Woman travels to Albania for experimental mitochondrial replacement therapy amid global fertility industry concerns

A STAT reporter detailed a case of a woman named Heidy Willis who, after multiple failed IVF cycles, sought an experimental fertility option abroad.

Willis traveled to Albania to undergo mitochondrial replacement therapy, a technique that swaps her genetic material into an egg donated by another woman so that the donor’s healthy mitochondria support embryo development.

The procedure is not approved in the United States, and agencies that arrange such medical tourism charge patients thousands of dollars to access clinics that offer MRT.