Expert worries over proliferation of IVF clinics

The doctor also stressed the need for the federal government to spring into action against the trend which he described as dangerous to patients.Ajayi spoke in Lagos at the official opening of the Bridge Clinics, GRA, Ikeja branch which is the third of the IVF specialist hospitals in the country.According to him, there is a […]

The doctor also stressed the need for the federal government to spring into action against the trend which he described as dangerous to patients.
Ajayi spoke in Lagos at the official opening of the Bridge Clinics, GRA, Ikeja branch which is the third of the IVF specialist hospitals in the country.
According to him, there is a dangerous and uncontrolled growth of poor quality IVF clinics all over the country and this needs to be checked to protect patients from exploitation and harm.
Ajayi said: “We believe that Nigeria needs many IVF clinics but these clinics need to meet the required standards to work in this very sensitive field of science, religion and morality. We believe that there is no need for Nigeria to go through these dark times when we already have experience from other countries in Europe and North America. Indeed, countries in Francophone West Africa have already implemented the Giraffe systems of regulation, zoning and licensing that is absolutely necessary to protect this very sensitive area that we work.”
He stated that the philosophy behind service delivery at the Bridge Clinic is professional responsibility to provide its patients with the best care since 1999.
Ajayi disclosed that the clinic, having recorded its first success story with the deliveries of Kosi and Oge Emekwe babies, has so far succeeded in parenting couples with over 15,000 babies with clinics in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.
He said the clinic currently runs a public private partnership with the Lagos State Teaching Hospital to provide subsidized IVF treatment for those that cannot afford the treatment and also has collaboration with the IVF clinics of Professor Nicolas Zech in Europe.
He said: “We implemented the International Standards Organisation (ISO) accreditations system in 2004 because there were no regulatory framework to drive quality service delivery and continuous improvement in Nigeria which informed setting up a relationship with an Australian company and they have been visiting us for annual audits.”