How can we make IVF more affordable

1.       We need to make IVF more affordable , because there are millions of Indian infertile couples who require IVF, but can't pay for it , because it's become so expensive . Health insurers should cover for IVF treatment, because infertility is the commonest medical problem which affects young adults in the prime of their life. The return on investment for this treatment is enormous, because IVF babies become highly productive citizens in the future , since their parents lavish so much love and care on them. However, until large corporate ( such as TCS and Infosys) which employ thousands of young graduates apply pressure on insurers, this is not going to happen. Hopefully, the war for talent will pressurize their HR departments to force insurers to do so – just like Google and Facebook have done in the USA. Also, the government should to offer IVF treatment in government hospitals,  so that poor patients also have access to this.

2.      The Holy Grail for IVF specialists is to improve success rates, so that they become 100 %. We still have a long way to go , but basic and clinical research in the areas of vitrification and genetic technology will help us to get there. The advances will help us to transfer the best embryos, which have the best chances of implanting and becoming a baby.

3.      Finally, we need to prescribe Information Therapy for patients, so that have  realistic expectations of what IVF technology can do for them. Sadly, there are too many poor quality IVF clinics with dismal pregnancy rates , who end up taking patients for a ride, and harming everyone in the IVF field.

You can download the IVF comic book free at www.slideshare.net/malpani/ivf-comic-book