The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH, has commenced In-Vitro Fertilization, IVF, services, marking a major milestone in the hospital’s efforts to expand advanced fertility care and restore hope to couples experiencing infertility.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the milestone was achieved by a team from the hospital’s assisted reproductive health technology unit and other specialists, with Dr Ibrahim Rais, Chief Consultant Gynaecologist and IVF Specialist at AKTH, disclosing the development in a video shared on the hospital’s official Facebook page.
Rais said the medical team had successfully collected eggs from two women, while semen samples were also obtained from their husbands as part of the next stage of the IVF procedure. “Today marks a great milestone in the history of AKTH and the IVF service provision in the institution,” he said.
According to him, the achievement followed sustained efforts by the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Abdulrahman Sheshe, and his team to establish IVF services at the institution.
Rais explained that the eggs collected would be fertilized with sperm from the patients’ husbands, with the medical team hoping to achieve successful fertilization and embryo development.
He said the hospital planned to continue the procedure with three additional patients before completing the initial phase of the programme.
The IVF specialist said the commencement of the service would make advanced fertility treatment more accessible to the large number of people requiring such services in the region.
He described the development as an important step towards restoring hope to couples who have been struggling with infertility and seeking opportunities to have children.
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“It is also important to note that starting IVF services in AKTH has been a very important development because the centre will form one of the points for service provision to the teeming population needing IVF services,” he said.
Rais said the IVF centre would also serve as a centre of excellence for training in obstetrics and gynaecology as well as reproductive medicine.
He disclosed that the team had extracted more than a dozen eggs during the initial procedures, while embryologists were working to ensure fertilization with the sperm samples collected from the patients. “We will go on to get more eggs that will generate more embryos and translate to potential more Nigerians,” he said.
The specialist added that the continued provision of IVF services at the hospital would strengthen reproductive healthcare capacity and provide additional opportunities for couples requiring assisted reproductive technology.
In a statement on its official social media handle, the hospital said the milestone was achieved through the collaborative efforts of AKTH staff, specialist reproductive health experts from Jos and Abuja, and two embryologists.
The hospital described the development as a significant step towards expanding advanced fertility services and bringing reproductive healthcare closer to residents in Kano and surrounding communities.
AKTH congratulated the entire team involved in achieving what it described as a new feat in the institution’s history.
The commencement of IVF services is expected to further strengthen AKTH’s role in providing specialized reproductive healthcare while improving access to assisted fertility treatment for couples in the region.
NAN
