Tăng Đức Cương (left) consults a patient at IVF Hoè Nhai. — Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The happiness of parenthood might sound simple to most people, yet for approximately one million infertile couples in Việt Nam, it would be an impossible dream if there were not doctors like Tăng Đức Cương.

Praised for having “golden hands”, the 38-year-old doctor of Hà Nội-based Hoè Nhai Centre for Assisted Reproduction (IVF Hoè Nhai) has helped hundreds of people struggling to have their own babies.

His name has been googled for years and become well-known among infertile couples in Hà Nội. Youth and early success, therefore, have become a motivation for Cương to research new methods, combining both Western and oriental medicine in treating infertility.

“In many other hospitals, doctors of these two approaches usually do not meet on common ground. Here at IVF Hoè Nhai, we consult each other to offer the best possible treatment direction for each patient,” Cương told Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper.

Despite his tight schedule, the doctor never misses a call or message, as he said on the other end of the phone line, one might be drawing on all their strength to reach out for help.

“Although infertility treatment is now approachable, to win over complexity is still a real challenge to many people,” said Cương. “If I miss a call or forget to answer a text, they might never start their treatments.”

The endeavours of Cương and his partners help IVF Hoè Nhai achieve a success rate of up to 80 per cent, compared to 50 and 60 per cent at other assisted reproduction centres in the country.

Its reputation has gone beyond Việt Nam, Cương said, with patients from several other countries including India, Poland and China coming to the centre in the hope of becoming parents for the first time.

IVF Hoè Nhai’s Facebook fanpage has received a lot of thank-you notes left by couples who underwent treatments and had successful deliveries.

At the age of 47, Văn Thuỳ Dương, vice principal of private school Lương Thế Vinh in Hà Nội, had gone to famous hospitals in Việt Nam and Thailand in an attempt to have another baby.

She had failed until she met doctor Cương.

“From my own experiences, I think infertile Vietnamese couples do not need to go abroad to make their dreams come true,” said Dương.

“Here at IVF Hoè Nhai, besides modern medical facilities and affordable prices, doctors’ thoroughness makes it feel like home,” she added.

Working with older patients, Cường stressed the significant role of innovations in embryo screening to ensure healthy babies.

“This helps patients avoid multiple pregnancies, which is usually associated with several complications,” he said.

Talking about his aspirations in 2020, Cương said he and his partners at IVF Hoè Nhai were striving to have the centre certified by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee while pursuing the path of harmonising eastern and western medicine in infertility treatment.

About 7.7 per cent of Việt Nam’s population, equivalent to a million people, suffers infertility, according to a report by World Health Organisation. Nearly 50 per cent of them are under 30 years old.

According to HCM City Association of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, 20 years after the first time In-Vitro-Fertilisation (IVF) was introduced in Việt Nam, there are 24 centres offering the intervention nationwide. The average success rate is from 40 to 60 per cent.

Thailand and Singapore are among popular destinations for infertile Vietnamese couples to undergo IVF. — VNS