Indian Infertility Market
The Indian infertility market is one of the most upcoming industries in India today. With the changes in lifestyle and increasing clinical problems, infertility has become one of the major issues in Indian healthcare, affecting nearly 10–15 percent of the married couples.
There are over 28 million infertile couples in India; however, only 1 percent of the infertile couples actually seek treatment because of the lack of awareness about the problem and solutions both. When it comes to actual treatment, the percentage reduces even further.
Despite being underpenetrated, this market continues to grow at a constant pace of 15–17 percent CAGR. The metros are dominated by key chains whereas there are lots of small clinics that are mushrooming especially in the tier II-III markets.
Quality, accreditation, increasing access, and Insurance coverage will be the major driving forces for Indian IVF present and future. There is a strong focus now on the need for quality in infrastructure, protocols, and manpower for a good IVF lab and the key players are focusing on the role and need for proper accreditation. As of now, there are no stringent guidelines or recommendations by the Government of India (GoI) that IVF clinics have to follow. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has national guidelines for ART labs; however, these are not mandatory. Lately, the Health Sector Skill Council (HSSC) is focusing strongly on upskilling of talent and also on the ART bill to ensure that labs go through proper accreditation and have trained skilled manpower. The GoI has started recognizing infertility as one of the major issues and we do expect to see some positive changes in the next 2-3 years.
In general, there is lack of awareness around IVF and the overall expenditure for the treatment remains out of pocket, patients unaware of what to expect, dropout after 1-2 cycles of failure with of course a baggage of emotional trauma coupled with financial losses. In the last couple of years, however, major chains and clinics have initiated counselling sessions for patients pre and post treatment, public campaigns explaining the need to talk and opt for infertility treatments, understanding the outcomes, and also sharing the entire process with the patients so that they know during the course exactly what is happening and why. Especially in the metros, this has led to people being more aware and also more outspoken about the treatment to their friends and families for helping each other.
Insurance still remains a controversial topic for infertility as the treatment is expensive and do not necessarily yield pregnancy in one cycle. It is time that infertility is recognized as one of the major diseases and insurance should cover infertility treatment just like in many developed countries in the world.
CooperSurgical fertility companies are one of the global leaders in the field of ART since 1987, with a strong performance of products and professionalism of our training programs. We, at CooperSurgical, provide complete solution for ART labs and women’s health. We have a complete portfolio of ART equipment, products, and services from oocyte retrieval to transfer, including quality management throughout the process. We are extremely quality conscious and with inputs from our global KOLs keep innovating new technologies and products to support and strengthen IVF clinics.
As a company, CooperSurgical does not believe in only selling products, we ensure partnering with our customers and propagating the global best practices through regular training programs and workshops in our training labs. For us, quality is of prime importance and therefore our products, practices, and trainings ensure that we provide the best in class and globally approved services. Through innovation and product advancement, we aim to help make the dream of every infertile couple come true.
