"Given that in Croatia 1,200 children are born annually with the help of one of the MAR methods, we believe that it is very important to include experts on human reproduction in the planning of national demographic policies. Close to 17% of couples have infertility problems and if we add the large number of young people leaving the country, the rather negative demographic situation is not surprising," said Dinka Pavicic Baldani, head of the Croatian Association for Gynaecological Endocrinology and Human Reproduction, one of the event's organisers.
"We want to underline at this congress the importance of investing in MAR, in patient safety and in the continuous training and exchange of experience with top foreign experts," she said.
The head of the National Commission for MAR at the Health Ministry, Velimir Simunic, said that 7,500 various MAR procedures were done in Croatia every year, including 5,500 in vitro fertilisation (IVF and ICSI) procedures, which are the most complex and the most successful.
The results of these methods are presented separately because methods differ significantly. Their success depends on the woman's age and the number of embryos transferred to the uterus and is statistically shown as a ratio of clinical pregnancies and births and the number of embryo transfers. Croatian results for 2015 are in line with the European average, said Simunovic.
Thirty-five years ago IVF success was 2-5% while today it is almost ten times higher and the causes of long-term infertility are treated with IVF methods in 80% of the cases, it was said.