Why should I choose Latvia for my IVF treatment?
The scenic Latvia is home to many stunning views and architectural wonders. What the country is not yet famous for, however, are its options for treating infertility. Indeed, just five clinics were reported to operate in Latvia in the year 2014; in fact, one clinic even boasts that they conducted over half of all IVF treatments in Latvia in 2005. This surprisingly small number is easier to grasp once we remember that just over two million people inhabit this scenic country. Just under sixty hospitals operate throughout the entire country. Despite this low number of clinics, Latvian fertility specialists make a point of mentioning their long experience and high standards of care.
Find Best IVF Clinics in LatviaIVF Clinics in Latvia
As we mentioned before, there were only five clinics in Latvia in 2014, with only three reporting their results to the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). Don’t let yourself be fooled by that number, though – Latvian clinics offer high standards of care and follow modern procedures for safe and effective treatments.
The country often serves foreign patients seeking affordable treatments. Lithuanians and Estonians are a common sight in Latvian medical centres, naturally; Latvia is also increasing in popularity as a destination for patients from Scandinavia, Germany and the United Kingdom.. Clinics reflect that reality by often offering additional patient services, such as having translators and personal coordinators on hand. Most medical staff in Latvia speak English, while some may also speak additional languages, such as Russian.
Results from Latvian clinics submitted to ESHRE are compiled into yearly aggregate reports; these, however, are often published with a large delay. The report for the year 2014 was published in 2018. You can find data concerning Latvian treatment efficacy from the 2014 ESHRE1 report below:
| IVF clinics in Latvia- ESHRE data for 2014 (latest report published in 2018) | |
|---|---|
| Number of IVF clinics in Latvia | 5 |
| Number of IVF clinics in Latvia reporting to ESHRE | 3 |
| Own eggs cycles performed in Latvia | 480 |
| Donor eggs cycles performed in Latvia | 144 |
| IVF donor eggs - success rates (pregnancies/embryo transfer) | 50.9% |
| IVF with own egg - success rates (aspirations - egg retrievals / embryo transfer) | 29.8% |
IVF Treatment options in Latvia
Basic information about IVF treatment in Latvia – read before you go:
Current Latvian law permits access to fertility treatments only to single women and heterosexual couples; women in same-sex relationships should consider a different destination. Patients which decide on treatment are recorded in the nationwide “Register of Infertile Families”, established and maintained by the Ministry of Health. This register is one of three which record all medically assisted reproduction treatments within the country; the other two deal with donors and procedures carried out.
One unusual thing about Latvia is that their assisted reproduction laws do not specify an upper age limit for either women or men; the clinics decide it individually, which can make the country an attractive destination for older patients – just make sure to ask your clinic of choice if they have an age limit in place.
Gamete and embryo donations are allowed; with anonymity clearly required by the law. Parents are only allowed access to the donor’s genetic and phenotypic data. Although personal data of the donor is collected, it is entered into the nationwide donor registry; its confidentiality is maintained by the Latvian Ministry of Health.
Modern pre-implantation diagnostics such as PGS and PGD are available to patients. Sex selection as a result of these diagnostics is only allowed in medically justified cases – for instance, if there is a significant possibility of the child being born with a genetic disorder related to the sex chromosomes.
| IVF and Egg Donation in Latvia - basic information | |
|---|---|
| Maximum patient age | Not specified by legislation, decided by each clinic individually |
| IVF treatments for single women | Allowed |
| IVF treatments for lesbian couples | Not allowed |
| Maximum number of embryos to transfer IVF with donor eggs | 1-3 |
| Maximum number of embryos to transfer IVF with own eggs | 1-3 |
| Egg donor availability | Good |
| Egg donor age | 18-34 |
Egg donation in Latvia
IVF Egg Donation in Latvia
Latvian clinics offer egg donation programs; the country’s small population and ethnic makeup make finding donors of phenotypes other than European rather difficult. Although clinics recruit their own donors and run their own egg banks, a national registry of donors is also in place to satisfy a requirement set out in Latvian law; namely, no more than three children can be born from a single donor.
Accounting for the small number of IVF treatments taking place in Latvia overall, egg donation is a popular choice – in 2014, 144 egg donation cycles were performed, compared to 480 own egg cycles.
Find Best IVF Clinics in LatviaEgg donor information available in Latvia
Although Latvian law requires strict anonymity with regard to the donors, patients have access to some basic genetic and phenotypic information, such as a description of their appearance (height, weight, skin tone, hair and eye colours, etc.), their blood type, and their genetic history.
Latvian law does not specify a procedure in which donors and patients are matched. Instead, each clinic has its own matching method. While most of them follow guidelines from ESHRE and other related advisory bodies, it is always worth making sure what the matching process is at a given clinic and what information about the donor would be made available to you as a patient.
Egg donor qualifications in Latvia
Potential donors in Latvia must satisfy several criteria in order to be able to donate. First of all, egg donors must be between the ages of 18 to 34. They also need to clear several tests:
- Syphilis
- HIV
- Hepatitis B and C
- Gonorrhoea
- Trichomoniasis
- Chlamydia
They also need to undergo microbiological testing and pap smears. Psychological counselling is also a requirement – this ensures the potential donor understands the consequences of the donation process. Donors are reimbursed for their time and effort spent during their treatment, although the sum is mostly a nominal one.
IVF and Egg Donation cost in Latvia
Latvia’s relatively high standards of care come at a price – an average own egg cycle costs around €4,200, which makes the country significantly more expensive than other nearby destinations, such as Poland or Russia. Egg donation treatments are even more expensive, with an average cost of €6,000 for a single cycle.
Below you can compare the average costs of egg donation in Latvia compared with other European countries. This average price includes the costs of donor eggs, donor reimbursement, ICSI fertilisation, and embryo transfer.
Average egg donation costs in Latvia 2
It also needs to be remarked that some clinics may not be upfront about additional fees accumulating over the course of treatment; always be sure to ask your clinic of choice about whether these costs are included in their price quote:
- the donor’s fee, her medications and screening (if you’re interested in egg donation)
- egg retrieval
- sperm collection and preparation
- ICSI
- assisted hatching (or any other IVF procedure you require)
- blastocyst transfer
- vitrification (freezing) and storage of embryos/blastocysts
IVF Success Rates in Latvia
According to the 2014 ESHRE report, Latvian success rates are comparable with other European countries. Own egg treatments in the country had an average success rate of 29.8%, compared to the reported European average of 27.2%. Egg donation treatments had a success rate of 50.9%, while the average in Europe was 50.3%.
| IVF Success Rates in Latvia (ESHRE 2014) | ||
|---|---|---|
| IVF in Latvia | ESHRE European average |
|
| IVF donor eggs - success rates (pregnancies/embryo transfer) | 50.9% | 50.3% |
| IVF with own eggs - success rates (aspirations - egg retrievals / embryo transfer) | 29.8% | 27.2% |
Egg donation success rates in Latvia 3
Your individual chances for a successful IVF treatment in Latvia
Remember that average success rates shouldn’t be the primary deciding factor for your choice of clinic. Each patient is different – they have different infertility diagnoses and medical histories. As such, the prognoses for each patient can vary greatly and usually are different from the presented average success rates of each clinic. If you’re concerned with the success rates, call the clinic before scheduling an appointment – describe your medical history in detail, including your age, weight, height, the infertility diagnosis, the number of failed cycles, performed tests and procedures etc. and ask for your individual success prognosis.
IVF in Latvia – Law and Clinics Accreditation
Latvia passed its initial Sexual and Reproductive Health Law4 back in 2002. It laid out the legislative foundations for diagnosing and treating infertility. Articles 13 through 15 deal with assisted reproduction, establishing that both heterosexual couples and single women can undergo IVF procedures, whether with their own gametes, or those of a donor. Article 15 forbids, among other things, sex selection (except for medically justified reasons) and transferring more than three embryos in a single cycle.
This law was then augmented by several regulations passed by the Latvian parliament. Regulation 7165, passed in 2003, set forth the rules for setting up donor gamete banks, as well as established the registries of infertile families, assisted reproduction procedures and gamete donors. It also clarified the process of performing assisted reproduction treatments.
Two additional resolutions followed – no. 208 in 20076 and no. 1176 in 20137 slightly changed the procedures and protocols for obtaining, handling, and storing human tissues and cells. These changes brought the Latvian legislation more in-line with the European recommendations and regulations.
Find Best IVF Clinics in LatviaResources:
1 ART in Europe, 2014: results generated from European registries by ESHRE: The European IVF-monitoring Consortium (EIM) for the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/33/9/1586/5055580
2EggDonationFriends.com, data for 2018, own elaboration
3 Data comes from 2014 ESHRE report, published in 2018. https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/33/9/1586/5055580
4 Latvian Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2002, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—ilo_aids/documents/legaldocument/wcms_127921.pdf
5 Procedures for Organising Medical Insemination and Procedures for Establishing a Register of Infertile Families, Medical Fertilisation Register, Gamete Donor Register and Gamete Banks, https://likumi.lv/ta/id/82281-mediciniskas-apauglosanas-organizatoriska-kartiba-un-neaugligo-gimenu-registra-mediciniskas-apauglosanas-registra
6 Procedures for obtaining, storage and use of human tissues and organs, https://likumi.lv/ta/id/155224-cilveka-audu-un-organu-uzkrasanas-uzglabasanas-un-izmantosanas-kartiba
7 Procedures for using human tissues and cells, https://likumi.lv/ta/id/261810-cilveka-audu-un-sunu-izmantosanas-kartiba
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