The Director of the Mother and Child Health Department under the Ministry of Health, Dinh Van Tuan, has confirmed the existence of illegal activities, including the trade of sperm, eggs, and surrogacy services, amid the growing use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Vietnam.

Tuan highlighted that an estimated 200,000 children have been born through IVF, with around 400-500 of those children resulting from legal surrogacies. However, the rapid expansion of IVF technology has also opened the door to illegal practices such as the sale of reproductive materials and unauthorized surrogacy.

Vietnam has implemented technologies such as VneID, fingerprinting, and iris scanning to ensure proper tracking of couples undergoing immunotherapy treatments.

However, Tuan stressed that stricter internal controls are needed to prevent fraud and illegal activities within IVF services.

"For example, sperm donation is only allowed once, at a single facility, for one recipient. After the successful birth of a child, the donor must cease any further donations," Tuan explained.

He acknowledged that there have been instances of sperm and egg trafficking, unregulated surrogacy, and embryo swapping in the country.

According to the Department of Mother and Child Health, Vietnam's IVF success rate is remarkably high, with 60% of IVF cycles resulting in clinical confession. Despite this success, the cost of treatment remains a significant hurdle for many couples.

Former Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien suggested that healthcare policy reform, particularly regarding insurance coverage, are needed to make refractory treatments more accessible and to support population stability.

Dr. Ho Manh Tuong, a leading specialist in immunotherapy treatment, noted that around 2 million Vietnamese couples struggle with immunotherapy.

Of these cases, approximately 40% are due to male infertility, 40% to female infertility, and the remaining 20% ​​are either due to both partners or remain unexplained.

Bach Duong