Around 60 to 80 million couples suffer from infertility every year out of which around 15 to 20 million are in India alone. Thus the demand for IVF experts and centres across the country have gone up by 70 per cent in last 10 years, says Dr Shobha Gupta
Being childless is very traumatic for a couple. But the technique of In vitro fertilisation (IVF) has helped countless couples to overcome infertility from the last two decades and more.
It is estimated that globally between 60 to 80 million couples suffer from infertility every year, of which probably between 15 to 20 million are in India alone says ICMR Bulletin. This indicates that the demand for IVF centres and the experts gone up by 70 per cent in last 10 years to curb this growing problem.
Though initially IVF was developed to treat tubal factor infertility, today this technique is used to treat unexplained female and male infertility as well as immunological problems and several others. Almost every hospital in India has a separate IVF unit and this signifies that choosing the IVF Expert as a career opportunity is a no loss deal.
An IVF expert plays a very pivotal role in the life of infertile couple. One has to develop a passion for making the infertile patients conceive. As it is a very noble profession and this is the best gift in this world. The cost of IVF in India is roughly around Rs 80,000 to Rs 3 lakh depending upon the seriousness of the case.
Skills required
This profession requires a deep understanding of the anatomy, biochemistry and endocrinology of the male and the female. An IVF expert has to be very good at surgical skills as well. One has to be really dedicated in this field since it’s not only physical treatment but a lot of psychological counselling as well.
Job prospects
One can work in any private or Government hospital or can opt for self-employment by starting their own clinic. A day in the clinic of an IVF expert consists of OPD consultations, Psychological counselling, Ultra sounds, Intrauterine insemination(IUI), Operative procedures like oocyte pickup, embryo transfer and surgical sperm retrieval. In addition, laparoscopic and Hysteroscopic fertility enhancing surgeries are performed by an infertility and IVF expert.
It’s a highly gratifying profession for making couples conceive and have their own child and cherish parenthood. This profession also has its own challenges. It requires a very long training period of at least 11 years. It also requires a lot of psychological counselling especially if an IVF cycle fails. It’s a very finely balanced treatment and finally, the highest success rate world over are not more than 50 per cent in spite of all the hard work.
Courses
To become an IVF expert, one has to go through at least 11 years of rigorous training. Aspirants can start by enrolling for a five-year MBBS programme in a medical college followed by three-year post graduate degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. One can also do specialisation in the field of Reproductive Medicine.
In India, the highest degree in this branch is called Fellow of National Board in Reproductive Medicine (FNB) which is for two-year. To get into this course, one has to qualify an All India common entrance exam and again an exit exam at the end of two years of training. There are only 11 seats for this all over India.
After an MD degree in obstetrics and gynaecology, you can do a training programme from:
Oxford University, UK
Jones Institute, USA
Justus liebig University, Germany
Melbourne University and Monash University, Australia
All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
lady Hardinge Medical College
Maulana Azad Medical College
Remuneration
The remuneration varies from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh to start with and might go up to any value with passing years. But once you are trained enough to start your own centre then there is no limit.
(The writer is medical director and IVF expert from Mother’s lap IVF Centre and consultant at Jaipur Golden Hospital)