HYDERABAD: It was in 1995 that the first test-tube baby was born in the Telugu states. At that time the success rate of conceiving a baby through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) was just around 5-10 per cent. Since then, there have been various technological advances in IVF like the development of Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT), which has helped increase the success rate to as much as 40-45 per cent, informed Dr M Prasad, Chief Embryologist at the Anu Test Tube Baby Centre (ATTBC), which was responsible for bringing the first IVF baby to life in unified Andhra Pradesh 26 years ago.
Addressing the media on the occasion of World IVF Day on Sunday, Dr Prasad of the ATTBC informed that the centre provides IVF services to around 1,000 couples every year, meaning that they help around 400 couples from Telangana and other States in the country. Apart from the advancement in technology, Dr Prasad said that the availability of the medium in which the embryo is grown in the lab is also easily available.
He said, “Earlier we had to make the medium ourselves. So, there had to be a lot of testing and development. It was time-consuming and the success rate was also low. Now, the developed and successfully tested medium is easily available to buy and there are many sellers as well.”
He said, “Around one in six couples globally is childless. Though infertility is not considered as a disease, the problem and its treatment are associated with several moral, ethical and social issues. But over the years, people are taking up IVF treatment and the numbers have been rising. Technological advancements have made IVF simpler, safer and accessible. IVF babies are no different in their mental or physical abilities from naturally conceived babies.”
He added, “However, all fertility treatments including IVF have limited success rates and all fertility treatments fail more often than they succeed. This is what couples need to know as most have very high expectations and a negative result devastates them. It is important that a couple is psychologically strong and aware of the limits.”