The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of life globally. While most IVF clinics worldwide suspended treatments starting in March 2020, many have begun resuming services, prioritizing the most urgent cases such as egg freezing for cancer patients and IVF for women with diminished ovarian reserve.
In Argentina, the pandemic situation remained relatively controlled. The government implemented swift lockdown measures, resulting in fewer cases. Fertility Argentina’s IVF clinic resumed embryo laboratory operations, with most consultations shifting to video format. Strict safety protocols were implemented for both staff and patients.
Options for International Patients
For our international patients — over 250 annually — we offered several pathways to continue treatment:
- Videocall consultations for planning treatment steps
- Patients using both donor eggs and donor sperm could begin treatment immediately, with embryos frozen at the blastocyst stage for later transfer
- PGT-A testing could be completed within 1–2 months
- Those requiring egg donation or frozen embryo transfer would need to await border reopening and flight resumption
COVID-related treatment delays do not significantly impact success rates. We encouraged prospective patients to begin preliminary screening tests or initiate treatment phases where possible — so that when travel resumed, they were ready.
The pandemic taught us important lessons about remote medicine and treatment planning. Video consultations, which we quickly normalized during that period, remain a valuable option for patients worldwide who wish to plan their treatment before traveling to Buenos Aires.
