patient’s details and test results are received. Most hospitals are fully prepared to provide the treatment on the patient’s arrival and to answer any questions patients have before and during their time in the chosen health care destination.