New Delhi| HLive
A city hospital has emerged as the first medical institution in the country to successfully perform In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) from parents with translocation defects, a genetic defect in the structural arrangements of chromosomes which interfares in the production of normal eggs and sperms leading to repeated abortions.
According to the hospital — Sir Ganga Ram Hopsital (SGRH), under the procedure named Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), a couple with translocation defects are usually taken for the IVF and then embryos are generated by fertilizing the women’s egg with the husbands sperms.
“Atleast three embroyo’s are created and then a biopsy is performed on each of them and then one single cell is taken from all of them. Each cell is subjected to genetic analysis to detect the translocation defect,” said Gaurav Majumdar, Chief Embryologist at SGRH, which completed 25 years in the IVF on Saturday.
Elaborating further, he said that after the test, whichever embryo is found normal is transferred into the patients womb resulting in a normal pregnancy.
“The whole thing is about predetermining which embryo has to be implanted after secreening for the defect. Usually, the screening happens after a woman is pregnant. A couple will conceive and then they will come in the third or fourth month and get an ultrasound done and then find that this is defective and get an abortion done which is painfull for the mother,” said Abha Majumdar, head of the IVF facility at SGRH.
SGRH has also performed PGD cycles for couples with single gene defects such a beta thalassemia, citrullinemia, spinal muscular atrophy and muscular dystrophy.
“PGD is a ray of hope for couples with single gene defcets who otherwise are left with no option but to repeatedly abort an affected fetus. PGD helps couples who are either carriers of genetic mutations to conceive babies free from an inherited disease,” said D S Rana, Chairman (Board of Management) at SGRH.
He said: “What sets us apart from all other IVF centres is that our centre is able to help a wide range of couples achieve their dreams because of the recent development of many cutting edge treatment options.”
SGRH on the occasion announced that it has also become the first hospital in Northern India to have the egg freezing facility which allows women to defer child bearing.
“There are women who are not ready to have a baby. They can come to IVF centre and ask for their eggs to be frozen. So we stimulate them in a similar manner that a IVF couple will be stimulated with drugs to make multiple eggs and they will be retrieved through a small invasive procedure and the eggs are frozen.
“She can come back later to have a child. The idea is that even though she has progressed in her age and her feritlity has gone down, but her eggs have been frozen at the time when she was fertile and her eggs were effective,” said Gaurav Majumdar.
