ALIGARH: In spite of grieving the loss of their two unwed sons, a couple in their early 50's here broke all the shackles of social stigma to become grandparents with the help of IVF technology.
Due to the societal pressure of a small town, they have refused to come out in open to revel the birth of their twin granddaughters. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body.
The couple lost both their sons within a period of three years. A road accident claimed the life of their elder son three years ago, while their second son died of blood cancer in his early 20s. The couple took the bold step to preserve the semen of their younger son on the advice of doctors in Delhi. Ahead of his chemotherapy, the doctors in Delhi advised the boy's parents that they should have his semen frozen because the treatment will adversely affect its quality. The family took the advice seriously.
Unfortunately, the younger son also died. The shattered parents approached a private IVF centre in Aligarh and met the doctors telling them about the "frozen semen and their dead son." The centre implanted the semen into a surrogate mother. Dr Jayant Sharma of Jeevan Hospital said, "The couple came to us with their problem. Since sperm quality falls after chemotherapy they had acted on the advice of the doctors of cancer center and got it frozen. It was transferred to us in a canister and was preserved. Later embryo was made and implanted in the surrogate mother. Here, posthumous reproductive technique was used."
Dr Divya Choudhury told TOI, "It was a challenge because the parents wanted it to happen from their own son's semen. They did not even want to adopt children. So we need to take care of this. There was no second chance here." "They were born on the night of April 8," she said. The doctors said that the couple is wary of coming out in the open because the society is conservative and will raise questions about the "source" of the child. The grandmother told TOI that she would not be comfortable to talk about the matter right now.
Though they are wary of the stigma that might follow regarding the "source of the children and reaction of the conservative society", the couple is celebrating the joys of being grandparents in complete anonymity.
Credits; TOI
Due to the societal pressure of a small town, they have refused to come out in open to revel the birth of their twin granddaughters. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body.
The couple lost both their sons within a period of three years. A road accident claimed the life of their elder son three years ago, while their second son died of blood cancer in his early 20s. The couple took the bold step to preserve the semen of their younger son on the advice of doctors in Delhi. Ahead of his chemotherapy, the doctors in Delhi advised the boy's parents that they should have his semen frozen because the treatment will adversely affect its quality. The family took the advice seriously.
Unfortunately, the younger son also died. The shattered parents approached a private IVF centre in Aligarh and met the doctors telling them about the "frozen semen and their dead son." The centre implanted the semen into a surrogate mother. Dr Jayant Sharma of Jeevan Hospital said, "The couple came to us with their problem. Since sperm quality falls after chemotherapy they had acted on the advice of the doctors of cancer center and got it frozen. It was transferred to us in a canister and was preserved. Later embryo was made and implanted in the surrogate mother. Here, posthumous reproductive technique was used."
Dr Divya Choudhury told TOI, "It was a challenge because the parents wanted it to happen from their own son's semen. They did not even want to adopt children. So we need to take care of this. There was no second chance here." "They were born on the night of April 8," she said. The doctors said that the couple is wary of coming out in the open because the society is conservative and will raise questions about the "source" of the child. The grandmother told TOI that she would not be comfortable to talk about the matter right now.
Though they are wary of the stigma that might follow regarding the "source of the children and reaction of the conservative society", the couple is celebrating the joys of being grandparents in complete anonymity.
Credits; TOI
No comments:
Post a Comment