Fertility tourism… A complex market niche

Cross border reproductive care is one of the growing niche markets within medical travel. In the last 40 years, it is estimated that around five million babies have been borne through IVF and related techniques. How many people actually travel for infertility treatment?

The answer is the same as in other areas of medical tourism.

We just don’t know, and there have been few attempts to count the numbers accurately.  We do know that interest in fertility travel is growing. A new infographic, produced for our site  Fertility Treatment Abroad, highlights the growth that we have experienced in this sector.

Why do people travel for fertility treatment?

The most comprehensive study of cross border reproductive care was published on behalf of ESHRE back in 2010 . The study, “Cross border reproductive care in six European countries”, looked at activity in 46 fertility clinics in six countries. The researchers extrapolated the data to estimate that around 11,000 to 14,000 patients cross borders in Europe each year to seek infertility treatment.

It’s a complex area of medical travel with patient flows that are driven by a variety of factors, depending on the source and destination markets.