Ghana is second country in the world to produce 'Walking Egg technology' baby

pulse.ng

Aug 9, 2017 9:26 AM

A couple who had been childless for eight years were able to give birth to a baby boy on their third attempt with the technology in Accra.

The medical team that delivered the baby

Ghana has become the second country after Belgium to use ‘The Walking Egg’ (TWE) technology to produce a baby.

A couple who had been childless for eight years were able to bring to the world a healthy baby boy on their third attempt with the technology at the Pentecost Hospital at Madina in Accra.

The baby boy, weighing 3.3 kilogrammes has brought a lot of joy to the couple and other relatives and friends who had thronged the hospital to witness the feat.

The Walking Egg

The TWE technology is a form of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) method that allows the sperm of a man and the egg of a woman to fertilise outside the body for about two to five days.

The fertilised egg is then given back to the woman to carry till the delivery period.

The technology was developed by a team of Belgian fertility experts, led by Professor Willem Ombelet, and has so far produced 83 babies in Belgium.

It is one of the three forms of artificial fertility treatment. The two others are intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and intra-cervical insemination (ICI), in other words, intra-vaginal insemination.

The Medical Administrator of the Pentecost Hospital, Dr Gordon Nii Armah Attoh, told the media on Monday that the hospital worked in collaboration with the team in Belgium to introduce the affordable IVF, which also went through cycles similar to the natural way of becoming pregnant and delivering babies.

“Unlike the conventional IVF known to people, the TWE has minimal medication for stimulation and does not require any sophisticated medication to see its success,” he said.

He added that the TWE method was relatively made cheaper for the clients as the facility organised the process in groups, adding that there were plans to advance the technology with the introduction of other methods of treatment to assist couples who would need children in future.

Cost

The Chief Executive Officer of the ACCOG and fertility counselor, Nana Yaw Osei, said: “the cost for the TWE has been reduced from GH¢20,000 ($4,500) per cycle to about GH¢6,000($1,500) to make it affordable for all childless couples”.

He further urged the government and corporate bodies to provide support by subsidising some of the equipment used in the process.