Anna Vasilets on the prospects of “maternity tourism” in Russia.

Interview with Anna Vasilets to the “Moscow 24 “TV channel.

On January 21, 2020, Anna Vasilets, founder and President of ATLAS of Health group, Director Of the Department of medical tourism of the “International Womens Union “, commented on current issues of the development of medical services exports in Russia in the Special report program.

During an interview with Anna Vasilets on the Moscow 24 TV channel, a wide range of issues related to the export of medical services in Russia were discussed. Anna Vasilets, founder and President of Atlas of Health group, member of the General Council of Delovaya Rossiya LLC, Director Of the Department of medical tourism of the “International Womens Union “, spoke in more detail about the prospects of maternity tourism in Russia.

Russia ranks 34th in the list of countries by the number of incoming medical tourists, and it is quite promising in this area. According to forecasts of the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation, in the coming years, the country will receive up to 500,000 people a year and 60% of patients coming for treatment will be citizens of CIS countries.

Now the medical “specialization” of our country is clearly visible:dentistry (44% of foreign medical tourists), gynecology and urology (about 25%), plastic surgery (10%), ophthalmology (10%), cardiology (5%).

One of the priority areas may be “maternity tourism”. The birth of a child is an unforgettable event in the life of every family. Naturally, every woman wants the birth to be successful. Many foreigners use the services of Russian maternity hospitals and centers, a significant percentage of them are occupied by Chinese citizens. Foreign patients who come to Russia for childbirth and treatment also use classic sightseeing tours, which further increases the profit in the city budget.

In recent years, the number of medical tourists from China to Russia has doubled. One of the popular procedures for Chinese citizens is IVF (in vitro fertilization). According to statistics, up to 5,000 Chinese babies are born every year in Moscow alone. This is due to several reasons:

First, prices for IVF programs in Russia are significantly lower than in Europe and Asia, which allows foreign patients to save significantly on medical services, on average 40-80%.
Secondly, for a European clinic, the percentage of pregnancy at the level of 20-23% is considered normal, in Russia, a good clinic works with a 40-45% efficiency. In Russia, there are no restrictions on the number of embryo transfers, while in many countries it is allowed to transfer one embryo.
Third, in Russia there are no strict age restrictions on IVF procedures and IVF programs with a donor egg.
Surrogacy is another popular service for Chinese medical tourists, as it is banned in China. The Chinese can choose a potential donor from a special catalog.

Russian clinics must meet the criteria of reliability, have appropriate international quality certificates and service services to organize the stay of foreign citizens on the territory of Russia. In this area, a serious revision of the legal framework that will protect the rights of surrogate mothers and foreign citizens is also necessary.

Anna Vasilets’s interview is available at the link:

https://youtu.be/8glziZsZXOI.

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