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Published Monday, April 20, 2020
First IVF baby born
in the countryOn Saturday night, the firstborn baby, Isabel, by the in vitro technique was born in the Women's Hospital, announced the Social Security. Isabel was born at 8:50 p.m. She weighed 2,530 grams and measured 46 centimeters, confirmed Freddy Pérez Núñez, a gynecologist at the Hospital. "She is the light of our lives ... the love that blossomed of my wife and me, many years that we were waiting and we believed that we were going to be parents and now here we have her," said Enrique Rodríguez, the proud father. The in vitro pregnancy process for Keilyn Molina, Isabel's mother, was done at the Social Security Reproductive Medicine Unit in July 2019. This was the first artificial insemination birth in Costa Rica. However, it is expected that more births with this technique will be reported soon since 46 fresh embryo transfers and 16 deferred embryo transfers have been made since last year. The Unit has achieved a 53% pregnancy rate which exceeds the exceptional ones, said the Social Security in its statement. There are currently 13 couples, who already have pregnancy periods longer than 12 weeks, and a total of 612 new cases have been evaluated, Social Security said. The in vitro technique was implemented in Social Security after years of complaints by Costa Rican couples for the lack of that medical treatment.  In Dec. 2019, in a joint resolution issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights terminated the cases of complaints against the government for lack of processes to develop in vitro fertilization. According to the resolution, the court considered that the government complied with the reparation measures ordered in the judgment of Nov. 28, 2012, and Nov. 29, 2016. According to the complaints filed by the Artavia-Murillo family, the Gomez-Murillo family and others affected cited the lack of access in the country to the in vitro fertilization process. "The cases are related, fundamentally, to the prohibition that existed in Costa Rica since 2000 to practice the technique of in-vitro fertilization, where the court ordered three reparation measures aimed at implementing the technique in the country again, guaranteeing the rights of the victims and to guarantee the non-repetition of the violations," said the government in its statement. The court, based in San Pedro, San Jose Province, positively assessed the regulations issued by the government, in which it has allowed regulating and providing access to fertilization at both the private and public sectors. According to the minister of Foreign Affairs, in July 2019, a delegation of the Inter-American Court visited the High Complexity Reproductive Medicine Unit located at the Women's Hospital, which verified actions taken to include the availability of in vitro fertilization in Social Security. The text of both Resolutions is found on the official website of the Inter-American Court. In August 2019, after having complied with a process of monitoring, control, and ovarian stimulation, specialists from the High Complexity Reproductive Medicine Unit made embryonic transfers that could culminate in the first in vitro pregnancies performed by Social Security. Follicular punctures or ovule extractions were carried out in a completely sterile operating room, the agency said, adding that the patient was anesthetized, and the ovules were removed through her vagina. In another room, doctors selected the best sperm from the collected semen samples. Social Security specialists explained how the medical unit chooses the best sperm. "The ovules and sperm are removed from the body and fertilization is attempted in the laboratory 24 hours later. The team had to wait between three and five days to confirm there was proper embryonic development," they said in his statement. The next step is the embryo transfer where a specialist places the embryos in a thin catheter to be inserted through the vagina until it reaches the uterus. This painless procedure is done on an outpatient basis, so the patient can return home the same day. After this transfer is made, the embryo should implant itself in the mother's womb, Social Security said. The pregnancy can be confirmed 12 days later. According to Social Security, after the selection and treatment process, couples can undergo in vitro fertilization, free of charge, as long as either patient is insured. --------------------- How much does the in vitro fertilization process cost in your home country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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