Greece’s most distinguished scientists in Assisted Reproduction presented the remarkable progress of Greek Centers and laboratories, offering successful solutions to the growing cross-border interest of thousands of infertile couples, at the International Conference on Health Tourism organized by the Greek Health Tourism Council – ELITOUR, at the Athens Concert Hall. The conference successfully concluded its proceedings and was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Attica Region, with the participation of the Athens Medical Association and the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute. With the International Conference, ELITOUR completed the annual cycle of actions for Greek Fertility Tourism, Assisted Reproduction, and In Vitro Fertilization, to which the Greek Health Tourism Council had dedicated the year 2023.
“Due to its profile, Fertility Tourism contributes to the positive image of our country in terms of Health and Wellness experience, which everyone expects to gain by choosing Medical Tourism services in Greece. The excellent scientists in Assisted Reproduction that Greece has, the state-of-the-art Centers that are constantly upgraded with technology optimization, and the ideal natural environment of Greece, which favors a relaxing climate for conceiving a child, have placed our country among the top global destinations. The progress is continuous, and we soon believe that global distinctions will be conquered in all sectors of Greek Health Tourism,” stated the Regional Governor of Attica and president of Athens Medical Association, ELITOUR, and the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute, George Patoulis.
“At the Greek Health Tourism Council – ELITOUR, we believe that Greek Scientific Excellence is the passport of Greek Health Tourism, the seal and guarantee, for travelers around the world, in all medical tourism development sectors beyond Fertility Tourism,” Mr. Patoulis pointed out, adding that the increase for Fertility Tourism is estimated to reach a rate of 30%, amounting to $6.2 billion by 2030.
The main reasons for the projected surge, as explained in his speech by the President of ELITOUR, Mr. George Patoulis, are the increasing prevalence of infertility, obesity, which is linked to increasing needs of men and women for assisted reproduction, as well as other factors such as couples’ desire to choose the gender of their child.
Welcoming the conference proceedings, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. Marios Themistocleous, emphasized that Greece can be an attraction pole for providing specialized health services to tourists who choose it as a destination for modern, advanced medical care, among others, in the rapidly evolving field of Assisted Reproduction. The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ms. Elena Rapti, who was also the rapporteur of the legislation for assisted reproduction, stressed in her speech: “The current legal framework for medically assisted reproduction is particularly favorable in Greece and for this reason is considered a supporter of Medical Tourism, making the environment extremely attractive for couples traveling to our country from other countries of the world to have a child. With the new law 4958/2022 for reforms in Medically Assisted Reproduction, the framework for medical assistance in human reproduction was reformed in the context of modern social demands.”
The President of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor Mr. Nikos Arkadopoulos, presented the school’s programs, focusing on the English-speaking department that has been operating for the last two years, and its contribution as an international hub for the education and development of Health Tourism. The General Secretary of the Hellenic Society of Reproductive Medicine and vice president of ELITOUR, Mr. Konstantinos Pantos, commented on the developments in Greece’s Fertility Tourism, while making special reference to the first cluster created in Greece in this field following the initiative of the President of ISA, Dr. George Patoulis.
The President of the Hellenic Society of Medically Assisted Reproduction, Associate Professor at the University of Athens, Mr. Themis Matzavinos, presented the high rates of male infertility, which tend to reach up to half of the cases in infertile couples, and emphasized that Greece has excellent laboratories, and an exceptionally high level of embryologists and geneticists, already known in the international market of interested parties.
The former Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Athens, Mr. Kyriakos Kenevezos, spoke about Health policies at an international level and stressed the urgent need for the development of IVF in research and technology, in a world where the population is continuously aging, while the director of the Ministry of Tourism, Ms. Panagiota Dionysopoulou, referred to the ministry’s interest in health tourism and the initiatives that have been undertaken in this direction.
Georgios Kakoulidis, a member of the Board of Directors of ELITOUR, and the director of funding programs, Vasilis Zymnis, spoke about the new business models in medically assisted reproduction, while the President of the Hellenic-Chinese Business Development Committee of the EEA, Stavros Monemvasiotis, presented the opportunities created by approaching the Chinese market.
The conference also included representatives of the Homogeneous Communities and Greek medical associations from the homogeneous communities abroad, through cooperation with the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute (GDHI): the president of the Greek Community in Melbourne, Vasilis Papastergiadis, the professor of transplants at Imperial College UK, Vasileios Papalois, the President of Greek doctors in the UK (He.Di.D.A) Dr. Athina Angelopoulou, the President of the Medical Association in Great Britain Dr. Kyriaki Sonidou, the President of Greek and Cypriot Greek doctors of North Rhine-Westphalia “Genesis” Dr. Ioannis Giannakopoulos, and the Associate Professor at the University of Bonn Dr. Konstantinos Gousias.
Their views on the developments in the field of assisted reproduction were expressed through their speeches by: Hippocrates Sarris (Kings College London), Jijun Chu (Anhui University, China), Konstantinos Manolopoulos (University of Offenbach Germany), Nikolaos Lolatzis (Melbourne), Dr. Georgios Patrikios (Naval Hospital of Athens), Konstantinos Nikolettos (Center for Assisted Reproduction, Alexandroupoli), Professor Charalambos Syristatidis (Aretaieio), Professor Konstantinos Zikopoulos (University Hospital of Ioannina), Marinos Tsirigotis (IASO), Dr. Kostas Sfakianoudis (Genesis Clinic), Dr. Vasilis Kelaris (Health IVF Embryogenesis), Dr. Nikos Kanakas (Center for Assisted Reproduction Embryoland), Dr. Alexandros Tzeferakos (Fertility & IVF Unit of REA Hospital), Dr. Ilias Tsakos (Embryoclinic Thessaloniki), Dr. Konstantinos Antoniou (Iakentro IVF center), Dr. Ioannis Douliotis (IVF Serum Lykovrysi), Themis Mantzavinos Associate Professor of Obstetrics – Gynecology EKPA and the obstetricians – gynecologists Dr. Nikolaos Petrogiannis (Naval Hospital of Athens), Dr. Matthaios Fraidakis, Dr. Konstantinos Dafopoulos, Dr. Nikolaos Bathrellos and Dr. Leonidas Mamas.
Interesting interventions and comments were made by the participating obstetricians-gynecologists Konstantinos Zikopoulos, Angeliki Gerente, Konstantinos Dimitroulis, Vasilis Kontopoulos, Giannis Ioannidis and Dimitris Mazis and the embryocardialogist, Lecturer at the European University of Cyprus, Victoria Polydorou.
The General Secretary of the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute and president of the organizing committee, Dr. Antonis Polydorou, referred to the activity of the first Cluster of doctors dealing with assisted reproduction in Greece, which was created with the initiative of the Regional Governor of Attica and President of AMA, Dr. George Patoulis.
The thematic units were coordinated by the First Vice President of ELITOUR, obstetrician-gynecologist Konstantinos Pantos, Professor of Dermatology and Second Vice President of GHDI Konstantinos Kouskoukis, General Secretary of ELITOUR Petros Mamalakis, journalist Haris Ntigrinidakis, President of the Hippocratic Foundation of Kos Professor Nikos Papantoniou, Professor Panagiotis Manolas, Associate Professor of Anatomy Dimitris Filippou, Associate Professor Nikolaos Vrachnis and the obstetricians-gynecologists Nikolaos Kanakas, Georgios Lambos, Evangelos Makrakis, Nikolaos Paparisteidis, Konstantinos Samaras and Dimitris Giannaris.
The conference was presided over by the Regional Governor of Attica and President of AMA, ELITOUR, and the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute, Dr. George Patoulis. The President of the Scientific Committee of the Conference was Professor and President of IKY Michalis Koutsilieris.