Like many other industries in India, IVF clinics are going global. Pulse, a women’s hospital in Ahmedabad, has forged agreements with a hospital in Ghana to provide infertility treatment and IVF. Doctors in India will examine ultrasounds from Africa remotely. A team of gynaecologists will also visit Ghana several times a year to treat patients.

A step down on the globalisation ladder is surrogacy. According to the , women from the US, UK and Russia are travelling to India to seek cheap surrogacy. It is not difficult to find willing women. They appear to receive between US$1,000 and $2,000 for a successful birth.

And Brazil could become the world capital of cosmetic tourism, judging from a report from Ireland. Michael Moeckle, of Cosmetic Tourism, says that the Irish are now his second largest market in Europe. He flies his clients to Rio de Janeiro where they combine a holiday in the sun with a make-over — at half the cost of having the procedure done at home.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)

• How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
• House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
• Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021