Dr Kolade, speaking at the annual symposium of Christian Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, with the theme, “Assisted Conception” said this should be encouraged since the level of fertility declines with age.
The fertility expert at Vine Branch Fertility Centre, Ibadan, who said that 30 percent of causes of infertility are in women, declared that the level of fertility also decline faster in women than men,
According to him, even with unprotected sex, conception rate per month in a couple is about 20 percent.
Dr Kolade, however, said the quality of egg and age will also affect the chances of a woman having a baby through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) aside from other possible complications of the procedure such as ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and miscarriage.
“After age 40, the chance of a woman using her egg is less than 10 percent with IVF,” he declared.
Dr Gbolahan Obajimi, a consultant gynaecologist, however, said the attitude of different religious groups differ on procreation and assisted reproductive technology (ART) for infertility treatment.
He added: “Something is common about all these churches, they all accept IVF with spouses’ gamete and the caveat that embryo must not be wasted.
“Islam encourages ART when it is within the frame of marriage but not after a divorce or death of the husband. Pre-implantation, genetic diagnosis, gene therapy, non-reproductive cloning for the benefit of humanity are ethically acceptable in Islam within the first 14 days of fertilisation.”
Obajimi, who noted that fertility challenges are diverse and separate, stated that there are many ethical concerns on these infertility treatments, thus the need for guidelines on ART services in Nigeria.
He, however, said that babies born through assisted reproductive technology were miracle babies because ART does not guarantee success.
According to him, “its success rate is currently between 20 and 40 percent. If you are lucky, it could be as much as 50 percent with the newer technologies because age is a factor.
“The older the woman, the higher the chances of a failure except a younger person’s egg is used. But whether you are young or old, even success is a miracle because there are more failures.”
Mr Ademola Aladejare, a senior embryologist, Vine branch Fertility Centre said adjunct procedure now allow for saving eggs for future use, genetic screening of gamete for diseases prior to implantation among others.
He said these adjunct procedures also help to boost chances of conception through ART.
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