Abu Dhabi:
A drop in the high infertility rates in the Middle East is inevitable with the opening of a state-of-the-art in vitro fertilisation (IVF) laboratory or centre in Abu Dhabi in the next few weeks.
Dubai Health Authority records showed there are approximately 100,000 people in the UAE affected by infertility.
The full operations of the laboratory at the private tertiary Burjeel Hospital may also boost the UAE’s medical tourism.
“This is one of the advanced centres in the world and the best in Asia,” Dr Human Fatemi told The Gulf Today.
He added that the new IVF centre would primarily address the infertility issues in the UAE.
The laboratory, which will also be a research centre, is a collaboration between the hospital and the University Hospital Brussels-Centre for Reproductive Medicine (UHB-CRM) that has been responsible for over 15,000 IVF births.
Fatemi, who heads the new centre, is an expert in IVF with 13 years of experience and was the UHB medical director until his transfer to Abu Dhabi.
In a telephone interview on Monday, he underscored the importance of the laboratory.
Fatemi said: “There is an urgent need for quality scientific treatment and up-to-date facilities to address infertility issues not only in the UAE but also in the region.”
Fatemi was among the speakers at the three-day “Emirates Obstetrician-Gynaecologist Forum” in Dubai in October 2011 and on the sidelines of the forum he informed this reporter about the establishment of the newest technology and research centre on IVF in Abu Dhabi.
During the three-day event, Fatemi, who had done consultancy work with the Royale Hayat Hospital in Kuwait, said: “Infertility rates are growing in the region because these countries have similar lifestyle. There are high rates of obesity as well as smoking among them and relatives inter-marry.”
He explained the IVF procedures, when asked how advanced and unique the IVF laboratory is.
Fatemi said the IVF involves two areas.
These are the clinical part concerning the patients and the laboratory part, which is about the provision of a very good environment for the eggs (ova) and the sperm to make a very healthy embryo.
He stressed the laboratory must have the appropriate air pressure, temperature and incubator, among other factors.
Fatemi mentioned the intra-cytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) as another method to solve infertility issues.
He said that the quality of the ovum depends on the woman’s age, claiming that
IVF and ICSI give 3.5 per cent chances of pregnancy vis-à-vis the “natural means” of 1.5 to 2.5 per cent.
