Thailand Offers Less Expensive Fertility Treatment, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, Attracting "Fertility Tourists"

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 10 Aug 2006 - 9:00 PDT

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Thailand is attracting so-called "fertility tourists" by offering less-expensive fertility treatments, including preimplantation genetic diagnosis -- a technique used during in vitro fertilization that allows physicians to test the embryo for chromosomal abnormalities and determine its gender -- AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Phattaraphum Phophong, a fertility specialist at Bumrungrad International Hospital, estimates that 60% of the 500 people who use the fertility center at the hospital monthly are foreigners. According to AFP/Yahoo! News, the most common procedure sought in Thailand is IVF, which costs about one-third of U.S. and European prices. Preimplatation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, also has attracted many people to Thailand, in part because the procedure is prohibited in many countries. However, clinics in Thailand can perform PGD because the country's Medical Council only has advised against the procedure. According to Pinya Hunsajarupan, a physician at Jetanin Institute for Assisted Reproduction in Thailand, many people seeking PGD come from Australia, which does not allow sex selection, and others come from China and India (McDonald-Gibson, AFP/Yahoo! News, 8/5).

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