Sun, Jul 05 2009
Days after her 30-th anniversary on July 25, Louise Brown, the world's first test-tube baby, arrived in Bulgaria at the invitation of local foundation Iskam Bebe (I Want a Baby). Brown is visiting Bulgaria together with her mother, husband an son.
Brown's visit "is another occasion to give hope to the families with reproduction problems," Radina Velcheva, chair of the managing board of the foundation told Focus news agency. "It was the decision of the patients we work with too," she said.
Brown and her mother will take part in a symposium on successful models for coping with the demographic problem in Bulgaria.
According to the statistics for 2004, 270 000 families in Bulgaria had reproduction problems. However, there was no data for the number of in vitro babies, born in the country, Velcheva also said.
With some 20 million leva from Bulgaria's budget surplus at least 2000 babies could be born in Bulgaria using the in vitro method, Velcheva told journalists, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. The money could fund 4000 to 5000 in vitro fertilisation attempts, which was the full capacity of the clinics in the country. The price of one attempt was nearly 5000 leva and the chances for success were above 40 per cent among women under 40.
Velcheva said that the National Health Insurance Fund had provided 1000 patients annually with nearly 1500 leva each for a third consecutive year. The remaining costs of the in vitro operation was to be paid by the patients.
"We have a female lobby in Parliament, which supports us. I hope that the promises politicians give, that three in vitro procedures would be fully for paid by the state, will be realised in 2009," Velcheva said as quoted by Focus.
Ataka and Order Law and Justice parties stage symbolic blockades at Bulgaria’s borders with Turkey on eve of July 5 2009 parliamentary election, while reports record influx of would-be voters and, it is claimed, flights are being chartered from Turkey.
In a blow against a problem that has been plaguing Bulgaria’s elections, State Agency for National Security and Interior Ministry say several people in a ‘major criminal organisation’ have been arrested for vote-buying, on the eve of the July 5 vote.
Barometer Info survey on July 3 2009, just ahead of the eve of Bulgaria’s national parliamentary elections, gives GERB 27.05 per cent and Sergei Stanishev’s Coalition for Bulgaria 19.09 per cent.
The exact number of people sacked from duty out of the 600 who refused to go to work on Monday is undisclosed, although reports claim that as of June 3 at least four people were told they were surplus to requirements.
Open your mind and face the unknown: the 2009 general elections in Bulgaria.
I'm doing an English project on Louise, she is quite amazing (: