Having a child is the right of every woman, who so desires. It is nature’s gift to her and the whole of humankind. Child bearing is both a joy and challenge.
I will outline what India has achieved in IVF
a) Indian pharma companies producing indigenous drugs have taken away the dependency on foreign companies
b) Vitrification – The new technology of freezing embryos and eggs has improved chances of embryo survival to nearly 97 percent and has thereby helped improve pregnancy rates. The egg freezing technology has given a ray of hope to cancer patients, who can do egg banking before chemo or radiotherapy.
c) Introduction of ICSI (1992) (advanced test tube baby procedure using a machine called micromanipulator to inject one sperm into one egg). This technology was able to conquer male infertility. Today, men with zero sperms can father their own child using this technique. New heights were reached with the introduction of ICSI. India was not far behind and we at Bloom IVF were part of the five pioneers who introduced it in our country. Soon we mastered the skill due to our immense workload and excelled in it. Today, India boasts of more than 500 IVF centres. Nearly 60 of these are in Mumbai alone!
d) Improved embryologic technology. Lots of innovations in the IVF laboratory are the stepping stones of improved pregnancy rates. We have been on the forefront by importing technologies – Assisted Laser Hatching (1998), IMSI (2009) for male infertility, to the latest Embryoscope (2012) to name a few. In fact, the first embryoscope of the Asian continent was installed in Japan in our very own Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. All these innovations have improved the success rate of IVF by leaps and bounds. The pregnancy rate in women undergoing IVF is as high as 50 percent in good prognosis patients (young patients, shorter duration of infertility) whereas in 1978 the pioneers had struggled with a pregnancy rate of 10 percent. This accumulated expertise has helped make India a major provider of inexpensive and effective IVF treatment for the common man and also for couples worldwide.
Such is the contribution of technology in this field of medicine. Today, the IVF procedure has become an outpatient office treatment especially due to transvaginal ultrasonography. Counseling has become the backbone of IVF therapy and has translated it into a very patient friendly treatment. IVF is the shining star on the horizon bringing hope and joy to thousands of couples who are struggling with emotional and social consequences of not being blessed with a child. Today, India is doing about 60,000 IVF cycles. It is amazing that with the passing of time, the procedure is becoming standardized and IVF centres are being established even in small towns of India. Such is the story of evolution of IVF in India.
My journey in infertility treatment over the last 20 years can be described by words from Robert Frost’s poem:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The urge to take on the unknown is filled with difficulties and perils but only persistence, hardwork and humility can leads one to success.
The writer is an IVF Specialist, Lilavati Hospital IVF Centre, Mumbai, Fortis LaFemme Bloom IVF Centre, New Delhi.
