Family Health Hospital performs first in-vitro fertilisation

Page 55: Daily Graphic, May 21, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Family Health Hospital in Accra has successfully performed its first in-vitro-fertilisation (IVF) delivery with a woman giving birth to twins, a male and a female.
In-vitro fertilisation is the process of fertilisation by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish. When the IVF procedure is successful, the process is combined with a procedure known as embryo transfer, which is used to physically place the embryo in the uterus.
An excited Professor Yaw Kwawukume, Director of the Hospital, told the Daily Graphic last Tuesday that it was good to have achieved success in the hospital’s first case of test-tube baby delivery.
He expressed his appreciation to the dedicated team that included Dr Claribel Aduhene and embryologist Yaw Salia for their commitment to achieving the first for the hospital.
He put the current pregnancy rate of in-vitro fertilisation at 40 per cent at the hospital, which he said was amazing considering the fact that the hospital started the procedure only last year.
Prof. Kwawukume, however, explained that the pregnancy rate was different from delivery rate, since some pregnancies got aborted and others developed complications and had to be terminated.
He explained that the process required a lot of dedication, since it was time-bound.
He explained that the couple requested for privacy and non-exposure hence the hospital’s inability to show the mother and twins to the public.
Prof. Kwawukume said it gave the hospital staff, especially the IVF team, the courage to work hard to give hope and joy to many childless couples.
“We have the best of equipment to teach and help many more people to have children,” he said.
As to whether the hospital felt threatened by the existence of other fertility centres in the country, Prof. Kwawukume answered in the negative.
According to him, the more centres the country has, the lower the cost of providing those services would be.
“In any case, we have been collaborating with other centres in the country so I do not think we are threatened in any way,” he added.