Visiting the Czech Republic... To Get Pregnant?

One subject that is fascinating to me as an experienced traveler and public health professional is the concept of medical tourism. As the cost of healthcare in the United States continues to skyrocket, some people are outsourcing their medical treatments to other countries, particularly when the healthcare they seek is elective. Infertility treatment happens to be a very high cost item in the United States. Depending on the location, a single in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in America can cost thousands of dollars, which hopeful prospective parents often must pay out of pocket.

Marcela and Craig Fite, operators of www.ivfvacation.com, faced this reality firsthand. The couple had met on the Internet and, upon meeting in person, decided that they wanted to get married and have a family of their own. But Craig Fite, who had divorced his first wife and was already the father of one child, had undergone a vasectomy. After marrying Marcela, he had a vasectomy reversal, but still had a low sperm count. Craig could not get Marcela pregnant in the usual way.

The Fites considered undergoing infertility treatments in the United States, but were quoted prices between $10,000 to $15,000 per try, which they could not afford. They looked into seeking infertility treatment abroad, but the options open to them mostly involved traveling to the Middle East or a developing country. Then, they visited the Czech Republic to visit Marcela's family. That's when they ended up on the pathway to parenthood.

Marcela Fite is from the Czech Republic. During a visit to the Czech Republic in 2005, the Fites visited an infertility clinic to undergo artificial insemination. A physician told them that IVF would give them a much better chance at success, but the Fites didn't have time for the IVF procedure. Though the Fites were unsuccessful in getting Marcela pregnant after that first visit, they noticed that infertility treatments in the Czech Republic were much less expensive than they are in America. Moreover, the clinics were clean and modern. Voila! An idea for a new business was born!

The Fites successfully underwent IVF treatment in 2006 and are now the parents of twins. Through their Web site, www.ivfvacation.com, they now help prospective parents access infertility treatments in the Czech Republic at the Clinic of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology in Zlin, a city in the southeastern part of the country, not far from the Slovak border. Since 2007, hopeful parents have been contacting the Fites through their site and setting up 21 day "medevacations"; they get to see the Czech Republic while they have infertility treatments, thus "killing two birds with one stone" as it were.

So far, the Fites are able to boast a high level of success. According to their Web site, as of January 2010, over 300 clients had used their services. As of March 2009, sixty percent of those using donor eggs had conceived, while fifty percent undergoing IVF were successful in getting pregnant. While the couple once only planned one IVF vacation per year, they've enjoyed so much success that they now offer the service year round.

Why I'm interested in IVF vacations...

I first became acquainted with the Fites' story back in 2008, when my husband Bill and I were living in Germany, courtesy of the U.S. Army. I was interested in what they were doing for many reasons. First off, my husband Bill was in a situation similar to Craig Fite's. He was married and had two daughters before we met. Unfortunately, he'd had a vasectomy after his second daughter was born. Six years later, he and his ex wife divorced. Though Bill had a vasectomy reversal that was supposedly successful, I have yet to conceive. At this point, it looks like we would have to seek infertility treatment if I want to get pregnant.

While we were in Germany, Bill and I got the chance to do a lot of traveling around Europe. One of the countries we enjoyed the most was the Czech Republic. We liked it so much and found it so affordable that we visited three times before we moved back to the United States. The Czech Republic is beautiful, full of history, and trips there were very convenient because we lived just a few hours away from the border. My husband was especially excited to go there, since he had once guarded the border area back in the late 1980s, before the fall of Communism. At that time, it was absolutely unthinkable that one day he'd be able to see the Czech Republic.

Although we could access infertility treatment inexpensively through the military, there can be a long wait for infertility procedures and it's not offered everywhere. Moreover, I'm not particularly fond of the military healthcare system. We did give some thought to contacting the Fites-- who are based in Bowling Green, Ohio-- but eventually decided not to undergo infertility treatment. Despite our personal decision, I find the Fites' foray into medical tourism very exciting, particularly for adventurous people who want to see the world and become parents.

Dental care?

The Czech Republic is also a popular destination for those who seek dental care. State of the art facilities are available in the Czech Republic and treatments cost much less than they do in the United States. A growing number of Americans are going there to have aesthetic dentistry done.

Risks?

Naturally, any medical or dental procedure may involve risks. Moreover, while the costs of treatment may be less in the Czech Republic or other countries, a person considering accessing the treatments should weigh in the factors that might make going abroad less attractive. For instance, the IVF vacations touted by the Fites require that the prospective mother stay in the Czech Republic for three weeks if she's undergoing in-vitro fertilization and ten days if she's having the egg donor procedure. That can be a difficult undertaking if the mom has a career and not enough vacation time to do a ten day to three week visit. Couples must also consider the cost of extras such as food, lodging, local transportation, and airfare.

It's nice to have options...

I find it very exciting that some people are starting to "think outside the box" and go abroad to take care of their medical needs. Even though I know that the U.S. medical establishment would probably prefer that people stay local, healthcare costs are out of control. I think it's empowering to know that if I needed to, I could go somewhere else to get the treatment I might need without going bankrupt. With the way things are in the United States these days, who can blame Americans for expanding their healthcare options?

Sources: www.ivfvacations.com
www.msnbc.com "Crossing borders for fertility treatments"
www.esthesia.cz