PANAJI
In just a year since it launched its free In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment centre, the State's premier tertiary healthcare institution Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) is counting successes -- at least 10 of the nearly two dozen who opted to take the treatment reporting positive for pregnancy.
Counted among the first public health facilities in the country to offer IVF treatment for free, the GMC had officially launched the centre on September 1 last year with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane doing the honours.
Rane, earlier this week had announced via his X (formerly Twitter) handle that of the 25 IVF treatment beneficiaries registered, 10 have responded successfully with one of them said to be expecting twins.
Rane said the free treatment at the GMC has transformed the lives of these couples who struggled for years to go the family way. "The joy and gratitude expressed by these families was truly heartwarming. We wished them great happiness as they happily got ready to embrace parenthood,” Rane wrote on his X handle.
Besides IVF, the facility at GMC is also equipped with facilities for assisted reproductive technology (ART) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) services.
Noted Goan gynaecologist Dr Kedar Padte, himself an Alumni of GMC and an IVF exponent, is the consultant roped into advice on the overall management of the centre.
Some estimates say nearly 20 per cent of couples are plagued by infertility issues and most travel outside the State to avail of advanced and expensive treatment sometimes costing between Rs 5-9 lakhs.
At the GMCH's centre, the treatment is free although the cost to the government averages in the Rs 5-7 lakh range. Most of the equipment at the centre was procured through a Rs 2-crore CSR fund the government had raised.
