…As LifeShore Clinics marks decade of completing families
By Sola Ogundipe
Nigerian couples challenged by infertility have been tasked to seek solutions from reputable clinics and treatment centres even as they are admonished to consult certified fertility experts who would enable them to take advantage of cutting edge solutions.
Making the call in Lagos, an experienced Consultant Obstetrician & Gynecologist, Dr Taiwo Orebamjo, acknowledged a growing trend of local and international patients seeking fertility treatment in Nigeria due to the relative affordability and rate of successful outcomes.
Orebamjo, who is the Medical Director/CEO, Lifeshore Clinics, Lagos, however noted that as a result of the challenges posed by the Nigerian economy, particularly the fluctuating Naira, the cost of imported equipment and drugs had spiked beyond what many average Nigerians could comfortably afford.
Speaking during the 10th anniversary of LifeShore Clinics, he explained that the facility is stepping up to provide advanced fertility treatments for couples who have exhausted conventional medical options even as he highlighted the range of services available to address complex infertility cases.
Explaining that while tubal blockage has a history as a leading cause of infertility in Nigeria, he said that a marked rise in male factor infertility, characterized by declining sperm counts, has been observed.
“When people come for fertility treatment, for Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART), most of the time they’ve been to other hospitals where they have been treated for infertility up to a point where the hospital can’t really do anymore.
“Usually one of the indications for going for assisted reproductive treatment is that the Fallopian tubes of the woman are blocked and there’s not much you can do other than to go for IVF, an assisted reproductive treatment. Another reason is if the sperm count is very, very low, in which case, or even absent, in which case you can send the couple for additional reproductive treatment.
“A procedure called Testicular Sperm Aspiration (TESA) can be carried out in which the sperms are aspirated from the testes and one of them is used for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and then we get a fertilized egg in a situation that normally wouldn’t have happened if it was just by intercourse. So that’s one area where the assisted reproductive technique is really very useful.”
For older men and women, Orebamjo explained that donor sperms and eggs are available.
“The older women who are over 38 to 40 are not usually advised to use their own eggs, but they can if they insist. Normal fertility rate in women who are under the age of 35 is about 30 to 40 percent, but once you hit the age of 40, it drops down to about 5 percent or less. So because of that, we offer donor eggs.
“Other things offered are surrogacy in which another person another woman carries the fetus on behalf of the couple the commissioning couple and the fetus can carry the genes of the man and the woman if we use the eggs of the woman and the sperm of the man so that the genetic constitution of the baby carried by the surrogate belongs to the commissioning couples.
“The type of support for couples who are expecting to have their own babies, is mostly counselling and letting them know that they are not alone in the journey, that we will walk the journey with them.
“Treatment can be very expensive, but we try as much as possible to also financially help those who we feel need the help. This help is critical and the counseling is essential. These are couples who have been running from pillar to post looking for babies and some of them are falling into the hands of charlatans along the way.
“So it’s important to be able to talk to them and advise them and let them also know that even though this journey of assistance that conception is not 100 percent guaranteed, but sometimes it’s the only option that’s available to them.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary milestone, the CEO remarked, “It’s been very rewarding in the sense that we have been able to help couples achieve their dreams of having children, couples who otherwise have hopelessly lost hope, have been trying for so many years, have become desperate, gone from pillar to post, going everywhere. And eventually, they come here and they are able to achieve their heart’s desires.
Over the past 10 years, LifeShore Clinics has seen numerous successful pregnancies, including twins, triplets, quadruplets, and even sextuplets. It’s a thing of joy just to see, make, to be part of what makes this happen,” he asserted.
Recognizing the emotional toll of infertility, Orebamjo explained that advanced genetic services, including embryo biopsies for fetal sex selection and screening for chromosomal and metabolic disorders are also available. This allows couples to make informed decisions about their pregnancies.
“We can diagnose certain metabolic diseases ahead of time, helping couples understand the health of their future child. LifeShore Clinics is positioning itself as a beacon of hope for couples navigating the complex world of infertility, offering a range of advanced treatments and unwavering support.”
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