In case the link blocks access, here is the full text. Worth a read Cashed-up Chinese ‘IVF tourists’ to fly in
February 8, 2017 8:52pm
Monash IVF will treat 100 Chinese women this year.
MONASH IVF has begun flying Chinese couples to Australia for fertility treatments to cash in on the relaxation of China’s single-child policy.
An agreement signed with AC International Medical Tourism on Wednesday means Monash IVF will treat 100 Chinese women this year, with the possibility of more in the future.
With growing wealth and now being allowed to have a second child, a flood of middle-aged women has increased waiting lists to more than two years at some fertility clinics in China.
Monash IVF has begun flying Chinese couples to Australia for fertility treatments to cash in on the relaxation of China’s single-child policy.
While it will have to compete with operators from other countries, Monash IVF chief executive James Thiedman said the clinic’s reputation — it achieved the world’s first IVF pregnancy and oversaw 12 of the word’s first 15 IVF babies — resonated with Chinese clients.
“Now in China you have literally millions of women between their mid-30s to mid-40s who have one child, and now have the opportunity to have a second child, and the unfortunate reality is many of these women, due to their more advanced maternal age will struggle to conceive spontaneously, so they need some help,” he said.
“While there are fertility clinics in China, they don’t necessarily have the level of technology that we have here in Australia, but also importantly their waiting lists because of this sudden step up in demand, are up to two years.
“This arrangement gives patients in China an alternative to having to sit back and wait for two years — they can get on a plane, come over and have world-class care and take the opportunity to see the great state of Victoria.”
He said the Melbourne clinics could treat 100 new Chinese patients without any effect on waiting times or the quality of care for local clients.
With one Shanghai hospital delivering 9000 IVF cycles a year and still having a two-year waiting list for new patients, AC International Medical Tourism operation director Jenny Chin said Monash would help bridge the gap for wealthy families.
“IVF patients really need to undergo treatment, they cannot wait. Their high-end patients will be given to AC International to undergo treatment at Monash,” she said.
“We will be looking at people over 40, to 45, because that is a lot of the demand. They are wealthy, they have only one child, and they can afford this.”
“Chinese now are pretty wealthy in their own right, and the Australian dollar is low, so it is all about medical tourism.”
A pioneer in fertility treatment, Monash IVF unsuccessfully attempted to grow a medical tourism market from Japan in the 1990s, but hopes for greater success in the emerging Chinese market.
