More Women Heading Abroad for Egg Freezing and IVF

Rising costs and shifting politics at home are pushing a growing number of American women to seek fertility care overseas, from Mexico and Panama to Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Barbados. The CDC estimates millions of US residents travel internationally for medical care each year, with reproductive services among the main reasons.

One writer, freshly divorced at 35, froze her eggs in Oaxaca, Mexico, with Dr. Daniela Paz Cervantes, spending about $7,000 for one round including flights, food, lodging and activities for three weeks - against an average US cycle cost of $16,000 cited by FertilityIQ. Dr. Mario Vega Croker of Panama Fertility says American patients are one of its fastest-growing groups, often drawn by similar expertise at roughly half the cost.

California business coach Alisa Purdie, divorced at 31 and managing premature menopause, chose the Barbados Fertility Centre for its 50% savings and its staff's warmth, later fertilizing donor eggs with her husband and giving birth to a daughter at 47. New Yorker Felicia Garay-Stanton froze her eggs at IVF-Life Madrid, citing Spain's legal protections for reproductive rights, especially for single women and LGBT patients.

The article notes that rules vary widely by country - Spain permits single women and same-sex couples to use donor sperm or eggs, the Czech Republic limits such services to heterosexual couples, and maximum ages for embryo transfer range from 49 in Barbados to 54 in Greece. Hellynn Jung, who had 15 egg retrievals and 5 transfers in Seoul before giving birth at 43, advises making the trip an adventure. All the women shared one regret: wishing they had started sooner.