The "child hunting" journey of a young ethnic minority couple

Married since 2016, Mr. Phung Van Ba ​​and Ms. H Dla Buon Ya longed to have children every day. But after many years, there was still no sign, so they went to the doctor and discovered that the reason for the delay was that the husband was infertile. At that moment, everything seemed to collapse before the man's eyes with invisible pressure.

Mr. Ba sadly said that he and his wife had taken many traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicines but still could not have children. When he went to the local doctor, he was told that he was infertile and had to undergo IVF.

"When I heard about the amount of money I had to spend, I thought a lot. The salary of a worker is low, my husband and I got married and lived in rented accommodation, saving every penny, even asking for free meals, but we don't know when we will be able to save money for IVF. The cost of treatment is too high compared to our financial capacity, so we had to put aside our desire to have children," Ba confided.

While Mr. Ba was overwhelmed with guilt over not being able to fulfill his responsibility as the only son, shouldering the pressure of having children to "continue the family line", Ms. H Dla Buôn Ya also had to brace herself against the malicious and slanderous words from those around her.

In 2022, while searching for information, Mr. Ba learned about the program "Golden Week - Nurturing Happiness" of Hanoi Andrology and Infertility Hospital, where many infertile couples have successfully welcomed their children thanks to free support programs.

The couple's two little angels were born healthy in June 2023.

At the hospital, after the examination, Ba and his wife had a glimmer of hope when the doctors determined that he only had a blocked vas deferens. Following the doctor's instructions, Ba boldly filled out an application to register for the hospital's 100% free IVF program for families in especially difficult circumstances, and luck smiled on Ba and his wife.

Not only was the couple one of the families that received 100% support for IVF costs, along with all hospital examination and treatment costs, but on the very first time they did IVF, they immediately received good news.

In October 2022, Ya began the embryo transfer process. After 14 days of embryo transfer, the doctor announced that the pregnancy was successful. A week later, the first ultrasound images showed two little creatures gradually forming in Ya's body. In June 2023, the couple's two little angels were born healthy.

“I am extremely grateful to the doctors for giving my husband and I the opportunity to successfully undergo IVF. Without this support package, I don’t know when my family would have been able to welcome our children home,” Ms. Ya emotionally shared.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest infertility rate in the world, with 50% of cases occurring in people under 30 years old. Out of every 100 people of reproductive age, 7-8 are facing infertility. However, the reality is that not everyone has the financial means to embark on a treatment journey - a journey that is both long and costly.

The financial burden weighs heavily on the shoulders of many young infertile couples.

An in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle costs between VND70 million and VND100 million, not including testing costs, medication costs and other technical interventions. This means that most couples have to pay for it entirely on their own.

Master, Doctor Le Thi Thu Hien (Professional Director, Hanoi Andrology and Infertility Hospital) said that in reality, doctors found that financial pressure, psychological fear and lack of knowledge about reproductive health caused many couples to delay examination, missing the golden period in infertility treatment.

Therefore, from 2015 to now, the hospital has organized the program "Golden Week - Nurturing Happiness" with many preferential examinations, so that people can access modern medical techniques, know the causes of infertility, thereby receiving timely treatment and getting closer to the dream of becoming a father and mother.

In the 2025 Golden Week program, in addition to giving away 10 packages of 100% free support for in vitro fertilization (IVF) costs, the hospital also gives away 20 free packages of single-gene pathology embryo testing and 10 free packages of testicular microsurgery to find sperm (Micro TESE), all through the form of file review. In addition, the hospital also decided to reduce 50% of the cost of in vitro fertilization techniques including (egg retrieval, embryo creation, embryo culture up to day 3) for couples who have previously failed IVF.

Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thanh Trung (Head of Examination Department, Hanoi Andrology and Infertility Hospital) said that the cost of treatment for one assisted reproductive treatment is not small, so the hospital wants to share part of this financial burden with infertile families to add confidence, motivation and extend their arms to reach their dream of having a baby.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/hanh-trinh-san-con-cua-vo-chong-tre-nguoi-dan-toc-thieu-so-post878786.html