Infertility patients' motivations for and experiences of cross border reproductive care (CBRC): a preliminary report

Cross border reproductive care (CBRC) is a growing phenomenon and attracting increasing interest in the media, among stakeholders and regulatory bodies. Shenfield et al. (2010) estimated that annually 24 to 30,000 CBRC cycles took place within Europe involving 11 to 14,000 patients. Based on international outgoing treatment cycles, Nygren et al (2010) estimated that over 5,000 CBRC cycles are performed in more than 25 countries. Many patients have raised concerns about their treatment including the quality assurance, safety requirements and treatment standards (Blyth, 2010; Infertility Network UK, 2009). Higher order multiple births from CBRC also pose an increasing challenge not only to the individual and to families, but also to health care providers (McKelvey et al., 2009).
Little is known about patients' experience of CBRC. Empirical research into CBRC has mainly comprised surveys. Against this background this qualitative study aimed to explore the infertility patients' motivations for and experiences of CBRC.