The FINANCIAL via GLOSSY — With German precision, Georgian goodwill, and the ambition to be the most reliable, high quality and in-demand medical centre in reproductive medicine, the Georgian-German Reproductive Center (GGRC) team promises to help childless couples realise their dreams of parenthood.
GGRC founder and medical director, Professor Nino Museridze, has said that she found herself “completely alone in the face of this problem” years ago and as a result decided to offer help to childless couples. With this goal in mind Museridze founded GGRC in 2020.
“We had business relations with professionals from leading clinics in different European countries, but we chose the German quality. Our partners are German experts Svetlana and Ivan Hoffmann, the recognised German mother and son in the field of reproductive medicine. In addition, the clinic is accredited in Israel,” said Museridze.
“We started with a significant professional background and experience of the best medical investigations, with the latest approaches and technology, and the most up-to-date equipment and a team of international professionals,” she added.
“There are many high quality clinics in Georgia that offer reproductive services to patients. Our clinic is distinguished by the fact that it has entered this medical area with a long tradition as a clinic with high social responsibility. As you know, in vitro fertilisation is an expensive procedure and is not financed by either the state or the insurance sector. Due to a lack of finances, most childless couples in Georgia are unable to become parents. Our clinic provides a childless couple assistance fund ‘For You’, which offers co-financing to low-income families,” Museridze said.
In addition to infertility treatment programmes, the clinic has developed a programme for menopausal women called ‘Women Without a Hand Fan’, the participants of which are funded by GGRC. The programme screens, diagnoses, prescribes and provides comprehensive care to women, including repeat consultations.
GGRC is the initiator and organiser of many international conferences and trainings, which are completely free for Georgian doctors.
As part of another programme of GGRC’s, its doctors visit different regions of Georgia on a monthly basis, providing free consultations and free medical services to local people.
Q. Please can you provide us with some statistics – how many new lives are born through your centre each year and is their number increasing or decreasing from year to year?
A. During the two years of the clinic’s existence, 647 children have been born as a result of the great efforts of the reproductive centre team, out of which 261 new lives have been financed directly with the help of the foundation. Currently, 376 more pregnant women are expecting to welcome a new life.
Q. The Center has foreign patients as well. Why are foreign patients choosing your centre?
A. Up to 30% of our patients are foreign couples, from Israel, China, America, Russia and from some European countries where surrogacy is prohibited.
Georgian legislation is quite supportive of surrogacy-donation, and the interests of both parties are well protected by the laws in our country. In addition, the prices are quite low compared to the countries which our patients are from, and the quality is absolutely competitive.
Georgia’s beauty and hospitality also make medical tourism in the country attractive.
It should be noted that the number of foreign patients determines the amount of funding for Georgian patients. 20% of the money paid by the foreign patients is allocated to the fund that finances Georgian childless couples. Foreign patients themselves know that they, in turn, are donors to other patients, and often point out that their children are born to be charitable. This is a very noble example of the mutual responsibility of the clinic and its foreign patients.
Q. More than 400 women die every year in Georgia due to complications and delayed detection of gynaecological diseases. Your centre offers a free screening programme for women over 40. What have been some of the results of the programme?
A. We have been involved in the screening programme for six months now and every Saturday we conduct all the required examinations for women over 40 completely free of charge. So far, more than 200 women have benefited from this programme and received qualified services. We also give medicines to women experiencing menopausal problems.
Q. What are the future plans of the clinic’s team?
A. GGRC plans to open a training centre and residency in the near future, for which the renovation works are already underway. The clinic will soon expand and be able to receive more patients and also employ more staff. Our Ukrainian partners will also be employed with us at the clinic.
All the novelties that the world of reproductive medicine offers will be immediately introduced in our clinic and most importantly, we will continue the good work that our foundation does; we will have promotions for childless couples with both full funding and partial co-payment options.
