After Kolkata’s SSKM, more Bengal hospitals begin delivering IVF babies
Times of India | 23 November 2024
12 Kolkata: A month and a half after the first IVF delivery at SSKM Hospital, three more women gave birth at the hospital through the procedure at the govt facility. Conducted by the state-run hospital's Centre of Excellence (CEC) and Ghosh Dastidar Centre for Fertility Research (GDIFR), run by fertility expert Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, the IVF procedures were conducted free of charge under an initiative by the state govt to extend the facility to all sections of society.
More than 35 women conceived through the assisted procedure at the SSKM so far.
The first IVF-assisted delivery took place at SSKM on Oct 4. "We had 38 women from across the state who conceived through IVF at our centre. Three of them gave birth at SSKM over the last six weeks. Many of the rest are not in touch with us but more births might have taken place in the district hospitals," said Biswanath Ghosh Dastidar, assistant professor of Gynaecology at IPGMER.
Dastidar is in charge of the CEC at SSKM. Each cycle of IVF costs between Rs 1-3 lakh at private hospitals and clinics. The CEC is a nodal centre and serves as the nerve centre of a hub-and-spoke model that caters to patients at all govt hospitals across the state as part of the Bengal govt's free healthcare vision. It will soon have a state-of-the-art IVF lab. "It will be armed with the best equipment and cater to patients from all over Bengal. It will also be the hub of a training centre for all govt hospitals and health centres across Bengal, where women seeking an IVF can have the initial screening tests and treatment done. The idea is to train doctors and healthcare personnel across the state to begin the process. They will then be referred to SSKM, where the final IVF cycles will be conducted," explained Ghosh Dastidar.
The training process has begun. "We will soon have a team of medics and technicians at every govt facility where the procedure can be initiated," he added.
According to IPGMER sources, the CEC lab will start handling the entire procedure from initial screening tests and sonography to conducting the IVF cycles once it is ready. At present, the initial screening is being done at GDIFR.
"This initiative will save many from the economic burden of IVF," said IPGMER professor of Gynaecology, Diptendra Sarkar.