Business is booming at Dheerendra Singh's New Delhi-basedmedical tourism outfit, CureMax. But his biggest client base ” Afghanistan ”might come as something of a surprise.
“Every month, we do IVF (in vitro fertilization) for around50 patients from Afghanistan,” Singh said. “They also come for otherinfertility-related procedures. And in the peak (winter) season (when theweather is more comfortable), we have 60-70 patients a month.”
Afghanistan isn't the half of it. Though infertility iscommonly associated with the changing lifestyles of the West ” where more andmore women are putting off childbirth until their late 30s ” India's IVFclinics are testimony that the trend is growing in developing countries andconservative societies as well.
Along with the much-talked-about medical tourist trade fromthe US and Europe, India is seeing an influx of patients from Muslim countriesin Africa and the Middle East, thanks to a thriving, low-cost domesticfertility industry and cultural connections that make India a comfortable placefor conservative Muslims, medical tourism professionals say.
Statistics aren't readily available on the total number ofpatients coming to India for fertility treatments from predominantly Muslimcountries. But anecdotal evidence from various doctors and other agents likeSingh ” as well as a thriving business in the Afghan refugee colony in NewDelhi ” suggests that the phenomenon is significant.
According to a national magazine, for instance, fertilityexperts like Dr. Kaberi Banerjee number their patients from places like Iran,Iraq, Uzbekistan and Tanzania in the hundreds. Meanwhile, companies like CareMedical say they see 10-15 foreign patients from Islamic countries every month,according to managing director D. Mahendran.
“Overall, we see [medical tourism] growth of about 15-20percent annually, and I believe roughty the same kind of number holds for IVF,”said P.R. Ramesh, the chief executive of Aaarex Medical Services, anothermedical tourism firm. “But we're seeing a larger number of Muslim people thanpreviously, including Muslims from Arabic countries and Muslims from countrieslike Nigeria and Tanzania and so on.”
Various factors help explain the baby boom. Because ofIndia's massive population, and the cultural importance of bearing childrenhere, private fertility clinics have mushroomed in recent years ” until there'san IVF signboard on virtually every street in the upscale neighborhoods of NewDelhi.
Reputable clinics offer a high standard of care for a smallfraction of the cost of IVF in the West. A typical IVF procedure, for instance,runs to $3,000 in India, compared with $8,000 in the US or Europe, saidCureMax's Singh. And patients receive more attention from doctors.
To regulate fly-by-night outfits that have begun sproutingup, the Indian Council of Medical Research recently drafted regulations andbegan to crack down.
