Thiruvananthapuram: The first test-tube babies in the government sector in South India have come 35 years after the birth of Lousie Joy Brown, the first IVF baby in the world, but the news has kindled hopes among childless couples in the state who cannot afford costly treatment in the private sector.
With the infertility rate in the state being 25–30 per cent, most childless couples prefer assisted reproductive techniques, including intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). But these procedures are beyond the means of common people because of high rates in the private sector.
For instance, IVF, a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body, costs Rs 2 lakh- plus in the private sector. But at the SAT Hospital here, it costs just Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000 which is a relief for many couples.
Similarly, IUI, the process under which fast-moving sperms are placed into the woman’s womb, costs Rs1,500 here compared to Rs 3,000- Rs 5,000 in private hospitals. Artificial insemination of donor sperms here costs around Rs 3,000 compared to Rs 6,000 to 8,000 outside.
The successful IVF was the result of the dedicated work of the team headed by Dr Sheela Balakrishnan, medical officer in charge of the fertility centre, comprising Dr Nirmala, head of the department of gynaecology, Dr P.V. Saravana Kumar, additional medical officer, fertility unit, Dr Anitha and Dr Reji Mohan.
Prior to the opening of the fertility centre last year, these doctors had undergone specialisation for two to six months at Dr Chakravarthy’s clinic in Kolkata, Dr Prakash Trivedi’s centre in Mumbai and Dr Kiran Roy’s clinic in New Delhi. Experts say the government was initially hesitant to start such a facility in the public sector because of the high cost.
However, with the SAT team showing results, the state government is now keen on opening more centres in the state with the next one all set to be opened at the Kozhikode Medical College soon.
The government is now willing to fund assisted reproductive procedures like ICSI and IVF and developing facilities for embryo transfer, freezing the embryos and IUI in other centres as well.
