Health Minister Ma. Subramanian Inaugurates SPROUT, Saveetha MedicalCollege Hospital’s New Fertility Centre
Thiru K. Selvaperunthagai, President of Tamilnadu Congress Committeemember of Legislative Assembly, Sriperumbudur constituency was the Guestof Honour
Chennai, July 17, 2024
Thiru Ma. Subramanian, Honourable Minister for Health and Family Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, inaugurated Saveetha Pregnancy Rejuvenation and
Ovulatory Uterine Therapeutics (SPROUT), a new centre for Assisted Reproductive
Techniques (ART) at Saveetha Medical College Hospital (SMCH).
Thiru. K. Selvaperunthagai, President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, and Member
of Legislative Assembly, Sriperumbudur Constituency, participated as the Guest of
Honour. Dr. N.M. Veeraiyan, Founder and Chancellor, Saveetha Institute of Medical and
Technical Sciences (SIMATS) presided over the function, attended by Dr. Deepak
Nallaswamy, Pro Chancellor, and Dr. J. Kumutha, Dean, SMCH.
Commenting about SPROUT, Dr. Veeraiyan, said, “Fertility is important to the human
being for several reasons like continuation of the family, demographic balance,
emotional fulfilment, psychological well-being, biological and medical significance and
so on. But not all couples are able to achieve parenthood naturally due to various
reasons. Nearly 10-15% of the eligible couples experience infertility at the end of one
year of cohabitation, out of which 10% would require the need of ART, a cornerstone of
modern medicine. We are launching SPROUT to cater to the emerging need of infertility
treatments that make parenthood dreams come true.”
On the services to be offered by SPROUT, he said that the new centre has facilities for
Intrauterine insemination, Cryopreservation, ICSI, In vitro-fertilisation (IVF), Embryo
biopsy, laser-assisted hatching and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. “We will ensure a
holistic approach to reproductive health. We will provide not only evaluation,
investigations and interventions, but also pre-treatment counselling, as couples may
need psychological counselling for them to navigate through difficult times. Our ART
services will be practised with utmost ethical considerations maintaining the
transparency regarding techniques and confidentiality about information of the couple,”
he observed.
SPROUT scores over stand-alone ART centres as it is located within a medical college
hospital that has a functional Obstetrics and Gynaecology department. The support of
this and other disciplines under one roof will ensure that the patients would get
comprehensive health care with quality services. SMCH’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology
department is well established with advanced facilities to care for all the needy women.
It features a well equipped labour room with a high dependency unit, ICU back up,
blood transfusion facilities available 24×7. Its newborn intensive care unit is equipped
with a milk bank, high frequency ventilators and extreme preterm care resources. The
hospital is accredited by the Tamil Nadu Government for Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy
Scheme for free maternal and newborn care at our hospital.
Infertility can stem from numerous factors, including hormonal imbalances, genetic
disorders, anatomical abnormalities and age related issues. ART techniques such as in
vitro fertilisation (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUl), and gamete or embryo donation
provide targeted interventions that increase the chances of conception where traditional
methods have failed. IVF, commonly known as “test tube baby” involves fertilising an
egg with a sperm outside the body and then transferring the embryo into the uterus for
implantation. This technique has revolutionised the treatment of various fertility issues,
from male infertility due to poor sperm quality to female infertility resulting from blocked
fallopian tubes. By offering appropriate solutions, ART helps individuals and couples
overcome barriers to conception and manage the emotional and physical aspects of
infertility.