‘Infertility will multiply’
Irina K., 33, lives in Moscow. In the spring of 2022, she and her husband began planning a pregnancy. In order to conceive, they needed an injection of Ovitrelle, a Swiss-made drug that stimulates the ovaries and triggers ovulation. Irina visited numerous pharmacies in Moscow over the course of April and May. She only found one ampoule in a pharmacy near a specialised medical centre. It was the last one available.
“I couldn’t find neither the foreign Ovitrelle nor its Russian analogues. Another important thing is that according to my doctor, the analogues contain more than one substance, that is, it’s not just the hormone I need. Not everyone would agree to inject these drugs, because there can be side effects,” Irina says. “My doctor, and she’s a very good one, doesn’t know what to do. ‘I don’t know what to prescribe you because there are no drugs.’ Right now, she offers several versions of the same drug when she prescribes something, hoping that her patients will be able to find at least one of them. And it’s really hard to find anything, although we live in Moscow. Here of all places, there should be some kind of options and possibilities. I’m going to start ovulating soon, and I can’t be sure that I won’t need another shot. And I can’t be sure that I’ll be able to find it.”