The consequences of the Covid-19 global pandemic on Medically Assisted Procreation: the Italian experience

All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, had a strong impact on Medical Assisted Procreation (MAP) procedures. Indeed, these services were stopped at the beginning of March 2020, with a reduction in their activity of 34.8%, as many specialized centers were transformed into Covid hospitals to face the pandemic emergency. In Italy, law 40/04 applies in infertility cases; however, during the pandemic, it was the first European state to discontinue MAP treatments and among the first to resume from May 2020. Through a survey of the National MAP Registry, a significant decline in MAP activities compared to 2019 has been highlighted, along with a decrease in thousands of new births. This situation has revealed concerns about the management of assisted reproductive treatment. Many Italian regions present few dedicated centers related to the demand, increasing the phenomenon of “reproductive tourism” in the northern regions where these centers are more widespread. This study aims to evaluate the effects of the interruption of assisted reproduction and compare it with other countries and evaluate the need to implement economic resources to improve and expand MAP centers.