AFRH FERTILITY FORUM

AFRH FERTILITY FORUM

usb

Nigeria records first baby by ‘freezed egg’

Nigeria has recorded the birth of its first baby conceived through the oocyte (egg) freezing protocol.
The feat was recorded by The Bridge Clinic, Lagos, on February 16, with the delivery of a male child, named Tiwatope.
The oocyte was preserved through cryopreservation, which is the cooling of cells and tissues to sub-zero temperatures to stop biological activity and preserve the cells for future use.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Lagos hospital delivers first IVF baby

A LAGOS-BASED In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) & Fertility Unit, St. IVES, successfully delivered its first test tube baby at the weekend, 11 months after the Ikeja-based fertility clinic was set up.

The baby boy, Christian, weighing 3.0 kilogrammes and measuring 50 centimetres in length was delivered by 1 p.m. on June 7, 2008, after 37 weeks of pregnancy. The baby was brought forth through a Caesarean section after a comprehensive IVF treatment by a team of five doctors, including an obstetrician and gynaecologist and embryologists.


IVF is a technique in which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the woman's womb, in-vitro. It is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.

The medical team was led by the Head of the IVF Unit, Dr. Tunde Okewale, a consultant gynaecologist and fertility expert. Other experts on the team were Dr. O. Ogundimu; Dr. A. Obi; Dr. S. N. M. Onigbinde and Dr. H. Oguike.

The couple aged 30 (woman) and 40 (man) have been married since 2001. But five years after marriage, they could not conceive and they sought medical intervention. After medical investigation, it was discovered that the woman had a blocked tube and the man a very low sperm count. They were advised to go through IVF.

When The Guardian yesterday visited St. IVES, which was established in July 2007, the mother and baby were well and stable. The mother was still in a deep sleep. The father refused to speak to the press.

However, The Guardian learnt that the mother is a housewife and the father is a top executive in one of the leading financial institutions in the country.

Okewale said: "What could have been recorded as our first IVF baby in April 2008 ended in a premature still birth at 26 weeks in February 2008 because of severe pregnancy hypertension, which complicated the pregnancy. This particular woman was part of the first batch but she was not successful. But on second trial, she conceived and was due for delivery last week of this month. But she came in here yesterday with very high blood pressure and in order not to lose the baby, we opted for an emergency Caesarean section.


"Two other women from the unit are due for delivery in July and August 2008. Eight others are presently at various stages of pregnancy in the unit.

St. IVES, IVF & Fertility Unit is committed to providing state-of-the-art Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) such as IVF, Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI), Sperm & Embryo Freezing at an affordable cost and with high pregnancy rate, in a comfortable and informal atmosphere."

In Nigeria, it is estimated that about 25 per cent of couples in their fertile age group are infertile and studies have shown that the incidence of infertility in the country is on the rise because of urbanisation, pollution, stress, chemical exposure, carrier orientation, late settlement in life, among others.

It has also been shown that while about 40 per cent of infertile couples will get pregnant by themselves, by changes in their lifestyles and by the standard gynaecological treatments, up to 60 per cent will, however, require some form of assisted conception techniques such as IUI, IVF, ICSI among others to achieve pregnancy.

The first authenticated and documented live delivery of a baby by IVF - ET (embryo transfer-test tube baby) in Nigeria was in 1987 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital by Prof. Oladapo Ashiru and Prof. Osato Giwa-Osagie.

However, the first IVF or rather, test tube baby - Louise Brown - was born in the United Kingdom in July 1976.

Source: Guardian newspaper. Article by Chukwuma Muanya

Monday, June 2, 2008

MEDICAL FEAT AT LAGOS HOSPITAL AS WOMAN GIVES BIRTH THROUGH PRE IVF FLUID INSTILLATION SONOHYSTEROGRAPHY


LAGOS-Hope has again been rekindled for childless couples in the country following the birth of a baby girl to a couple in their forties, through a novel assisted reproduction procedure termed Pre IVF fluid instillation sonohysterography (PIFIS) at the Medical Art Center, LOFOM House, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Maryland, Lagos.

The medical feat which is already causing excitement within medical circles in the country, was made possible by a team of experts at the Center led by renowned fertility expert and endrocrinologist, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, who first reported the procedure of PIFIS and UGET at the International Symposium of Morphological Sciences in Budapest and at the First International Con-joint Conference on Fertility, Anatomy and Morphological Sciences in Lagos in August and September 2007 respectively.

Announcing the birth in Lagos, Ashiru, who is also Chief Medical Director of the Medical Art Center, said the latest birth was the second to be recorded through the pioneering assisted reproduction procedure at the health facility. His words: “The couples who are excited about the delivery of their daughter are in their forties. The wife, a forty-two year old lady has been married to her husband for over 12 years, and this is their first baby. The first IVF-ICSI was unsuccessful but following PIFIS in the second attempt she had 12 embryos and three were transferred. The remaining eight embryos were frozen and are stored for future frozen embryo transfer (FET).

“This brings to two deliveries out of the first series of five patients undergoing PIFIS procedure since 2007. This case is particularly interesting since the take home baby rate (delivery of baby following IVF) in patients over 40 years of age is very slim, global estimate is about 9 percent success rate.”

Further, Ashiru remarked: “The PIFIS procedure was performed the month before the IVF cycle, and followed by another procedure called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and subsequent embryo culture and ultra sound guided embryo transfer (UGET). The healthy baby girl was delivered through caesarian section at a private hospital in Lagos on November 8th 2007.



ORIGINAL ABSTRACT

Improving the pregnancy rate in IVF with pre IVF fluid instillation sonohysterography (PIFIS) and ultrasound guided embryo transfer (UGET)O.A Ashiru*, A.A Adewusi, L.J Shittu, M Oladimeji, R Ojugbo -IVF Unit, Medical Art Center, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.

Objective: A practical effort to improve pregnancy rate in in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer by the instillation of a fluid cocktail of saline and antibiotics to artificially distend the uterine cavity in the cycle prior to IVF, and the use of ultrasound guided embryo transfer. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Private fertility clinic and Academic center. Patient(s): 5 patients undergoing IVF and ICSI (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection) treatment with prior failed IVF cycle with hydrosalpinx or sub mucous fibroid and had to go through sonohysterography to exclude uterine abnormalities or evaluation and location of sub mucous fibroid in the cycle prior to the IVF cycle. Intervention(s): A saline fluid containing antibiotics cocktails was instilled in the uterine cavity through a plastic intrauterine insemination catheter attached to a syringe. Transvaginal (3-dimensionnal) ultrasonography was performed concomitantly. After IVF and ICSI embryos were transferred with ultrasound guidance ensuring placement in upper uterine cavity. Main Outcome Measure: Clinical pregnancy. Result(s): One patient with severe hydrosalpinx distending into the uterine cavity got pregnant and delivered a baby boy, after prior failed attempt, another patient with sub mucous fibroid and prior failed IVF attempt is currently pregnant. Remaining three patients had ET done and are clinically pregnant. Conclusion: The use of PIFIS and UGET does appear to improve the pregnancy outcome in IVF. Support: supported by grants from OARS Foundation.*Corresponding author E-mail: denrele@tigger.uic.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Corresponding author
E-mail: halaszg@ana2.sote.hu