If you're struggling to conceive and on the path to parenthood, looking to have a baby and are considering, planning or about to have fertility treatment like IVF, ICSI, Egg Donation, Sperm donation, Embryo donation treatment in Europe and in places like Spain, Greece, Portugal and Czech Republic then you're in the right place.
I'm Emma Haslam and since the birth of our son in 2018, I have made it my mission to make fertility treatment more transparent, accessible, supported and affordable. I now help people around the world just like you to find a safe, best fit clinic and navigate fertility treatment in Europe. And since 2019 I have helped 100s of people around the world to make informed decisions that are right for them and to have fertility treatment in Europe and achieve their dreams of starting or expanding their families.
I want to talk to you about the importance of destination on your fertility journey abroad. And I'm going to give you some questions to ask yourself which should help you to narrow down the pool of destinations, so that you can decide on which destination is best suited to your needs.
Where is the best place to have fertility treatment and IVF abroad?
Working as an IVF and fertility treatment abroad mentor I always start with the destination first when it comes to fertility treatment abroad. And the reason is there's no point in getting invested in a particular clinic if it's a destination that's not right for you, or where you are not able to have treatment (depending on your circumstances).
So the first thing you should think about is - where do you want to go? When you have a look in your own country what most people do is they look at the nearest fertility clinics to them, right? I can see why as for many this seems to make complete sense. Somewhere you can drive too within an hour ish of where you live, and there might be one or two to choose from and that's how many people work when choosing their fertility clinic, even though these might not be the best fit fertility clinics for their medical circumstances and personalities, but they are convenient in terms of location.
All of a sudden when you think about going abroad for IVF and fertility treatment like ICSI, PGT-A testing, Donor egg, Donor Sperm, Donor embryos it can feel overwhelming. Having fertility treatment anywhere is overwhelming enough at times, right?
When you consider going abroad for IVF or other fertility treatment and take for example Europe, is is a huge, huge continent and suddenly you are met with so much choice it can feel like an impossible task to make sure you pick somewhere where you can have safe treatment and IVF abroad, that meets your needs, where you qualify for treatment and in a destination that where you will be happy to spend your time.
There will be countries that appeal to you in countries that don't. Write a list. And then also write a list of where you do not want to go and stick to it. You're going to be at the clinic a handful of times and have lots of spare time to enjoy being away from the stresses and strains of home life and so destination is really important. Let's not go somewhere that you don't want to go too, because there's absolutely no need and I feel getting your destination right is so important for the overall experience that you're going to have and will make the process easier too.
Next ask yourself can I have treatment in my desired location? And the reason I say this is because in certain countries, certain groups of people are not able, by law, to have treatment there. Ridiculous I know. However, sadly it’s just the way it is and you don’t want to get excited about going to a particular country, if you are not allowed to have fertility treatment there. Examples of this might be that you are ‘too old’ for that particular country, you might be in a same sex female couple and they don't treat same sex couples, you might have specific donation requirements if needing egg and/or sperm donation and some destinations may not be able to offer you what you need or stuck on a long waiting list. If you are single there are some countries that will not treat single women with fertility treatment too.
After you've looked at where you would like/not like to go and where you are allowed to have treatment then think about the cost of living in your preferred locations if budget is a factor. Consider prices of flights, accommodation and daily living costs too. This should help rule in the best places for you to have your fertility treatment and rule out others.
Consider the safety of this country? Do they have very high standards of fertility treatment that are well regulated and up to the standards that you're used to in your home country? Is there any political unrest? I suppose the sad example of the moment would be Russia and Ukraine. They have been countries with political unrest bubbling in the background for years and yet still a popular destination for many having fertility treatment. And while we can't always preempt these things, you know, there are certain places that are more politically unstable than others and if you know this ahead of time I would urge you to factor this into your decision making process.
The final question I want you to ask yourself is how are you going to get there? Are you flying? Or do you prefer to travel another way? Think about the ease of getting there. If you are flying is it somewhere that you can fly to from your local airport on a low cost airline if you are on a budget IVF treatment abroad? Are there plenty of direct flights?. Make things as easy as you can and you know, you have got a lot of destinations to go to, so make things easier for yourself where you can. Also consider your transfer to the clinic or accommodation at the other side.
By asking yourself these questions you can start to narrow down that wide pool of destinations before moving forward to thinking about finding the best fertility clinic in Europe for you and I have written another blog post on this to help you too which you will find on my website under Blogs.
If you are considering if fertility treatment abroad could be right for you and would like a complimentary no-obligation chat to find out more about my services and to see if we would be a good fit please drop me an email at hello@yourivfabroad.co.uk with the subject line - Destination blog so I know where you have come from.
Love Emma xxx
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