MedPark IVF Centre — a beacon of hope for late parenthood

A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed a startling statistic — 17.5% of the global adult population, or 1 in 6 individuals, are grappling with fertility challenges. The study highlights the urgency of providing accessible infertility treatments to mitigate their repercussions on reproductive health and global birth rates.

As the fertility issue continues to aggravate, the well-renowned MedPark Hospital, which specialises in treating complex medical conditions, has taken a proactive step by establishing the MedPark IVF Center. The centre aims to offer comprehensive solutions to individuals struggling with infertility.

The services provided range from counselling for couples, screening for fertility issues, and employing advanced reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilisation (IVF), sperm and egg freezing, and embryo cryopreservation.

The centre says it ensures continuous care throughout pregnancy and safe childbirth, promoting robust infant development.

On August 17, the MedPark IVF Centre held a press conference to announce the launch of its services. The event took place at the Sky Lounge on the 22nd floor of MedPark Hospital and was attended by the hospital's management team, led by Dr Pongpat Patanavanich, the managing director of MedPark Hospital. Notable specialists from various medical departments, such as urologists, gynaecologists, and neonatologists, were also present to demonstrate the hospital's commitment to comprehensive care for both mothers and infants.

Personalised treatment

Dr Suphakde Julavijitphong, head of the MedPark IVF Centre, emphasised the centre's commitment to personalised treatment. Experienced fertility specialists will delve into the unique circumstances and contributing factors of each couple, tailoring treatments to address their specific needs, he said.

According to Suphakde, procedures like IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) would be administered, ensuring the best chances of a successful pregnancy. Technologies like iDAScore and Timelapse would aid in embryo selection and monitoring, minimising disruption to embryo growth and promoting successful pregnancies, Suphakde said.

"The MedPark IVF Centre is equipped with cutting-edge technologies and international-standard facilities. Measures such as RFID tags on egg and sperm containers prevent mix-ups and ensure that the highest-quality embryos are implanted," said Suphakde.

He explained that genetic screening, using next-generation sequencing, helps identify hereditary conditions, contributing to successful pregnancies with a success rate of 60–70%.

Supporting mothers

The hospital said that, beyond fertility treatments, the MedPark IVF Centre prioritises ongoing care for mothers during pregnancy. A team of specialised doctors, including obstetricians, neonatologists, and lactation consultants, support mothers through each stage of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.

The hospital boasts state-of-the-art labour and delivery rooms with picturesque garden views, offering an exceptional environment for childbirth.

After the press conference, The Nation interviewed Dr Viwat Chinpilas, one of the specialised infertility doctors at Medpark Hospital.

Viwat said that the initiative to establish an IVF centre was led by MedPark Hospital and groups of fertility doctors from Tree Teaching Hospital, which comprises Chulalongkorn Hospital, Siriraj Hospital, Vajira Hospital, and two private fertility institutes — Jintabutr Infertility Treatment Centre and Bangkok IVF centres.

‘Never too late to be parents’

Viwat said that it was common nowadays for men and women to delay marriage. “Even after being married, they still don't have any immediate plans to start a family. They typically wait a few years. They begin thinking about having children at a time when women are between the ages of 36 and 38,” he said.

Viwat revealed that the oldest woman to complete the reproductive programme successfully was 48 years old, although it is considered a rare case.

Since the degree of difficulty to become pregnant is higher at 40 years, the doctor recommends that couples seek medical attention not later than 36.

"Now that we are in the era of anti-ageing, people may look young even when they turn 40–50 years of age, but it’s different inside their bodies," he said.

"Actually, after the age of 35, a woman's egg production starts to diminish, while for men the sperm quality starts to deteriorate from the age of 55," Viwat said.

"The main reason for fertility problems, especially when a woman is older than 35 years of age, is because of the loss of eggs," he said.

Viwat explains that every woman is born with a fixed number of eggs, which is around 2 million, but by the age of 16 or the teen years, the number of eggs are depleted to only 300,000. By the time a woman is 36 years old, she has only 30,000 eggs.

“However, the egg's quality is deteriorating as well. Because of this, when a woman reaches the age of 36, she will discover that it is harder for her to get pregnant,” he said.

In addition, the likelihood that she may become pregnant and give birth to a defective child due to chromosome abnormalities also increases at an advanced age.

In view of these factors, the IVF centre uses technology for genetic testing of the embryos, he said. Each embryo's 24 chromosomes are examined to determine which embryos were normal and which were abnormal. “Therefore, we shall only return the normal inverse into the uterus. Thus, after the transfer, the excess embryos can be frozen and kept at minus 196 degrees Celsius in liquid nitrogen. Once the biological clock stops, you can save the embryos for the next time you want to have additional kids,” he said.

"They can plan to have more children in the future if they have enough frozen embryos left in the freezing facilities," said the doctor.

The failure of women to conceive or give birth is not solely due to the woman's health condition but also to a variety of other variables, such as gynaecological and hormonal issues, masculine variables, parents’ stress, and unhealthy lifestyles. “Men should not blame it all on women but take on a supportive role,” Viwat said.