In malls around town, couples pushing baby strollers are a common sight. However, for many plagued by infertility, children are a luxury they can’t afford.
According to Dr Joseph Aboud, an oncological and gynecological surgeon, Lebanon’s infertility rate stands at 15%. “This percentage can be further broken down, whereby 85% of cases can be solved with medical treatment while the remaining couples will often require IVF surgeries,” he added. The specialist recommends, however, that the right approach to solving infertility problems should be carefully balanced and progressive in terms of treatment procedure.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures have been done in Lebanon since 1989. IVF involves the female eggs being fertilized by sperm outside the woman’s womb and is used as treatment for infertility when all other methods of assisted reproductive technology fail. The process is based on hormonally controlling the ovulation process and removing the ova (egg) from the woman’s ovaries before allowing sperm to fertilize. The fertilized egg is then transferred to the patient’s uterus.
Currently there are about 14 IVF centers in Lebanon, where each assisted reproduction procedure costs about $2,500, according to Dr Aboud. who underlined that in the United States such a procedure can cost up to $25,000. The specialist estimates that about 25% of patients undergoing IVF will be able to conceive after the first trial, while others will frequently require one to five additional procedures.
One bank has identified the need for reproductive assistance and the inherent costs that are linked to it as an opportunity. First National Bank (FNB) started marketing fertility loans of late in all its branches. Maher Mezher, head of FNB’s marketing department, explained that he became familiar with infertility problems during the course of a study he led at Université Saint Joseph (USJ), where he teaches. “While conducting the study, we discovered that about 18% of newly married people were unable or faced difficulty conceiving. The Fertility Association of Lebanon estimates this rate to about 15%. If applied to the general Lebanese population, this figure would translate into 10,000 couples suffering from infertility,” he pointed out. The study also attributed infertility to couples getting married later, change in lifestyles as well as acute stress, causing loss of sperm motility and other infertility problems.
What’s covered
The FNB fertility loan is divided into four main lines. The first line includes fertility treatments such as diets, injections, vitamins, medication and surgeries. The second type of procedure financed by FNB is stem cell collection and conservation. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells act as a repair system for the body thanks to their ability to replenish specialized cells, as well as maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues. Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically change the treatment of human disease as stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with consistent characteristics. A number of adult stem cell therapies already exist on the market, the more popular ones being associated with bone marrow transplants and to treat certain types of cancers such as leukemia. “These cells are collected from the child’s umbilical cord during delivery and refrigerated at a temperature of -169 degrees, then sent to stem cell banks located in England, Germany, or the United States. These stems, when available in sufficient number, can be used to treat heart disease, Alzheimer, paralysis or any injuries that are caused during an accident,” Mezher explained.
The importance of stem cell treatment has promoted FNB’s decision to finance such vital procedures and make it available to the public. “Besides fertility treatments and stem cell conservation, FNB also finances delivery expenses,” Mezher said. The manager explained that although much of the population may enjoy social security or medical coverage, such insurances may not fully cover procedures in relation to delivery, allowing the bank to step in and fill the gap.
The fertility loan is also granted to couples who can have a child without medical assistance but are in need of financing their baby’s accessories — strollers, furniture for the baby room, car seat, clothes or any other item required by a newborn.
Anyone with a salary of $600 dollars or more can apply for the loan while self employed individuals such as doctors and merchants should boast a salary exceeding $1,500. The loan will also finance the $2,800 or so needed for stem cell preservation. “Nonetheless, loan amounts should not exceed one third of the client’s salary and ought to be reimbursed over a maximum period of three years,” Mezher said.
Top tier loans
FNB applies an interest of 5% on the fertility loan which, according to Mezher, is quite affordable when compared to other loans that are otherwise backed by tangible assets. The amount limit of the loan is $7,000, however, clients with a salary of over $2,000 can obtain a loan of $10,000. On average, each IVF procedure costs about $2,500 and historical data has shown that more than one procedure is required. “We only cover IVF treatments done in Lebanon as we settle doctors’ fees directly,” Mezher added, noting that the loan is not available to non-residents.
The manager underlined the confidentiality involved in the process of obtaining a fertility loan. “Loan applications are distributed to doctors who help their patients fill them out. They are then processed by one department only at the bank and overseen by two FNB employees. I was, however, really surprised by the number of forms which were filled out directly by clients at the various branches and especially in rural southern and northern areas,” said the manager. Lebanese seem to have overcome the cultural taboo traditionally linked with infertility problems. Dr Aboud reckoned that he has seen some patients resort to selling their property, whether apartments or land, to finance assisted reproductive treatments.
An indicator of couples’ desire for children is the FNB’s call center, which went from receiving 26 calls to up to 256 calls per day after the launch of the fertility loan. “We expect to grant as many as 500 to 1,000 loans within a year and a half,” Mezher said.
FNB has relied on a powerful marketing campaign to promote its new loan product. About 1,300 billboards displaying the fertility loan ad were put up around Lebanon while a press conference was organized at the Phoenicia hotel for the public launch of the loan. An ad campaign including TV, newspapers and magazines was also organized. Finally an SMS campaign was initiated a few weeks earlier, with some 100,000 messages sent to mobile phones around the country.
According to Mezher, “The bank is actually creating awareness. We have abandoned classical marketing campaigns that tout the merits of our institution and replaced them with an effective approach underlined by new products from which our clients ultimately benefit”
As profitable a product as the new fertility loans may be, their impact certainly has an important social dimension. In Mezher’s words, “We are positioning ourselves as a daring bank with a keen interest in humanitarian issues.”
