Hundreds of couples waiting for IVF at QKUK

Last November, Health Minister Arben Vitita has said that the department within the Kosovo University Clinical Centre (QKUK) will be functional in mid-December.

But, at the time, patients interested in the IVF have only started appointing the term for consultation and checkups regarding its application in couples has not been.

Already in the second part of February, 2025, health authorities say that IVF implementation will start “soon”, but do not specify any date.

The Kosovo Health Ministry told Free Europe Radio that, “during the month of March, it is expected to start stimulating ovaries in the first cases, and in the next phase the first IVF procedures will start.

Similar vows to the REL also made officials of the Kosovo Hospital Service and University Clinic KHSKUK, which oversees QKUK.

What is IVF?

Asisted Fertilization, known as IVF, is a medical procedure through which a woman can become pregnant if such a thing cannot be achieved naturally.

For IVF, stem cells need egg cells and sperm cells and embryos that are stored in stem cells.

Tuesday, February 18, REL was informed by its sources at KKUK that IVF drugs and rescue materials have not yet been provided in the QKUK department.

It turns out that the tender for selection of bidders has been opened, but it is not known how far the procedure has been achieved.

In the CKUK University of Gynecology, where IVF is located, numerous consultations have been made with couples wanting to become parents through the IVF in the past two months.

REL found that the waiting list for such consultations has gone to about 1,000 cases and that some of them must wait beyond the fourth month of the year.

“I am looking forward to, because we do not have the conditions to try out at private institutions”, Free Europe Valon told Radio, who along with his wife has the term for consultations in April.

“This will be an ideal option”, the couple said, which has been married for eight years and has no children.

Workers in gynecology say that because of high interest, this clinic has increased the days of accepting requests for checks and consultations from three to five.

IVF head Leandri Bejtullahu expresses confidence that things are going in the right direction.

We are in the preparation phase, when patients come with analysis and are assessed if they meet the criteria or not... After their preparation, the simulation phase” comes, says Bejtullahu.

What are the criteria for the IVF?

The World Health Organization does not have specific conditions designed to benefit from IVF treatment, but general medical practices suggest that candidates must meet certain general criteria.

Speaking of Radio Free Europe, Bejtullahu explains that the couple must have infertility diagnosis, while the woman should be in good health, have functional HINA wombs capable of carrying pregnancy, and be up to 42 years old.

The Kosovo Health Ministry has already drafted a guide for the criteria, expected to be published as an official document.

Bejtullahu says that the age of 42 for women who want to submit to the IVF is set on the basis of international standards.

But it's not well received by a 45-year-old who's been addressed. QKUK's for this procedure.

I was told that the cases are only accepted by the age of 42. I don't know what that is, why determine age? That's not right, Mahcox1>, she told the REL as it left the KKUK building last week.

I've tried IVF in private hospitals. Doctors have never told me that she doesn't do”, she said.

How has the IVF been applied to Kosovo?

Kosovo has law on reproductive health, including IVF, since 2007.

But in the absence of the IVF department at QKUK, the procedure could only be done in private hospitals, where it costs up to 3,000 euros.

The procedure, if not successful the first time, can be repeated at least two more times, according to recommendations.

At QKUK, this service will be offered free of charge two times first, while then the price for procedure will be around 670 euros.

Construction of the IVF department at QKKUK began in 2020, and then KKUK leaders have pledged that the procedure would begin to apply in 2021.

Delays that have already emerged have been linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shifted the focus to public health emergencies.

Otherwise, investments of the Ministry of Health and USKKUK in the establishment of the IVF department have reached the value of 1.9m euros.

No matter when the application starts, discussions on this procedure are expected to continue for a while, as a draft law on production health has remained pending.

He has been reading first in the Kosovo Assembly since 1923, but has not gone further, because some MPs have objected to the provisions, under which IVF access can all women, regardless of their status single, be it in a gay or heterosexual couple.

The reasons of these MPs have been that “wanted to protect the family institution” which has been rejected by representatives of human rights organisations.