TEHRAN – Foreign couples from neighboring and even European countries highly welcome infertility treatment in Iran because of the favorable cost and successful test results compared to other countries, Abdolhossein Shahverdi, head of Royan Institute has said.

Infertility is the inability to become pregnant after one year of intercourse without contraception involving a male and female partner. There are many causes of infertility, including some that medical intervention can treat. 

Infertility occurs in 10 to 15 percent of couples. Causes of infertility can be female or male or both. Male infertility is responsible for 40 percent of infertility cases, while 40 percent are due to female infertility, and 10 percent are due to combined problems in both parts. In 10 percent of cases, no cause is found. In other words, in these couples, both people do not have a problem according to the available tests, but they do not have children for unknown reasons.

In the last two decades, great strides have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, and about 65 percent of infertile couples have had children using new methods.

Studies conducted worldwide and in Iran, about 10 to 15 percent of couples are infertile, Shahverdi said, IRNA reported.

Until the 1970s, these couples went to European countries for treatment, but we entered into this issue in time, and established more than 70 infertility centers, so great success achieved in the field of education, research, and specialized services, he highlighted.

He went on to note that in addition, we host a significant number of infertile patients from abroad because treatment in Iran has advantages such as low cost and higher success.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of patients has decreased, he said, explaining, our country's medical science has been trusted by other countries in the past and even in modern sciences, and many patients who can receive treatment in European countries choose Iran.

Many Muslims from neighboring and European countries, as well as Iranians who have foreign spouses, have come to our country for treatment, he stated.

The cost of infertility treatment in Iran is about 50 percent lower than in European and American countries. And the success rate in the best centers is between 30 and 40 percent, he also said.

He further emphasized that the duration of infertility, the patient's age, and the type of disease affect the success of tests and treatment.

Royan Institute is a public non-profit organization that is affiliated with the academic center for education, culture, and research. Established in 1991, Royan is a research institute for reproductive biomedicine and infertility treatments. 

According to Royan official website, the institute also acts as a leader of stem cell research and is one of the best clinics for infertility treatment. It has 46 scientific members and 186 lab technicians. 

Royan consists of three research institutes including Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, and Royan Institute for Biotechnology.

Iranian hospitals admitted nearly 70,000 foreign patients over the Iranian calendar year 1397 (March 2018 – March 2019) and it made an economic contribution of around $1.2 billion to the country, according to the medical tourism department at the Ministry of Health.

Mohammad Jahangiri who presides over a national center for developing health tourism, said in May 2018 that Iran has the capacity to annually earn $7 billion in medical and health tourism, though the sector now brings in only one-seventh or even lesser of the sum.

Iran has set its goals to exceed its yearly medical travelers to around 2 million in [calendar year] 1404. Before the coronavirus puts everything on lockdown.

Moreover, Iran is among the most significant destination for people who seek cosmetic treatment abroad. Not just because of the low cost but the skilled doctors, which has made Iran a Hot Spot for cosmetic surgery.

FB/MG