HÀ NỘI — The Vinmec International Hospital’s Reproductive Technology Centre received over 25,000 infertile couples, of which 1,200 were provided in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) services since the centre opened in November 2014.

More than 300 healthy babies were born using the IVF method at the centre over the past three years. The result has raised the clinic’s success rate to 42.1 per cent, equivalent to leading fertility centres in Việt Nam, as well as in developed countries across the world, such as Australia and the United States, according to the centre director, Prof. Tô Minh Hương.

“We have applied a lot of advanced measures to increase our success rate, such as assisted hatching of embryos, selection of good blastocysts, application of the five-day blastocyst transfer method or genetic diagnosis for screening of abnormal blastocysts among older women,” Hương said.          

“We also successfully supported several infertile women from 40 to 44 years in having babies, thanks to the application of advanced techniques on embryo selection and embryo transfer on day five,” said Hương.

“Instead of transferring the embryo on day 3, as usual, the embryos are raised in an artificial environment until day 5, with an aim to improve nesting possibility, pregnancy rate and minimise the risk of multiple pregnancy,” Hương added.  

Hương said that the centre will focus its activities on developing services on reproductive reservation, such as egg and sperm cryopreservation, in the coming years.

Hoàng Thị Bích Huệ from Vĩnh Phúc Province, one of the first five women who received IVF services at the centre, suffered from polycystic ovary syndrome that causes difficulty in getting pregnant.

Huệ and her husband had visited many hospitals in the country for fertility support during the last 5 years but could not get pregnant. When the Vimec Reproductive Technology Centre opened in 2014, they were among the very first few infertile couples to visit the centre.

Two weeks after the embryo transfer process, Huệ officially got the good news: She was pregnant.

Huệ’s baby, Nguyễn Hoàng An, was born healthy on August 25, 2015.

 “I can never forget my difficult journey. I hope to have one more baby in the coming years,” said Huệ.

Equipped with advanced medical facilities, the centre has helped infertile couples in Việt Nam to have babies, and has provided consultation and examination services on reproductive and andrological health to couples, especially the infertile ones. Advanced genetic and stem-cell techniques were used for couples with sperm and overall dysfunctional diseases.          

A survey of the health sector in 2012 showed that Việt Nam has about one million infertile couples, comprising 7.7 per cent of the total number of couples of reproductive age in the country. An estimated 60 per cent of infertile couples need help to have a baby. — VNS