NIGERIA RECORDS FIRST BABY FROM FROZEN EGG

Nigeria has recorded the first successful birth of a baby conceived from frozen egg of a 44 year-old woman, who had suffered infertility for eight years, making it the first in the country and West Africa. The birth and conception of the baby, named Tiwatope, which is the 5001st in the world, was carried out by Nigerian fertility specialists at The Bridge Clinic, a Lagos-based fertility treatment centre, where the mother had her eggs frozen using the vitrification (flash-freezing) process. The birth of the baby on February 16, 2016, effectively puts Nigeria on the global map as regards the practice of oocyte (egg) freezing or cryopreservation, a new offering in the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) process. Prior to the birth of Tiwatope, the new practice seemed to be the exclusive preserve of the developed world of Europe and North America.



1st Test Tube Baby in Black Africa is now 34 years old
On March 17, 1989 history was made at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital when the first test tube Baby in Black Africa (comprising of West, East and Central Africa), conceived through the delicate In-Vitro Fertilisation and Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET) method was born. The bouncing baby boy named, Olushina, Eghosa, Oluwaremilekun, is nature’s gift to the family of Mr & Mrs Pius Oni and the crowning glory of five years of painstaking research endeavours of Professors Osato Giwa-Osagie, an Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Oladapo Ashiru, an Endocrinologist, both of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH Idiaraba, Surulere, Lagos.The lad then, thus, became the First TestTube Baby in East, West and Central Africa. Read more at: www.ivfhistorynigeria.blogspot.com









ENDO SCRATCH & IMPLANTATION

Dr. Abayomi Ajayi
Endometrial scratching is an out-patient procedure which is relatively painless (similar to a cervical smear test) and is defined as medically administered damage to the inner lining of the womb with the sole aim of improving implantation. It was first demonstrated as a beneficial procedure in reproductive medicine in 2003. A Cochrane Library systematic review published in 2012 concluded that the technique double the implantation rate.
 
Implantation remains the biggest hurdle in securing a pregnancy in assisted conception. When the microscopic embryo quality appears good and the development of the endometrium is satisfactory on ultrasound, it is not possible to easily explain why implantation does not occur. Embryo  implantation  into  the  womb  may  fail  due  to  poor  embryo  quality  or  abnormal  embryo genetics.  It can also often fail due to poor ‘endometrial receptivity’.  This is where the lining of the womb is not favourable for the embryo to implant.

 
Quite simply, to get pregnant you need to have a healthy genetically fit embryo and a good endometrial environment for it to implant into. So, when it is reasonably assumed that the reason for a (or recurrent)failed IVF cycle(s) is an implantation failure especially when the embryo is microscopically of good quality, then endometrial scratching  might be employed in order to aid implantation and then IVF treatment success. This has been supported by recent studies.
  
How does endometrial scratching aid implantation?
 
The process of endometrial scratching as it relates to embryo implantation is not entirely understood and some questions still remain unanswered. Scientists involved in studies believe that there may be two reasons for the increased implantation rates:

•Increase of endometrial white blood cells.  It appears that endometrial injury increases the production of white blood cells (leukocytes such as macrophages) which secrete so called growth factors and cytokines which in turn control embryo implantation.

•Gene switching within the endometrium. Scientists speculate that sometimes embryos fail to implant due to genetic switching related to endometrial receptivity. That is, genes responsible for implantation of embryos are not switched on during the time when embryos are supposed to implant. Endometrial scratching may increase expression of genes (switching of genes) thought to be responsible for preparation of endometrium for implantation.

Indications

•Recurrent implantation failures

•Atrophic endometrium

How is the procedure carried out?

The procedure which usually takes about 15 minutes or less is carried out in the luteal phase of the cycle (i.e. after ovulation) in the cycle preceding IVF treatment. Normally this is done between days 19 and 23, day- 21 of the cycle on the average and that is what we do at Nordica Fertility centre. It  can  also  be  performed  under  anesthesia  during  a  hysteroscopy  evaluation  of  the  uterus.

An informed consent is taken and the client is administered oral analgesics about one or two hours prior to the procedure. A speculum will be passed to find the cervix which is then swabbed with a saline solution to clean it. A small disposable endometrial biopsy catheter (Pipelle) is then passed through the cervix into the uterine cavity. The catheter is then agitated in the uterine cavity and suction applied to lightly cause minimal injury to the endometrial lining. Antibiotics may be required after the procedure. It may be followed by some mild uterine cramping and/or slight bleeding per vaginum.

At Nordica, we have employed the use of endometrial scratching successfully for a couple of our clients with previous failed IVF cycle(s) despite good quality embryos in the past few years. Although the benefits of endometrial biopsy scratching are undeniable, the exact timing and the number of biopsies are still being debated by fertility specialists. Fertility doctors agree that the scratch biopsy needs to be done once or twice before embryo transfer.

The additional benefit this procedure offers is that it allows us to map the cervical canal, and since it’s very similar to a dummy embryo transfer, it makes the actual Embryo Transfer much easier.

 

 

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