Source: The Namibian
WITH the launch of the Fertility Clinic in Windhoek last month, In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is at long last becoming a reality in Namibia.
This is according to Matti Kimberg, a gynaecologist who has been in the trade for the past 35 years, and is one of the directors of the clinic.
With its state of the art machinery in reproductive health, Kimberg said the clinic will make it possible for couples faced with infertility to conceive, through a process called IVF, by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body.
Namibians wanting IVF in the past have had to travel to neighbouring South Africa to get it done, a process which Kimberg describes as quite costly.
"Infertility is a big problem in Namibia in the sense that we have high incidences of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Another factor is the blockage of the fallopian tubes in women, meaning a thick lining around the ovaries preventing sperm from entering the eggs, which is as a result of infection of fibroids," he said.
He revealed that in Namibia alone, 10 per cent of couples are faced with an infertility problem and that although infertility affects both men and women, it is more common in women. "With the equipment in the clinic, it will be possible for women with blocked fallopian tubes and men with low sperm count to conceive through IVF," he said. He adds that the whole process will be started with tests on couples by doing a semen analysis on the men and tests on the women to determine their ovulation.
"Once all tests are done, we will give women medication to stimulate egg production and we will then harvest the eggs, fertilise them with the men's sperm in the laboratory and then insert them back. Similarly, in the men, we will harvest the semen. Even if a man has a very low sperm count, there is a chance," he said.
Kimberg notes that the success rate of IVF is normally between 50 to 60 per cent. "This is the first time we will be performing IVF in Namibia and the reason for bringing it here is to try and bring down cost for couples who, in the absence of IVF in Namibia are forced to travel to neighbouring South Africa to get it done. We want to bring the cost within the means of the average patient," he said.
He adds that in cases of women who produce no eggs, arrangements can be made to purchase eggs from an ovum bank in South Africa through a process called ovum donation. The same goes for men who do not produce sperm, who can get sperm donations from a sperm bank in that country. "This is going to be revolutionary. Normally when a couple has to get IVF in South Africa, the cost is between N$70 000 and 80 000. By bringing it here, it will cost couples more or less N$35 000 to 40 000. And that cost is because the drugs used to stimulate ovaries are extremely expensive. It is very difficult to cut down on that cost," said Kimberg.
Other well-known factors that lead to infertility include the high consumption of alcohol, smoking and stress. "Various medical diseases such as hypertension and overweight also lead to infertility," said Kimberg.
Kimberg adds that there's a worldwide decline in male fertility as a result of air pollution which leads to low sperm count in men. The clinic is expected to start operating in the coming two weeks. The running of the clinic will be done in collaboration with the Cape Fertility Clinic in South Africa and training of Namibian staff will be one of the objectives.