Milena O'Hara

 Beijing government announced announced earlier this year that it will cover 16 types of assisted reproduction technology under its healthcare insurance system starting July 1.  The treatments include IVF, embryo transplantation, and freezing and storing semen.  The city is the first major city in China to extend insurance coverage. The move is part of China’s efforts to reverse a declining birth rate.  

IVF treatments in Beijing start at around $4,000 per cycle at Beijing Puhua International Hospital. This hospital has a success rate of around 40% for women under 35 years old.  Many couples need to undergo IVF four or five times, and each round has a success rate of roughly 30%. The average cost of IVF in cities such as Shanghai is between $4,500 to $5,000.  

Surrogacy is banned in China due to legal and ethical concerns.  The ban includes commercial surrogacy, and the sale of gametes, fertilized eggs, and embryos.  However, people are not prohibited from engaging the services of a surrogacy and donor in other countries. In fact, hundreds of infertile Chinese couples come to the US to do just that. Once their baby is born, they obtain travel documents to return home to China and obtain Chinese citizenship for the baby once home. And they live happily ever after. 他们永远幸福地生活下去

The Economist came out with a special report this summer about IVF and other technologies used to help families grow. Of course, the subject of cost was raised. https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2023/07/17/the-fertility-sector-is-booming

Interestingly, Denmark and Israel come out on top regarding popularity of IVF. As The Economist says: “IVF accounts for around 9% of live births in Denmark, the highest proportion in any country. For average number of cycles undergone per woman, the winner is Israel. The fundamental reasons for the two countries’ pre-eminence are distinct: Danes are strong supporters of women’s and family rights and understand fertility as part of the package; Israel is, culturally and politically, much more pro-baby than other rich countries. The proximate reason, though, is more or less the same. In both countries the state makes ivf widely available and (nearly) free. Israel, in this respect the world’s most generous country, will in most cases pay for as much ivf as it takes to have two “take-home babies”.”

Here are some reasons why IVF is more popular in Denmark and Israel:

• Liberal legislation: Denmark has some of the most liberal legislation on fertility treatment in the world
• High quality health services: Denmark has high standards of medical care
• No stigma: Denmark has a less stigmatized culture around fertility treatments
• Relatively low cost: IVF in Denmark is relatively low cost for foreigners
• Free IVF: Israel provides free, unlimited IVF procedures for up to two “take-home babies” until a woman is 45
• Large sperm bank: Denmark has one of the largest sperm banks, Cryos International, which has eliminated waiting times for IUI (artificial insemination)
• Progressive approach: Denmark has a supportive legal framework for procedures like sperm and egg donation, as well as surrogacy
• High fertility rate: Israeli women undergo more IVF cycles per capita than in any other country
• Ethical issues: Judaism doesn’t imbue an embryo outside the womb with any personhood, so they skip over any thorny ethical issues that many countries have to contend with.

Le 14 juillet est la fête nationale de la France, célébrée chaque année le 14 juillet. Cette journée commémore la prise de la Bastille le 14 juillet 1789, qui a mis fin au règne absolu et marqué le début de la Révolution française. La Bastille était à l’origine une forteresse médiévale, mais a ensuite été utilisée comme prison d’État.
La journée est également connue sous le nom de Fête nationale française, ou le 14 juillet, en français. Les célébrations comprennent des défilés militaires, des danses et des feux d’artifice. Un défilé, organisé sur les Champs-Élysées à Paris, serait le plus ancien et le plus grand défilé militaire d’Europe.
La journée a été créée en 1880.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend welcomed their fourth child, a baby boy named Wren Alexander Stephens, via surrogate on June 19, 2023. The couple announced the birth on June 28. Teigen said that she had “always wanted four children”.

The couple named their son after their surrogate, Alexandra. Teigen said that she and Legend had begun their journey to expand their family by way of a surrogate in 2021. They connected with an agency to inquire about having two surrogates, each bringing them a healthy baby boy or girl.

The couple also has a daughter, Luna, and a son, Miles.

Fertility problems affect approximately 13% of the total reproductively active population, and male fertility issues are responsible for up to 30% of those cases. The condition often goes unrecognized or underdiagnosed in men. A recent study showed that only 41% of Ob/Gyn physicians consider a urological evaluation of the male partner and only 24% would routinely refer men to the urologist before ordering a semen analysis, according to RESOLVE.  Male infertility is a common cause of treatment failure for people who have been trying to conceive naturally for more than one year.

Men’s fertility may be decreasing because the quality of their semen has been shown to decline. There is an evolving body of research showing the link between sperm and lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol use, weight, physical activity, and food.

Men may be at increased risk for infertility if they:

• Have a history of chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease
• Have had a vasectomy, or have had surgery on their testicles or prostate gland (prostate cancer)
• Have low sperm counts (sperm count below 20 million per milliliter [mcm])

The most common identifiable cause of infertility in men is a varicocele, an abnormally enlarged vein draining the testicles. One out of 5 males with this condition have problems with fertility. Minimally invasive surgery has proved effective.