IVF Treatments in the Czech Republic - The Beginnings

Fertility Treatments in the Czech Republic – The Beginnings

During my very frequent trips to my home country of the Czech Republic and the place where both of our daughters were “created” via IVF with ICSI in Brno, I have met with Prof. MUDr. Ladislav Pilka, DrSc. several times and had the privilege of speaking with him one on one. It was just fascinating to listen to his carrier, back then driven and to certain point dictated by the communist regime, and how he became an OB/GYN almost by an accident just so that he would get away from a no name village, where he was just a general practitioner. It was thanks to this man that the entire world got to learn and practice the ART method of GIFT that Prof. MUDr. Ladislav Pilka, DrSc. invented.

This man was also the founder and pioneer of many ART methods and thanks to him, the first IVF baby was born in the Czech Republic and the entire Eastern Block in 1982. Listening to him describe the technology and instruments that they had available to them, to be more specific the lack of them, it almost seems impossible that this procedure was not only possible but it was successful as well.

In over 30 years, the technology has progressed a great deal and the Czech Republic is still among the leading countries not only in the success of IVF treatments (our donor egg IVF patients can benefit from a success rate of 70% and steadily climbing, non-donor IVF patients can expect an average success rate of 65% and more, other treatments such as FET, donor embryo aka embryo adoption are showing a very competitive success rate as well) but also the favorable IVF laws that help the IVF patients get the baby they want so much. Our patients can only benefit that Prof. MUDr. Pilka, DrSc is the scientific director at our clinic, making sure that our patients are always getting only the best and the latest in IVF treatments.

Prof. MUDr. Ladislav Pilka, DrSc. has just celebrated his 80^th birthday, what a mile stone! Huge congratulations from all of us, grateful fertility patients and of course, our daughters as well as if it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t be here and our lives would not be complete!