Many patients visit IMFER each year to receive a variety of treatments. At IMFER, we strive to provide an excellent service for couples that come to see us from other countries. Our foreign patients department guarantees correct communication with gynaecologists, andrologists, biologists, nurses, anaesthetists, psychologists, sexologists and our other staff thanks to a personal simultaneous translation service (Italian, English, French, German and other languages).

Furthermore, we schedule the required medical visits during any treatment in accordance with the couple's requirements and agenda as far as possible, making sure that they can enjoy the many places of interest in our city and the surrounding area. In this way, our patients can get to know the region and their stay in Spain becomes not only a requirement for having a child, but also a magnificent holiday during which the child was conceived.

HOW TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR FOREIGN PATIENTS PROGRAMME:

For further information or to send us your queries, please contact us through our web site (contact us section), and we will be only too happy to reply.

Foreign patients’ hot line: +34 670 393 753.
Hours of operation: Monday and Wednesday from 15.00 p.m. to 16.30 p.m, Tuesday and Thursday from 9.30 a.m. to 13.30 p.m.

IVF/ICSI FOR FOREIGN PATIENTS

IMFER offers the option of in vitro fertilisation in Spain for patients of any nationality. By taking contraceptives in the country of origin, it is possible to programme the start of the cycle with almost absolute precision. The estimated period for the treatment is 12 days, although this figure is approximate since each patient responds to the medication in a different way. The time the couple has to spend in Spain is approximately 7 days, during which they can enjoy typical Spanish hospitality. Once they have returned to their country of origin, a waiting period is necessary before a reliable pregnancy test is possible (14 days after the ova have been taken).

DONATION OF OVA FOR FOREIGN PATIENTS

IMFER makes it possible for many patients wanting a child but who do not have sufficient ova, have ova of poor quality or genetic alterations that cannot be detected in the embryo to receive ova from donors. Although this treatment is not covered by the legislation of a variety of countries, in Spain the legislation states that it must be carried out anonymously and confidentially so that neither the donor nor the patient may know the other's identity. Through its translation and interpretation service, IMFER informs the fertility clinics of various countries of the service by telephone, fax and e-mail. The clinic also encourages direct contact with patients over the Internet and other media.

Our ova donation programme for foreign patients comprises the following stages:

1. INITIAL CONTACT: The couple contacts our clinic to apply for an ova donation programme. They are given detailed information, their queries are resolved and an appointment is made.

2. VISIT TO SPAIN: The couple makes only one medical visit to our centre so that they can meet our staff (doctors, biologists, andrologists, anaesthetists, psychologists, sexologists, nurses, etc.). The clinical records are opened, the woman has a gynaecological examination, blood analyses are made of both the man and the woman and a sample is taken of the man's semen. For our patients’ convenience, the semen sample is frozen so that the man does not have to be present at our centre on the day when the ova are donated. Furthermore, during this visit, a detailed explanation is given of the treatment and any queries the patients may have are answered.

3. IN THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: After our patients have returned to their country of origin, while the woman takes a course of pills to prepare her endometrium, at IMFER we begin the search for the ideal donor. Not every woman can donate ova. The donor must be a young, healthy woman whose family does not have any hereditary diseases and whose physical appearance is as similar as possible to that of the patient. Other aspects are also taken into consideration, such as psychological profile and blood group. This process usually involves a short waiting period, after which, once the donor has been selected, the process for stimulating her ovaries begins. Approximately 10 days later, the ova are taken from the donor and fertilised with the frozen semen of the man, who is resting in his country of origin with his partner, on the same day. Throughout the process, our patients are informed in detail of the development of the cycle.

4. EMBRYO TRANSFER IN SPAIN: After the donated ova have been fertilised, the couple is notified with at least four days’ notice of the fact that they have to return to Spain. Again, we try to make this trip as pleasant as possible and make sure our patients receive the legendary hospitality of Murcia. On the day the couple returns, the embryo is transferred and, two days later, the patient can return to her country of origin.

5. PREGNANCY TEST: A pregnancy blood test is recommended 14 days after the donation of the ova. The date of the test is indicated in writing on the day of the embryo transfer at IMFER. During this waiting period, fluent contact with our clinic is maintained and we answer any query the couple may have. The pregnancy rate obtained is over 50% per embryo transfer.