Fertility treatment can be an extremely pricey process – however one Dubai clinic is offering a way to lessen the burden on a couple’s wallet.
Well, if their treatment is successful, that is.
Bourn Hall, an international fertility clinic which has a branch in Jumeirah, has revealed it will offer married couples their money back in the unfortunate case their treatment fails.
The up-to-100-per-cent refund policy means hopeful parents could reinvest the money in further treatment, rather than face the scenario of only having enough cash for one go.
Couples who meet all the criteria of the “shared risk” IVF programme have three options, which will offer them a different refund amount.
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If they want 50 per cent of their money back should treatment fail, they pay Dhs68,000, or they can pay Dhs72,000 to receive a 70 per cent refund. To claim back 100 per cent of their money if IVF is unsuccessful, it’ll cost Dhs78,000.
The money would be returned should the patient not welcome a child after three cycles of IVF.
Though the cost seems steep, it does include the price of lab tests, medicine, and other add-ons – however under the criteria, only women who sign up before their 39th birthday will be considered.
Every patient will have to undergo testing too, before they’re accepted on the programme.
“Infertile couples who don’t have access to medical insurance coverage for fertility services can now have a viable option for IVF,” Bourn Hall group CEO Ameen Neghabat told Gulf News.
“Normally three episodic cycles will cost Dh90,000 and the patient loses the entire amount paid if each cycle fails. However, through this programme, you save a significant amount of up to 25 per cent for three cycles, and the best part is we are refunding up to 100 per cent if the patient does not take home a baby by the end of their third cycle.”
Bourn Hall, which was actually responsible for creating the world’s first “test tube baby” in 1978, offers a similar payment plan in the UK and US, but this is the first time a clinic has created a shared-risk programme in the UAE.
Six couples in the UAE have already enrolled in the new plan (although 24 couples did apply).
What are the success rates?
Experts from Bourn Hall said that 80 per cent of couples who have three rounds of IVF welcome a child. The success rate for a single round, however, they put at 41 per cent.
A multitude of factors are at play, including a woman’s fertility history, lifestyle factors and age of both parents, quality of eggs and sperm, and general genetic history.
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) revealed that one of the main causes of infertility in the UAE was polycystic ovarian syndrome, the Khaleej Times reported this year.
DHA figures also stated that around 50 per cent of women in the country face issues related to infertility.
Being overweight or underweight can also take its toll on fertility and stress is another big factor.
Images: Getty
