South Africa has a well-priced and desirable commodity to offer the world - human eggs.
Infertile couples from all over the world are increasingly choosing local fertility clinics to realise their dreams of conceiving, and like the phenomenon of plastic surgery safaris, they are linking their reproductive missions to affordable holidays.
The most popular clinic among couples from the US, the UK, Australia, Europe and countries in Africa is the Cape Fertility Clinic, run by doctors Paul le Roux and Klaus Wiswedel.
"We are getting between 30 and 40 foreign visitors a month seeking egg donations, and it's because the medical care here is very good and highly personalised," says Wiswedel.
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The Cape Fertility Clinic is among four clinics listed on the web site www.renewfertility.com, a US-based site founded by Californian Robin Newman.
Newman herself came to South Africa looking to redress her childless status, found its facilities world-class and now helps others find help through her web site.
The site features a comprehensive list of tariffs for hotels and lodges, as well as an egg donation programme - which Wiswedel tags at between R35 000 and R45 000 over a 10 to 12-day period.
"The Internet has enabled fertility clinics to compete globally," says Wiswedel.
"Our competitors are not in South Africa - they are in Cyprus, Moscow and Spain.
"We help with finding couples accommodation and they are also spending millions on the tourist attractions in and around Cape Town. Most importantly, we are giving them a gift they desire most in their lives, which is very gratifying."
Most egg recipients are women in their late 30s or 40s who, owing to putting their careers first, left child-bearing too late.
At the Sandton Fertility Clinic, director Dr Goolam Mohamed puts about three or four foreign couples a month into egg donation programmes.
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