AKTH begins IVF services, bringing new hope to couples battling infertility

The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) has taken a major step in advancing fertility care with the commencement of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) services at the institution.

The development marks a significant milestone for the hospital and is expected to make assisted reproductive services more accessible to couples struggling with infertility in Kano and surrounding communities.

Dr Ibrahim Rais, Chief Consultant Gynaecologist and IVF Specialist at AKTH, announced the development in a video shared on the hospital’s official Facebook page.

According to him, the hospital’s reproductive health team has successfully carried out its first egg collection from two women, while semen samples were obtained from their husbands as part of the next stage of the IVF process.

“Today marks a great milestone in the history of AKTH and the IVF service provision in the institution,” Rais said.

He credited the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Abdulrahman Sheshe, and his team for their efforts in making the development possible.

Rais explained that the collected eggs would be fertilised with the husbands’ sperm, with embryologists currently working to facilitate the fertilisation process and development of embryos.

He added that the hospital had already extracted more than a dozen eggs and planned to continue the procedure with additional patients in the coming days.

“We are going to continue the service provision with three more patients, and then we cap it up on Sunday with the last patient,” he said.

Beyond providing treatment to couples seeking to have children, Rais said the introduction of IVF would position AKTH as an important centre for advanced reproductive medicine, training and specialist services.

He noted that the facility would help bring IVF services closer to the growing number of Nigerians seeking assisted reproductive treatment while also serving as a centre of excellence for training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine.

“We have extracted more than a dozen eggs for now. Embryologists are working assiduously to ensure that there is fertilisation by sperm of the patients that had the procedure.

“We will go on to get more eggs that will generate more embryos and translate to potentially more Nigerians,” he added.

In a separate statement on its official social media handle, AKTH said the achievement was made possible through the collaborative efforts of its staff, specialist reproductive health experts from Jos and Abuja, as well as two embryologists.

The hospital described the commencement of IVF services as a significant development in its efforts to expand advanced fertility care and bring renewed hope to couples facing infertility.

The management subsequently congratulated the entire AKTH team and all specialists involved in achieving the milestone. (NAN)