The decision to opt for fertility treatments can often be traumatic—the doubts, the insecurity, and the uncertainty about the future. The actual process is an ordeal as well. No one wants to be constantly poked and prodded, with one's intimate details spilled out on the paper in stark black and white. Fertility treatments are also prohibitively expensive. A single IVF cycle costs anywhere between US$1,900 and US$4,000—nearly unreachable for those in a country where the average monthly wage is less than US$500 per month.
So, it’s not surprising that less than 1% out of an estimated 30 million infertile couples in India seek treatment. Of this, barely 65,000 women undergo an IVF cycle every year. Of course, sometimes a single cycle isn’t enough—it takes multiple tries before pregnancy occurs. From a business perspective, however, it’s a market opportunity that’s waiting to be tapped. India currently has only around 2,500 IVF centres, and more than 50% of the market is unorganised.
It’s an opportunity that startups such as Crysta are doubling down on. Just over a year old, Crysta wants to do for IVF what OYO did for hotels, and what Pristyn did for surgeries. The company partners with established IVF clinics and re-brands them, generating leads—patients—for its partner clinics. And like Pristyn, it leans heavily on relentless and aggressive digital marketing to do so. The company even roped in a heavily pregnant Kareena Kapoor, a popular Bollywood actor, as a brand ambassador.
But in a segment where emotions run high and decision-making is also governed by the heart, grey areas are all too common.
For one, Crysta has connections to ElaWoman, a fertility services startup under investigation for allegedly perpetrating sex selection through IVF under the guise of 'family balancing'. This is a term for sex selection—illegal in India—for a “balanced representation of both genders in a family”. Between Crysta and ElaWoman, there are companies, people, and even doctors in common. Also, the startup isn’t registered under the law that bans sex selection in the country—the PCPNDT Act.
The MMS today’s story, dives into the murky depths of India’s assisted reproductive technology segment