Bhubaneswar: The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) and SUM Hospital will have a separate department of Reproductive Medicine soon. Announcing this at a function organised to mark World IVF Day on Tuesday, Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean of IMS and SUM Hospital, said the Centre for Human Reproduction (CHR), an infertility and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) facility at the hospital has turned into a beacon of hope for hundreds of couples, both from India and outside.
“That couples, suffering from infertility, from other states and even outside the country are pinning their hopes on CHR is a cause of satisfaction for us,” Prof. (Dr.) Pushparaj Samantasinhar, Medical Superintendent of the hospital said.
A childless couple from Chapai Nawabganj district of Bangladesh, married for 19 years, has been under treatment at the CHR and is hopeful of having a child.
The centre is observing all the rules laid down by the government for IVF treatment, Prof. (Dr.) Samantasinhar added.
World IVF Day is celebrated to commemorate the scientific strides and progress made in the field of infertility and reproductive endocrinology.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 25 per cent of the 60 to 80 million couples suffering from infertility every year worldwide live in India while one in every four couples in developing countries is affected.
CHR, which started functioning in 2012, is the first infertility unit in Odisha to provide IVF treatment in a medical college hospital with the benefits of multidisciplinary care. The centre, which was enrolled under the ICMR in 2013, has been registered under the Odisha State Board for Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART) as a Level 2 ART clinic.
Prof. (Dr.) Pradhan said adding the cost of the treatment had been kept at an affordable level.