New Test Detects Defective Eggs in Pregnant Women
Posted on September 22, 2008 in Current Affairs by Danteshwari
Mothers-to-be can know whether their eggs are defective or not through a test, rather than go in for in-vitro fertilisation ( IVF). So far, women would go through failed IVF attempts, and not realize that they were carrying defective eggs, which would produce children who were abnormal.
This technique would save a lot of money for couples, who spend lakhs on failed IVF. The procedure is rather simple: healthy eggs contain spindles, which contain complete genetic details. Some of the eggs do not contain them. A specific imaging system known as spindle view, which, since 2003, has been in use abroad.
Dr. Shivani Gour, expert in fertility, Phoenix Hospital said that if in case no spindle is found, then the woman will have a miscarriage or she will have an abnormal baby, suffering from defects such as cerebral palsy. The patient is required to undergo atleast one cycle of IVF for harvesting the eggs. One cannot check at once to see if the spindle is there. “ They have to be stimulated first . An average of three cycles yield good IVF results,” says Dr. Gour. The hospital has started this imaging system just this July. It has claimed to have completed two diagnoses successfully.
Why do eggs turn out to be abnormal? Age is one factor. Dr. Gour is of the view that for a woman 37 is a watershed year. Also genetic factors also lead to abnormality. Conditions, according to her, have to be controlled strictly. A body temperature of 37 degrees need to be maintained specifically. Any aberration could result in damaging a good egg or the spindle may not be shown, which could result in wrong results.
Hrishikesh Pai, fertility expert, Lilavati Hosptial, Mumbai said that sperm injection inside the egg should be done carefully, so that the eggs do not get damaged, and cause abnormalities. One has to ensure that the needle does not damage the spindle, which happens to be delicate.
It is non-invasive screening and will add Rs.10,000 to the IVF procedure cost. The full cost is Rs.1.1 lakh. Dr. Gour claims that the technique is accurate and advanced and does not damage the egg.
The Indian Council of Medical Research states that about 1.6-1.9 million couples are infertile in India. Fifty percent of women have eggs that are abnormal or fallopian tubes that are blocked. For such persons, it is better to detect abnormal eggs at the initial stage itself.
The technique will also enhance India’s growing popularity as a place for IVF treatment. Its cost are relatively low and has a topnotch infrastructure. Doctors involved in it are foreign trained and there are less legal hassles involved. It has attracted many couples from abroad, who desperately want to have a baby. In UK as well as US IVF is very expensive amounting to about Rs.7 lakhs per cycle, which includes fertility drugs as well as lab procedures.
Dr. Gour also says that in UK only two embryos can be placed into a woman’s womb after treatment. In India there was no such stipulation.
Source:TOI September 22nd, 2008
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