Health Management

In-vitro fertilisation facility now at AIIMS Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday dedicated to the country the first in-vitro fertilisation facility in the public sector set up at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here.

“This is another milestone for the Institute aimed at benefiting the poor sections of society. We will support all such ventures, especially in the field of stem cell. My aim is to see AIIMS as a hub of world-class research,” said Dr. Ramadoss.

The Minister said his department was working at making the guidelines presented by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on assisted reproductive technology into an Act to check the unregulated and unethical practices widespread in the field of assisted reproduction.

Dr. Ramadoss said India should work at controlling its high infant and maternal mortality rate, check the decline of sex ratio and curb malnourishment. The IVF facility at AIIMS will be manned by a team of highly-trained doctors and staff under the leadership of Dr. Suneeta Mittal, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

“This is going to be an advanced in-vitro fertilisation centre with the latest equipment and infrastructure and the facility will be part of the national service being provided by the Institute. Research will be an integral part of our work. The facility also hopes to reach out to people with cancer who still want to have children later. We are also looking at creating an embryonic stem cell bank,” said Dr. Mittal.

Present at the function were also Institute director T. D. Dogra and former ICMR Director-General N. K. Ganguly among others. “This latest addition is another step in that direction and we hope to provide affordable world class IVF facility to the poor. Our doctors and medical staff have undergone special training for the same and we are proud to dedicate the facility to the nation,” said Dr. Dogra.

The AIIMS as an institution par excellence has pioneered in health care services and research for long and now keeping pace with the best of medical centres in the West has become the first to avail this facility.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss dedicated the first IVF Research Centre to the nation and in praise of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology said, “it has always excelled in providing quality health care to the women of this country.”

In a society as ours where child bearing defines a woman’s identity and motherhood of great social significance, infertility leaves unhealed wounds for the couple socially and mentally. Infertility causes impediment in the continuity of once lineage and is deeply distressing with psychological trauma and pain. In these circumstances, this disease is worthy of investigation and treatment.
Since population control has been the main focus of health service until last decade, the problem of infertility receded from paying attention.

Female Concern
It is a general trend in our society to blame female for her infertility. But the study suggests that in about 10 to 15 percent cases, it is because of low sperm counts, which is entirely a male problem.

Damage to the fallopian tubes in 30 percent cases prevent women from producing child, ovulatory problems in 20 percent cases, endometriosis in 5 percent and in 2 percent cases uterine pathology restricts women from fertility. Still in up to 30 percent cases, people are unaware of the cause of infertility. Besides sexually transmitted disease, genital tuberculosis, and pelvic infection as major obstacles in causing infertility, there are sometimes multiple conditions that cause infertility.
Although there is no permanent and secured treatment of infertility, yet in some cases simple methods as ovulation inducing drugs or intrauterine insemination improves the chances of conception. While in some major cases reproductive surgery as microsurgery of tubes and invasive surgery of the uterus may benefit some. Despite these advanced therapies up to 10 percent of such infertile cases still get its fate sans any success.

Single Hope
Thus the only hope for such couples remains in the form of Assisted Reproductive techniques (ART) such as In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).

Alarming figure
According to an estimate made out in 2004 that suggest over 186 million women worldwide experience problems in conceiving. This figure is substantially high over previous one suggesting a global increase in the prevalence of infertility. In India nearly 6-8 percent of couples face this problem of infertility in reproductive age group.

Test Tube baby
ART involves the direct manipulation of human reproductive organs-sperms and an embryo-outside the body to establish pregnancy, literally means "fertilization in glass" and hence has got the famous name "test tube baby ".

IVF and ICSI involve inducing ovulation, monitoring egg development, procuring eggs from the woman's ovary, inseminating them with sperms, development, and growth of embryos, and subsequent transfer into the woman's womb.
First world test tube baby
Louis Brown was the first baby of the world that produced through test tube 30 years ago. Until now 3 million babies have been delivered through the same process worldwide. In UK alone 5000 babies each year see the world through test tube.

First Indian test tube baby
In India Durga was the first test tube baby; since then ART service have been available in India but only in private sector. Although the ART centres have mushroomed throughout the country, but owing to its high fees are out of the range of not only poor but from the lower middle class family.

Public sector initiative
As per the demand of the day the simplified techniques with reduced costs, the research centre at AIIMS has been established to provide cost effective services to the majority of the population.