|
 |
|
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE |
|
|
|
|
| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 10
| Issue : 2 | Page : 69-70 |
| |
Expanding IVF treatment in India .............. need of the day!!
Duru Shah
President, Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction
| Date of Web Publication | 10-Aug-2017 |
Correspondence Address:
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jhrs.JHRS_99_17
How to cite this article:
Shah D. Expanding IVF treatment in India .............. need of the day!!. J Hum Reprod Sci 2017;10:69-70 |
To have a baby is the desire of almost all couples in India, and being labeled as infertile causes a huge psychological and emotional stress to not only the concerned couple, but to the entire family. Scientific advances in the field of human reproduction have made it possible to fulfill the dreams of a large percentage of this population, yet it is a fact that in India, due to the lack of access to such treatment especially in the rural sector, many do not enjoy the benefit of such excellent therapies. As ISAR is the leading professional organization related to fertility care and assisted reproduction, it is imperative for us as one of the stakeholders of Indian healthcare, that we put our best foot forward to address this issue.
With a high prevalence of infertility effecting nearly 10–15 % of married couples in India, we have nearly 27.5 million couples who seek treatment for their problem.[1] There is a shift in the demographic trend of older women seeking fertility care mainly due to increasing age at marriage, higher contraceptive use, increasing number of working women, rising level of tobacco and alcohol consumption, increased prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), obesity, and sexually transmitted infections amongst younger women. It is also well known that Indian ethnicity brings along with it a poorer ovarian reserve as compared to Caucasian women, leading to poorer outcomes of infertility treatment.[2]
We have a limited number of skilled IVF specialists and embryologists in India, with only 3–4% of the Gynecologists providing ART services.[3] Hence there is an urgent need to fill this gap and develop skills and expertise in the younger generation so that we can reach out to more couples who need this care. We have initiated Certified Training Fellowships for Embryologists & Gynecologists, but we need to carry out more training programs to upgrade the skills of our gynecologists. We need to develop and adopt innovative domestic “Made in India” treatments which could reduce the cost of treatment. In order to achieve affordability, we need to pursue with advocacy with other stakeholders, we need to develop public- private partnerships and campaign for fertility to be included in insurance schemes.
We need to make couples aware of infertility, mainly its prevention and also its treatment. In order to build the confidence of our patients, we need to show our empathy and our concern, we need to follow ethical practices and offer good results. Over and above all this, we require a national level of monitoring of ART procedures through a Regulatory Body.
ISAR has to develop its brand just as ASRM and ESHRE have. As a first step, we have developed a brand new logo and flag for ISAR. Our Journal JHRS, which is eight and half years old, today has an attractive new look and it can be labeled as our “Blue Journal”. The ISAR Express is back in its original format, when I had initially created it. We are not only creating a cosmetic change but have initiated many educational courses for our young gynecologists to build their skills, “Travelling Seminars” and “Webinars” to update our clinicians and a National Quiz to select the “Best three of our young Indians”
We need to empathize with our patients and offer them all the care and information they need. As an Organization, we need to march ahead and do whatever it takes to offer the best of services ethically and bring smiles to the faces of the millions of Indian women who need our support.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Primary interviewers with KOLs and leading pharmaceutical companies, consensus of India 2001 & 2011, EY analysis.  |
| 2. | Iglesias C et al. Ethnicity as a determinant of ovarian reserve: Differences in ovarian aging between Spanish and Indian women. Fertil Steril (2014). |
| 3. | Primary Interviews, EY Analysis. |
|
