United Kingdom-based Bourn Hall Clinic, founded by Roberts Edwards, who has been awarded the Nobel prize in Medicine for 2010, will start in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinics in India.
The first clinic will become functional in Kochi by the middle of next year, followed shortly by another in the national capital, Mike Mcnamee, Chief Executive of Bourn Hall Clinic told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
Bourn Hall Clinic was founded by the pioneers of IVF technology, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown in Britain became the first baby born through the IVF procedure.
“There is a huge unmet demand for IVF clinics in India with only 350 such clinics in the country now. As many as 40,000 test-tube babies are born annually in India. As against this, 40,000 test-tube babies are also born in the U.K., which has a much lesser population,” Mr. Macnamee said.
Infertility is a universal issue with one in every six couples having a problem in conceiving. India is no exception to this. The Bourn Hall intends to set up a chain of 18 IVF centres across the country, including in Chennai and Ludhiana.
“We chose Kochi for its high literacy rate, late marriage and late children because awareness among couples about the technology is our focus. Ludhiana would be a totally different experience for us as it has a different society,” he explained.
Unable to find a local collaborator here, the Bourn Hall eventually decided to go it alone. “We did try with several hospitals and possible partners but there was no meeting of minds. The space and facilities offered were not acceptable to us, Mr. Macnamee said, adding that they were not willing to compromise on quality.
On the question of ethics of the IVF technology, which is still being debated the world over, Mr. Macnamee said Bourn Hall followed the basic principles of not artificially extending menopause, as the welfare of mother and child was the priority. “Similarly, twins also pose a severe risk for both mother and child and we agree to it only in exceptional cases.” Finally, if the treatment fails or the doctors feel there is little possibility of success, then they suggest alternatives such as adoption or surrogacy if the couple insists on a genetic offspring.
Welcoming India's efforts in trying to come up with the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2010 that would regulate issues involved with IVF technology and surrogacy, Mr. Macnamee said it was a good first step in this direction and hoped the proposed law would address issues of inheritance, adoption and monitoring of the activities.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has a set of guidelines that regulate IVF technology at present. However, when the ART (Regulation) Bill becomes a law it will regulate all issues on assisted reproductive technology, along with the Clinical Establishments Act which makes it mandatory for all establishments providing health services to register and comply with the norms. Sex selection will also be taken care of under the ART (Regulation) Act.
