茂盛醫院生殖醫學中心Lee Women's Hospital

Overseas Demand for Infertility Treatment Even Higher than Plastic Surgery 

Just before the 2/28 Memorial Day holiday in Taiwan, Arman, a four-year-old boy from the Philippines, energetically sang the classic song “You Raise Me Up” at the Lee Women’s Hospital, a half-hour drive from the Taichung High Speed Rail station.

Arman is the successful outcome of 42-year-old Philippine lawyer Violeta Banagen-Kito’s quest for help with conceiving a child. The same day she spoke with the reporter, Violeta underwent her second in-vitro fertilization, a nearly three-hour procedure, before heading back to her hotel to rest and recover.

With 30 years of treating infertility, Dr. Lee Mao-sheng (far left) specializes in conventional in-vitro fertilization. Violeta Banagen-Kito (far right), 42, came from the Philippines to seek help, finally conceiving her first child, Arman (second from right), now 4. (Photo by Kuo-tai Liu)

Lee Women’s Hospital founder and national policy adviser Lee Mao-sheng, who has dedicated the last 30 years to treating infertility, successfully helped create the second “test tube baby” in Taiwan at the Chung Shan Medical University Hospital. Doctor Lee estimates that the international fertility treatment market is worth around NT$300 million per year, which, combined with tourism consumption, drives at least NT$500 million in demand.

Lee Mao-sheng, founder of the Lee Women’s Hospital, relates that, in spite of the extensive business opportunities, competition is intense throughout the industry. In response, it is necessary to upgrade technology and align with the international community to foster new growth opportunities. (Photo by Kuo-tai Liu)

Just how strong is the demand for infertility treatment among overseas patients coming to Taiwan? Statistics for 2017 indicate that the international medical clinic hospitalization rate for gynecology ranked second, trailing only health examination centers and exceeding even that of aesthetic medicine (plastic surgery). 

Competition Intensifying, Infertility Clinics Double in 20 Years

“(Taiwan’s) fertility medicine space is already saturated, so it must venture outward,” offers Lee Mao-sheng. Not only must it make technical improvements, it should also be in sync with the international community and undertake new multinational division of labor.

The Reproductive Sciences Medical Center (RSMC), a San Diego-based clinic, established operations in Shanghai last year and is one of Lee Women’s Hospital’s new international cooperative partners.

RSMC positions itself as a “one-stop shop,” with services spanning in-vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, pregnancy and birth. RSMC said that the way its cooperative model with Lee works is that patients can undergo in-vitro fertilization therapy at Lee Women’s Hospital, receive injections to stimulate ovulation, and then post-fertilization genetic diagnosis, after which RSMC ships the healthy embryo to the U.S. for implantation in a locally arranged surrogate mother.

The entire process is similar to the division of labor in the electronics industry commonly seen in Taiwan. “We’re responsible for parts and components, and RSMC (in San Diego) finishes the job,” quips Lee Mao-sheng. (摘自天下)