Sunday Independent* Circulation: 229382 Sunday, 10 July 2016 Area of Clip: 33700mm² Page: 9 Page 1 of 1

Fertility tourism sparks Spanish takeover of clinic Anonymous among treatments land cannot be anonymous had many difficulties for many JOANNA KIERNAN and that scares a lot of these years in this area and this will donors away, so now the idea is definitely open up doors here.” AS more and more women that if you have donors giving The company is awaiting wait later in life to become the eggs in and we form approval from Ireland’s Health pregnant, Spain has become the embryos in Spain, then Products Regulatory Authority a major international desti- Irish couples can just ask for (HPRA) to also provide the nation for treatments their embryos to be brought option of Pre-implantation Ge- because of new treatments into Ireland. So we will bring netic Diagnosis (PGD) whereby and techniques as well as soft- the embryos that were formed embryos are genetically ana- touch legislation in relation in Spain, under Spanish laws, lysed to make sure that only the to anonymous egg donation. and the patients can have healthiest are transferred to Now it has been confirmed them transferred here.” the womb, a procedure which that Clane in Embryo adoption is also can significantly reduce spon- Kildare has been acquired by available to Irish patients at taneous miscarriage. one of Spain’s leading assisted IRISH BASE: Dr Hans Arce the new clinic, provided that “There is a lot of fear about reproduction centres, Institut of Institut Marques the official adoption of these the genetic testing area, but Marques. embryos — the remaining I think it is something very Spain has become a popular egg donation. embryos, which may be left necessary, especially here in destination for Irish people “We want to do all of the over from another couple’s a country where termination seeking fertility treatment, types of treatment that you successful of pregnancy is not legal, so thanks to its amenable atti- can’t do, or have been really at the clinic — is completed in avoiding unhealthy pregnan- tudes to assisted reproduction, hard to do in Ireland, and Spain beforehand. cies would be a huge thing to which have been enshrined in we want to do them here,” Dr “We have had an office do,” Dr Hans Arce said. law since 1988. Hans Arce of Institut Marques here for five years now, so we Clane Fertility Clinic will And now Institut Marques told the Sunday Independ- wanted to base ourselves in now be called Institut Marques plans to make the same treat- ent. “For example with egg Ireland,” Dr Hans Arce said. and a specialised medical team ments available to Irish cou- donation; you cannot do egg “We hope to really change from Barcelona will also be ples at its clinic in Clane as donation because there are fertility treatment in Ireland based here, joining the team it provides in its Barcelona barely any egg donors here. because it is something that of 23 professionals that were base, including anonymous Why? Because donors in Ire¬ is really needed. Ireland has part of the existing clinic.