No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta Rica'A long-awaited moment': Three Costa Rican couples expecting babies thanks to IVF

‘A long-awaited moment’: Three Costa Rican couples expecting babies thanks to IVF

Public access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Costa Rica has been a fight decades in the making. For years, couples with infertility issues faced either a total ban on IVF or limited access in private clinics.

Thursday, Costa Rica’s Social Security System (CCSS, or Caja) announced that for the first time since IVF was legalized by a 2016 executive decree, three couples are pregnant as a result of the socialized healthcare system’s services.

“The Unit of Reproductive Medicine of High Complexity that we recently inaugurated just a couple of months ago is already bearing the greatest fruit and is giving couples the dream of having a baby,” said Dr. Román Macaya Hayes, executive president of the institution.

“This is a moment that has been long-awaited and yearned for.”

The Unit of Reproductive Medicine of High Complexity opened in July 2019 after an investment of nearly $8.5 million.

It is expected to deal with 178 cases per year, 38 of which were prioritized by the Caja earlier this year.

As part of the first cycle, nine women were transferred fertilized eggs, and three are now in their 10th week of gestation.

“It’s one of the things that I hoped for the most, what I dreamed of the most,” said Keilyn Molina, one of the three pregnant women. “I look in the mirror and think: ‘It’s true, it’s true, I’m pregnant.’

“It is one of the most wonderful experiences I have had in this life.”

For years, Costa Rica was the only country in the Western Hemisphere to ban IVF. It was re-legalized via executive decree in 2016; at the time, the Costa Rican government predicted it would take two years for IVF to be available as part of the public healthcare system.

Read more about IVF in Costa Rica: 

 

Trending Now

Costa Rica Arrests Suspects Wanted by U.S. for Cocaine Smuggling

Authorities in Costa Rica arrested four men from the southern part of the country, all wanted by the United States for extradition on charges...

From Costa Rica to the US an Expat Longing For Home

There are close to 200,000 people of Tico origin presently living in the US. I have spent the past month in an area where...

Costa Rica OIJ Arrests Human Trafficking Ring Exploiting Minors

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) dismantled a gang dedicated to human trafficking for the sexual exploitation of minors after carrying out 19 simultaneous raids...

Costa Rica Presidential Candidate Fernández Reports Spy Device

Laura Fernández, the presidential candidate for the Pueblo Soberano party, revealed on Tuesday that she discovered a concealed microphone in her personal office, raising...

Costa Rica’s Rincón de la Vieja Volcano Experiences Moderate Eruption

Guanacaste residents woke up to activity from Rincón de la Vieja volcano yesterday morning. The volcano produced a moderate phreatic eruption at 6:08 a.m....

Scientists Identify New Salamander in Costa Rica’s Highest Peak Ecosystem

Scientists have identified a new salamander species in the remote páramo of Chirripó National Park, highlighting our country's rich biodiversity and the pressing challenges...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica