Action 5:Available Technology/Services

support-action5

5. Identify available technology/services: Although assisted reproduction requires sophisticated technology, basic investigations and treatment for infertility are not always costly and could be more widely available.

The automatic link between infertility and assisted reproduction has led to stereotypical views on the unaffordability of fertility treatment. In reality, a menstrual history to identify anovulation, a simple semen analysis, and a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) for tubal patency can be made affordable in a number of primary and secondary care settings. Basic infrastructure may already be available for other healthcare services. There is ongoing work to identify ways of addressing common fertility problems using available resources or at minimal extra cost as some of the needed equipment and staff are already present and all that is needed is extra training. (Inhorn, 2009) Innovative technologies are bringing simpler, cheaper solutions to many medical environments.