For every 10 couples who marry in India, one starts to worry - within a year - about not being able to have babies.This has driven them to a range of treatments, the most popular being the test tube baby procedure or In Vitro Fertilisation. Last month a baby was born after Dr Sulochana Gunasheela of the Gunasheela Institute of Research and Reproduction in Bangalore tried the relatively new Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection technique. A woman's egg was microinjected with her husband's sperm which had to be extracted from his testicular tissue. "This is unique," says Gunasheela. Meanwhile, fertility experts are also excited about a new kind of drug now available in India: a hormone made from pure human cell lines, by what is called recombinant technology..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;} Drugs given as part of infertility treatment so far - they are nothing but Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) needed to start off a pregnancy - were made from animal cells.The new drug is exactly like human FSH. But it is expensive. Says Dr Anoop Gupta, who heads the Delhi IVF and Fertility Clinic and has successfully used the drug on a few patients: "At Rs 50,000 for a course, the drug's cost is still prohibitive." Certainly not for everyone.UpsideThe long-overdue decision to ban quinacrine, the obsolete anti-malarial drug being used as a contraceptive for women, has been widely welcomed. Anybody violating the ban could go behind bars for a maximum of three years or there could be a Rs 5,000 fine or both.DownsideWomen who smoke during pregnancy play havoc with their babies' lungs. While everyone knows that a smoking pregnant woman increases the chances of her baby being born underweight, impaired breathing ability is not something people had worried about. So far.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Sep 28, 1998--- ENDS ---
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