Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (GA)

Mangalore, Jun 12: In India, one in ten couples is childless. The incidence of women suffering from infertility (inability to become pregnant) owing to premature menopause is continuously increasing owing to several factors such as diet, lifestyle, pollution and genetic reasons. Infertility is exclusively a female problem in 40% of the cases and the similar percentage is applied to males too. Although, infertility by itself may not threaten physical health, it does have a serious impact on the mental and social well-being of affected couples.

Infertile women approaching menopause can now think of having a family by the Egg Donation Programme. The Egg Donation Programme is an ideal option to those women who cannot produce any healthy eggs owing to ovarian failure or when eggs are genetically abnormal. 

The infertility centre in Kasturba Hospital is popularly known MARC (Manipal-Assisted Reproduction Centre) and is headed by Dr Pratap Kumar, who along with the chief Embryologist Dr Satish Adiga and the team of trained professionals assists childless couples.

Dr Pratap Kumar, head of department of OBG and MARC, said that they have succeeded in implanting embryos to a peri-menopausal woman through egg donation program. She was in her early 40s. In this procedure, the eggs were collected from a healthy woman having two children who was ready to help the infertile couple. The eggs were fertilized by the sperm from her husband by in vitro fertilization (Test tube baby procedure) and the resulting embryos were developed in a special incubator and later transferred to the woman's womb. 

Dr D P Saraswat, chief operating officer and the medical superintendent of Kasturba Hospital said that fertility treatment at MARC is created and designed to provide the greatest chance of success for each couple. He said that he was proud about the achievement of MARC. The centre is equipped with state-of-art technology and abroad-trained expert professionals, he added.