IVF: Expert Decries Dearth Of Regulations

A crusader in assisted pregnancy, Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) and gynecologist, Ngozi Orazuruike has decried the death of regulatory activities in the technique.

Orazuruike said the lack of a regulatory body to monitor the activities of IVF service providers in the country was dangerous.

The gynecologist, who made this statement during an interaction with newsmen shortly after her lecture in Assisted Pregnancy, at a Welcome Forum organised by the Bridge Clinic, Port Harcourt, also drew the  attention of the Federal Ministry of Health and Dental and Medical Society of Nigeria to the unholy practices in the technique, saying that this would portray the country in bad light.

She said, “there is no where in the world IVF is being practiced without regulatory bodies to check the processes and procedures, especially in the face of campaign to reduce maternal morbidity, mortality and infant deaths, which is one of the core areas of focus of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of the 189 countries of the world including Nigeria”.

She condemned the practice of transfer of multiple embryos, numbering upto 10-15 as some doctors do and warned that this could be dangerous to both the women and babies.

According to her, “some of those in the Assisted Pregnancy Technology transfer as much as 10 or even 15 embryos, this is very condemnable. I tell you the result could be very bad, it often leads to continuous bleeding which makes the chances of losing the pregnancy high, several women have died as a result of carrying multiplicaties  of pregnancies while others have suffered severe side effects including permanent disabilities”.

Orazurike, a consultant gynecologist at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UTH), hinted however, that the Nigeria Society of Gynecologists has started deliberations on the matter and would soon provide some regulatory services for the practice pending when government would come up with theirs.

She expressed optimism in the technology and said the treatment is safe and reliable and described the technology as a “window” for couples that are having difficulty achieving conception naturally and encouraged them to take advantage of the treatment.

He said the Welcome Forum was a monthly activity, created by the management of the clinic”, to give opportunities to couples who are having challenges in achieving pregnancy to interact with those that have achieved success through the services provided by the clinic.

Tonye Nria-Dappa