{"id":22851,"date":"2025-03-01T12:01:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T12:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olgafertilityclinic.com\/?p=22851"},"modified":"2025-03-01T12:20:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T12:20:57","slug":"200-swedes-have-traveled-to-wartime-russia-for-ivf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olgafertilityclinic.com\/en\/press\/200-swedes-have-traveled-to-wartime-russia-for-ivf\/","title":{"rendered":"200 Swedes have traveled to wartime Russia for IVF"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

“It is not a right to be able to have children,” says Health Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD). Photo: Linus Sundahl-Djerf<\/p>\n

Svenska Dagbladet<\/strong>, Sweden | Text: Erik Nilsson | Photo: Linus Sundahl-Djerf | Translation into English: Maria Jeffs
\nPublished 28 Feb 2025<\/p>\n

Original version in\u00a0Swedish on\u00a0Svenska Dagbladet website \u2192<\/a>
\nOriginal version in\u00a0Swedish (PDF) \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n


\nMore than 200 Swedes have gone to Russia during the war with dreams of having children. Experts point out two ideas to get more people to stay in Sweden, but a KD minister says no.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On a Saturday in February, a Russian fertility clinic is in Stockholm to find new customers.<\/p>\n

Swedish women and couples have been invited to a location at Odenplan to be inspired. Several former patients, such as the artist Titiyo and the boxer Mikaela Laur\u00e9n, are there to share their success stories.<\/p>\n

Founder Olga Zaytseff formulates the message on the clinic’s website in connection with the meeting.<\/p>\n

“I hope we can help you achieve your dream!”<\/p>\n

The Olga clinic in St. Petersburg has been marketing itself in Sweden for a long time.<\/p>\n

Over 1,000 Swedes have traveled there in the past six years, and more than 200 of them have done so after Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

SvD has previously reported on the clinic and the Swedish “Malin” who defied the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ travel advice to undergo IVF and become a mother on her own.<\/p>\n

For her, the so-called “baby guarantee” was attractive, which means that you get your money back if no child is born after a certain number of attempts.<\/p>\n

In addition, the clinic treats women up to the age of 53, significantly higher than in Sweden.<\/p>\n

– I don’t really want to favor that. But now it was a selfish perspective. My longing for children drove me there, “Malin” told SvD.<\/p>\n

“Do almost anything”<\/p>\n

It is known that Swedish women and couples seek IVF abroad, but Swedish authorities lack statistics on how many people there are.<\/p>\n

The phenomenon is called \u201cfertility tourism\u201d and there is often a lot of money involved.<\/p>\n

Carin Lind\u00e9n, head of the reproductive medicine department at Karolinska University Hospital, thinks it is sad that Swedish women feel they cannot get help in Sweden.<\/p>\n

\u2013 The drive to have children is so incredibly strong. Some will do almost anything and pay any amount to have that child they long for so much.<\/p>\n

There are several risks to doing IVF abroad. Experts warn of so-called \u201cadd-ons\u201d, medical methods that may lack scientific evidence and promise more than they can deliver.<\/p>\n

Also treats \u201celderly\u201d<\/p>\n

Another risk is that foreign operators, like the Olga clinic, also treat \u201celderly\u201d women \u2013 whose often intensive pregnancies are left to Swedish healthcare to take care of.<\/p>\n

From the age of 40, the risks of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and premature birth increase, says Anna Karin Lind, medical director of the private clinic Livio.<\/p>\n

\u2013 If a 52-year-old woman comes home pregnant with twins, the risks for the pregnant woman and the fetuses are quite high, she says.<\/p>\n

In Sweden, you can receive treatment from tax-financed care up to and including the age of 39. Private clinics then have a practice of not treating women over the age of around 43.<\/p>\n

Carin Lind\u00e9n, at Karolinska University Hospital, believes that the age limit for tax-financed treatment should be raised in cases where the conditions are considered good.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Sweden, it is only permitted to examine fertilized eggs (embryos) if the parents are predisposed to certain serious diseases. Photo: Simon Rehnstr\u00f6m<\/p>\n

But perhaps even more important, Carin Lind\u00e9n believes, is to allow so-called PGT-A.<\/p>\n

This is called testing the fertilized egg for genetic abnormalities before it is inserted into the woman. This is done to sort out eggs that are unlikely to lead to a successful pregnancy.<\/p>\n

It is possible in many countries, but not in Sweden.<\/p>\n

\u2013 It is sad that it is not allowed. It would be fantastic if we could do it on selected patients in Sweden.<\/p>\n

Anna Karin Lind, from Livio, also wants to allow PGT-A. She says that it could reduce the number of treatments and the emotional burden for women who want to have children.<\/p>\n

\u2013 It is sad that in Sweden we are not allowed to offer these women and couples such a proven and safe method.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Social Affairs includes the Minister of Health, Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD).<\/p>\n

She encourages more people to have children and points out that people have the right to get help with involuntary infertility from Swedish healthcare.<\/p>\n

But going to Russia is not a good idea, she believes.<\/p>\n

\u2013 I think you should follow the travel advice. It is there for a reason. Lack of security, it is a country at war, we have strict sanctions against Russia and there is a danger in going there.<\/p>\n

Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD) at the Ministry of Social Affairs. Photo: Linus Sundahl-Djerf<\/p>\n

The minister’s most important proposal to get more people to stay in Sweden is to make healthcare more equal across the country. She refers to a committee that is investigating how healthcare could be nationalized.<\/p>\n

However, she does not want to allow PGT-A. Acko Ankarberg Johansson fears a \u201csloping plane\u201d, where more and more people start to choose certain types of children.<\/p>\n

\u2013 The risk is that people value human dignity and decide who should live and who should not.<\/p>\n

The minister also does not want to advocate for higher age limits, since they are primarily determined based on medical science.<\/p>\n

\u2013 If you are too old, it is something that you simply have to take. It is not a right to be able to have children, but I have great respect for the fact that many struggle with the issue.<\/p>\n

Is it wrong to seek treatment abroad if you do not meet the Swedish criteria?<\/p>\n

\u2013 I do not think that any moral aspect should be placed on those who struggle with childlessness and are looking for a solution. On the other hand, we should do what we can to make Swedish healthcare more equal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Erik Nilsson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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