One in six couples suffers from infertility in Armenia - doctor

The infertility rate among the married couples in Armenia is one to six, a specialist has said, introducing the activities of a new foundation offering medical aid to those families.

At a news conference on Saturday, Edward Hambardzumyan, President of the Armenian Society for Reproductive Medicine, said the foundation Aragil (swallow) was established last year with the purpose of offering free treatment to patients not affording the costs of paid healthcare services.

“The foundation Aragil, which is adjunct to the Armenian Society for Reproductive Medicine, has been functioning since 2013,” he said.

The foundation’s means are generated from benefactors’ donations, said Karine Tokhunts, an expert.

“The foundation Aragil is one of our key achievements in the sphere of reproductive health. To date, we have 300 couples who have applied and were registered. We take stock of the couples whose family income isn’t above 200,000 Drams [$492],” she said, adding that the foundation presently has 22 registered beneficiaries.

The foundation has so far registered one newborn triple and two pregnancies, according to the specialist.

Tokhunts said despite the large number of couples suffering from the infertility problem, the foundation is doing its best to offer them all a chance of one trial.

“The highest amount of money that we can transfer is 1.600.000 Drams [approx. $395,000]. That covers the entire cycle of treatment,” he explained.

The internationally accepted age limit of treating infertility is 35, but the foundation has decided to offer a chance to patients aged to 40, Tokhunts added.