Demand for IVF and related treatments in the Middle East & North Africa (Mena) continues to be on the rise, with the region's current In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) market estimated to be worth $1 billion, new research showed.

The figures, published by Colliers International in a new report titled “In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) & Fertility in the Mena region”, revealed that infertility worldwide stood at 10 per cent but in the Mena region it is 15 per or higher, with male infertility a growing problem occurring in approximately 50 per cent of the cases in the GCC and Middle East due to lifestyle, diabetes, obesity and genetics related factors.

GCC countries have one of the highest diabetic and obesity rates in the world, studies have shown.

The report, which is published as part of the MEDLAB Market Report series ahead of MEDLAB 2019 which takes place from February 4 - 7 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, highlighted that although the population in the Mena region has increased from over 100 million in 1950 to 380 million in 2017 and is expected to increase to 700 million by 2050, overall fertility rates have decreased from seven children per women in 1960 to just three in 2017.

The research provides an in-depth analysis of the fertility rates in Mena region and, despite overall high population growth rates, why IVF remains in demand in the region, especially in the GCC countries.

Commenting on some of the key insights on the UAE’s IVF industry, Mansoor Ahmed, director healthcare, Education & PPP for MENA Region at Colliers International, said: “IVF is not only sought after locally but is one of the leading treatments undertaken by medical tourists in the UAE, especially in Dubai. Based on Colliers’ discussions with leading operators, medical tourism accounts for 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the IVF patient volumes.”

According to the report, new innovations and improved testing techniques are gradually creating paradigm shifts in the field of assisted reproductive technology. Particularly the increased focus on pre-marital screening for consanguineous (relatives) couples and the development of new genetic tests for screening of the embryos greatly improves the chance of minimising certain genetic diseases common in this region.
 
Dr Laura Melado, specialist – Obstetrics & Gynecology, IVF, IVI Middle East Fertility Clinic, Abu Dhabi, UAE, who will be speaking at the Cytogenetics & IVF Conference during MEDLAB 2019, commented:  “The Carrier Genetic Test (CGT) helps to determine the risk of having a child with a genetic disease. Anyone, without knowing, can be a carrier of one or more recessive mutations, but some couples have higher possibilities to carry the same genes. When this happens, Pre-implantation Genetic Testing (PGD) can be done for the embryos as part of the fertility treatment to help the couples to deliver healthy babies.”

Organised by Informa Exhibitions, MEDLAB Exhibition & Congress 2019 will welcome more than 19,600 medical laboratory trade professionals and 670+ exhibitors from 46 countries in an effort to develop the value of laboratory medicine in shaping the future of healthcare and to provide advanced medical laboratory techniques for better health. - TradeArabia News Service