A woman who currently lives in a European country that doesn't allow people to use donated egg or sperm asked the Choice Mom board for suggestions about where she might go for treatment options.
Posted February 26, 2010 at 8:40 AM
Finding a fertility clinic in Europe
Resources
Here's how Emily replied:
"I don't know anything about Switzerland, though I'm sure it's all available on the internet. I do know that Belgium receives a high number of women from neighbouring countries that restrict access to treatment. Neither France nor Germany allow single women access to treatment, although I do know of women with supportive doctors who have had treatment for 'infertility.' I know that in Italy it's the use of donated gametes that's banned.
There's also a clinic in Denmark (Stork) that specializes in offering ID-release donors to single women and lesbian couples. It is nurse-led, rather than doctors.
The U.K. provides treatment for quite a few single women from different countries. The choices are vast, but there's plenty of good information, starting with the HFEA Guide to Fertility Treatment, which you can read online for free, and lists all the licensed clinics in the country."
Note that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the regulating body in the U.K., has a good website that includes:
- information for families using donor conception,
- information about choosing a fertility clinic,
- understanding clinic success rates,
- fertility funding options,
- finding counseling to talk about donor conception and fertility treatment.
If you live in Europe and have undergone fertility treatment as a single woman, please consider posting here about your experiences and recommendations about clinics.
Reader Comments
Posted September 12, 2010 at 7:45 AM
I am an American living in Belgium and have just completed ICSI successfully (now pregnant with twins!) If you work in Belgium treatment here is practically free, even for singles. They also do not discriminate against lesbians receiving treatment in Belgium. All treatments are still relatively affordable for other Europeans (and cheaper by far compared to North America, even for those coming from outside Europe). Different clinics have different requirements for accepting singles - some make you fill out a questionnaire and then decide whether or not they want to accept you. The first one I applied to said no and didn't give me any reason, which was rather heartbreaking and infuriating. The second clinic where I ended up, Lifeleuven.be, accepted me without any questionnaire, but I found that doctor through a personal reference. Most of the clinics in Belgium provide services in English, French and Dutch, though depending on the region your paperwork may be in Dutch or French only, which isn't great if you are in the Belgian region whose language you don't speak.
Post a Comment
We ask you enter a valid email to reduce spam. This email will not show. But please remember this is a public page. If you do NOT want your comment to be approved for public viewing, indicate that in the comment and the administrator will be the only one to read it.
NOTE that we just learned of a bug involving yahoo addresses. They are apparently filtered by Google forwarding usually as spam. So if you have a yahoo email and you post a comment for approval, it might take longer for me to discover it for approval. We're working on solving this issue.
Comment Etiquette: Please do not post spam. Please keep the comments on-topic. Please do not post unrelated questions. Anything mean-spirited or off topic will not be approved.
Posted November 6, 2010 at 8:32 PM by Charlene Stevens
Thank you for the Leuven tip. I was brought to tears by UZ Brussels' discrimination against single women. After jumping through a ridiculous number of hoops in The Netherlands, my gyn suggested Brussels. I collected my medical records, GP referral and insurance forms and called for a consultation. The assistant on the phone told me that I must fill out a questionnaire and wait three months to find out if they would even give me a consultation. I was made to feel as if I was doing something wrong. I would understand if I were the Octomom, living with her parents, on benefits. I am an independent adult who is running out of time (I'm 41). I never thought that I would have to wait and see if someone found me worthy of motherhood. I hope the staff in Leuven treat me with more respect. It will be worth the train ride and hotel stay.