Mumbai: IVF centre for underprivileged all set to come up at Cama hospital

The centre will cater to 10 couples per month. Representation pic

A proposal submitted by Cama and Albless Hospital to open an in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) centre has been accepted by the state government.

The centre, which is the first such facility to be set up by a government-run hospital in Maharashtra, will cater to the underprivileged free of cost under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. Cama and Albless Hospital also plans to start a fellowship in assisted reproductive technology for students in the near future.

Couples opt for IVF for many reasons such as endometriosis, age-related infertility, genetic diseases and infertility, which has been on the rise among young couples in the past few years. As per doctors, resorting to assisted reproductive technology costs couples lakhs of rupees depending upon the cycle. However, with this centre, people from poor or lower-middle-class families will benefit from assisted reproductive technology.

Dr Tushar Palve, superintendent, Cama and Albless Hospital, said that a tender will be issued by the government for the construction of the centre. "An estimated Rs 4.5 crore will be spent on setting up the centre, which the District Planning Committee approved on Friday," he said.

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He added that the hospital administration had been trying to get the centre approved for the past three years. "Recently, Deepak Kesarkar, the guardian minister of the city, visited the hospital we discussed the matter with him and he told us to send the proposal. The same was done and it was accepted. If everything goes according to plan, the centre will be ready by June 2023," said Dr Palve.

Numerous facilities

According to Dr Palve, the IVF centre will be started in the OPD building of the hospital within an area of 2,000 square feet. A minor operation theatre, ultrasonography facility, lab, small clinic and sperm bank will be available at the centre.

10 couples per month

According to Dr Palve, initially, the centre will cater to 10 couples every month. He said that its benefits will be given only to those who are eligible under the state government's Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. "Currently, the centre doesn't come under the scheme so we are going to send a proposal to the government to include it in the list," said Dr Palve.

450,00,000
Amount in rupees sanctioned for centre

What is IVF?

IVF, according to the Mayo Clinic website, entails a complex series of procedures during which mature eggs are collected from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab. Then the fertilized eggs (embryos) are then transferred to a uterus.