Why Couples Go Abroad for IVF: Donor Eggs, Scale, Technology and Currency
Couples go abroad for IVF for four reasons:
- donor eggs their home system cannot supply
- clinic volume and experience their home market cannot match
- lab technology that is not offered at home at any price
- currency maths that changes what the same cycle costs
This article goes through all four, and what each one actually means when you are the patient.
Reason 1: Donor eggs are unavailable or in very limited supply at home
Some governments ban commercialization of egg donation. So donor eggs are in very limited supply.
No real pool means no matching service either. Your clinic has nothing to match you to.
What you are left with at home is narrow.
Asking a sister or a friend is not a neutral option. It changes a family relationship permanently.
Many couples will not do it.
Meanwhile more couples try later, and more of them are told donor eggs are the realistic path.
At home
- Find your own donor, usually a relative or a friend.
- Or import frozen eggs from abroad, which adds cost, paperwork and legal risk.
In provider markets
- In some countries, the donor pool exists, supervised by the health ministry.