Lara Malvesi |
Barcelona, Aug 18 (EFE).- The city of Barcelona has been attracting tourists for some time due to its cultural and leisure offerings, but in recent years a reputation for fertility and egg freezing clinics that Every year it attracts more foreigners who dedicate their annual rest to the so-called “fertility tourism”.
Around 70% of the patients of the more than 300 fertility clinics that exist in Barcelona are already of foreign origin, clients who arrive attracted by legislation that is “flexible” with the age of the future mother, “inclusive” with the LGTBI reproduction options, in addition to the high specialization that gynecologists and specialists are achieving.
This was explained to EFE by the directors of various clinics in the city and patients who are taking advantage of their summer rest days to carry out treatments and, incidentally, enjoy a city where they wanted to spend a few weeks.
Italian and French, the most assiduous
According to the director of Fertilab, the specialized gynecologist Federica Moffa, twice as many foreigners than nationals come to her clinic, and two nationalities predominate: Italian and French.
“It is not by chance that I am Italian. Here we all speak Italian, English, French and some German,” he told EFE.
According to Moffa, there are several reasons for Barcelona’s popularity for fertility treatments.
“One is the legislative one. In Italy and France there are more age restrictions and for egg donation and different treatments, such as for lesbian couples. The other motivation, I think, is excellence and the progress that we have here,” she explains.
Borja Marqués, director of the Marqués Fertility Institute, also assures EFE that for some years now “Barcelona is clearly the most important city in Europe in terms of fertility.”
The most common treatment is fertilization with egg donation, a procedure limited by age in other parts of the world.
According to Moffa, there is an unwritten understanding in Spain that 50 years is the maximum age for certain treatments, although there may be “exceptions”, depending on “the health and characteristics” of the patient.
Laura’s case: three unsuccessful “in vitro” in Italy and a pregnancy in Barcelona
Marqués adds that while Madrid continues to attract a good part of Spanish fertility treatment seekers, Barcelona, due to its geographical location, closer to other European countries, gets a good part of the foreign clientele.
“Beyond the specialized centers, and the word of mouth achieved among patients from other countries, of course the fact that future fathers and mothers see themselves spending time in Barcelona while the process lasts plays a role. It is common for them to use vacation weeks or even sabbatical periods and to get to know the city and the surrounding area well during their stay, ”she explains.
The popularity that Barcelona has been gaining as a city of “fertility specialists” is what motivated the Italian patient Laura Palloneto and her partner to travel to Barcelona to try to achieve a pregnancy after years without success in Italy, explained the woman in conversation with EFE.
“We had already made three ‘in vitro’ attempts in Italy and the pregnancy never came to fruition. They had told us about a clinic in Barcelona that had given results to a well-known couple and we decided to try it. Now, happily, we are three months pregnant”, explains Laura.
Barcelona, egg cell fridge
Beyond the treatments to achieve a pregnancy, egg vitrification is also gaining weight in clinics, that is, freezing follicles to be able to postpone becoming a mother beyond the age at which it is easier in a “natural” way. around 35 years old.
In the last two years, says Dr. Federica Moffa, in her clinic the treatment with which women who do not yet want to be mothers, but open the door to being one in the future, has increased by 200%, gain some time by freezing their ovules before 35-40 years to be able to continue with other life plans, such as the professional.
One of those clients this summer in Barcelona is Alyssa Ramos, a 35-year-old travel YouTuber from Florida (USA), who explained to EFE that egg freezing “costs four times more” in her country.
“In the US there is a lot of pressure for you to have children before the age of 30. In addition, a fertilization treatment is very expensive there. Some time ago I found out about this option to freeze my eggs and I saw that in Barcelona it was very cheap despite the fact that the medical services were just as good as in my country”, he explains.
“In love” with Barcelona, she says that she will take advantage of the days of visits to the clinic that establishes the vitrification procedure to learn about Barcelona’s tourist attractions from a flat she has rented in Plaza España.
“I love the Born. In fact I would like to live here some day. And when I want to use the ovules, I will have the treatment here too, if I need it, because it gives me confidence and everyone has treated me with great kindness and affection, ”he adds.
