Fertility is God's gift to women. And to men. But the gift is not equitable. A few have more of it, a few have less of it, and a few have none of it.
So God created science. And science created ART - Assisted Reproductive Technology. But ART is an art, not just science. Just as art depends on artist, so does ART depend on the ARTist - the practitioner. Just as the artist becomes more skilled with practice and experience, so does the ARTist. So the right question to ask is not what the success rate of ART is; the right question is what the success rate of the ARTist is.
IUI - Intra Uterine Insemination - was the first ART. Its first reported use in humans was in 1943. It is still in use. For a woman of 35, IUI success rate after three cycles is about 55%; for ART, it is 75-94%. For IUI, the rate dips sharply with woman's age: 3-14% for woman of 45; for ART the dip is hardly any. Has the time therefore come to discard IUI?
No. IUI Is simple, inexpensive, least invasive, easy to learn and perform and thus poses little or no risk to patient. In certain conditions, it has very good chance of success. ART is difficult, expensive, more invasive, more difficult to learn and preform and thus poses a little more risk to patient than does IUI. IUI therefore must be retained. It offers the patient a choice. And serves patients who cannot afford ART or who reject ART for social or religious reasons.
PS:
I Chaired a session in the International Conference on ART at Goa, 29 April - 01 May, 2016.
Dr Yacoub Khalaf, Consultant Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital and Kings College, London, was the keynote speaker.
Her Excellency Dr Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa,
inaugurating The International Conference on ART, Goa, 29 April - 01 May 2016.
Dr Sinha is a littérateur. She has authored more than 40 books.
Dr Sinha is a littérateur. She has authored more than 40 books.
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