Assisted reproductive technology could be cash cow: doctor

Lee Mao-sheng, a Taichung-based gynecologist and obstetrician, said more than 100 couples from abroad visit Taiwan each year for ART help in order to conceive, generating business opportunities worth over NT$40 million (US$1.23 million) a year.

Lee said he himself has accepted couples from 19 countries around the world -- including Japan, the United States, Singapore, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Australia -- seeking ART treatment.

"This medical assistance could be equated to another form of civic diplomacy," Lee said.

Noting that each couple seeking ART must stay in Taiwan for about two months for successful fertility treatment, Lee said each such stay generates between NT$300,000 and NT$400,000 in business, including the costs of the treatment itself, as well as daily spending.

"This sector of medical tourism is extremely worthy of promotion," he noted.

China is another potential market ready for tapping, since the number of married couples there who cannot have babies without help is not small, Lee said.

He called for the government to simplify administrative procedures to make it easier for such people to come to Taiwan for the treatment.

One Swiss woman, a patient of Lee's, said she had had difficulty becoming pregnant and had sought medical help in Portugal that failed to achieve the desired results.

She expressed happiness that she had recently been told by Lee that her case was progressing with positive and encouraging signs.

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