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Infertility is defined as one year of
unprotected intercourse without achieving a pregnancy.
Over 1 in 6 Canadian couples experience infertility.
There are a number of causes of involuntary infertility -
both physical and social.
The inability to conceive places enormous stress on
individuals, couples and families
and leads to greater chance for depression, marital discord
and divorce.
There is no government funding or extended health benefits
that pays for the treatment of
involuntary infertility. All costs related to fertility
treatments are borne by the patients.
The cost per IVF cycle is approximately $8,000-$10,000.
Patients may require up to
three or more cycles to achieve success.
Despite the fact that effective treatments for infertility
are available, they are very much
underutilized in Canada compared to other countries that pay
for fertility treatments as
part of government sponsored health care plans.
At least 30% of patients that require treatments do not
receive it for financial
reasons. |
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