7 women pregnant after free IVF treatment at GMC

Panaji: Seven women who received free IVF treatment at GMC’s Centre for Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART) are currently pregnant.

The centre operates under an MoU signed between the public health dept, GMC, and Dr Kedar's Maternity, Infertility, and Surgical Hospital (Subunit: Goa IVF Centre) in Panaji. Nine women who underwent the IVF treatment at the GMC’s super specialty block have successfully delivered to date.

The centre has 316 persons registered for ART and has performed 104 IVF procedures on 69 patients to date. The centre has also performed 403 IUI procedures on 172 patients.

The cost per IVF case is around Rs 1.37 lakh, health minister Vishwajit Rane said in a written reply in the assembly. This includes Rs 1 lakh for injections for ovarian hyperstimulation, Rs 8,000 for medicines after OPU and embryo transfer, Rs 7,000 for IVF media and Rs 12,000 for IVF consumables.

As per the MoU between the GMC’s public health department and Dr Kedar’s Maternity, Infertility, and Surgical Hospital, Panaji, Goa, Dr Kedarnath Padte and his team of anaesthetists, embryologists and support staff provide their services at the Centre for ART, SSB, GMC.

In May, the centre reported the birth of triplets to a mother, the first of its kind at the facility. The mother delivered two baby girls weighing 1.5kg and 1.7kg and a boy weighing 2.3kg. The GMC said the woman underwent a successful Caesarean section despite complex medical challenges.

Rane said this is the first such centre in the country offering free IVF treatment to couples who long to start their own families. The free IVF treatment facility was inaugurated in Aug 2023, along with the ART and IUI, which are central to the treatment.