MUMBAI, 18 FEBRUARY, 2022 (GPN)/ Author-Dr. Rita Bakshi, Founder, RISAA IVF: According to the most recent statistics from the National Family Health Survey, India’s fertility rate has been sinking. The 2019-21 survey proclaims it at low of two children per woman. Due to subsiding fertility rates, there is a rise in the trend of late pregnancies and escalation in IVF. The ART sector is expected to be in extensive demand in the forthcoming years. 

Assisted Reproductive Technologies refer to the techniques that are used to treat infertility. A wide spectrum of procedures are covered under ART depending upon the cause of infertility. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is a technique of assisting the couples to conceive and fulfil their dream of having a baby. It is the biggest revolution in the field of infertility. ART includes fertility treatments that handle both, a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm. The said technology used to treat infertility by means of procedures such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial insemination, and surrogacy. 

Statistics reveal that about 10-14% of the Indian population suffers from infertility. Infertility means not able to get pregnant after a year of trying. Millions of people of reproductive age worldwide are affected by Infertility. It is not gender specific. Infertility affects both men and women and is typically diagnosed by the inability to conceive. Infertility remains a woman’s social burden, yet male infertility contributes to more than half of all cases of global childlessness. Sedentary lifestyles with minimum physical activity, rising stress level and irregular sleep patterns are few reasons that, according to many health experts are causing infertility amongst the married couples, thus forcing them to opt for artificial ways of conceiving.

The growing infertility cases worldwide have fostered the growth of fertility clinics globally. India exhibits strong growth due to rising awareness and new age technology. Growing awareness among people coupled with increasing government initiatives to tackle infertility burden is encouraging the growth of ART market. Higher success rate of ART procedures is expected to create conducive environment for the growth in the market. Increasing number of fertility clinics along with establishment of sperm banks across developing regions is creating lucrative growth avenues within the ART market.

Government notifies laws to regulate Assisted Reproductive Technology to prevent misuse and to ensure safe and ethical practice of ART. The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2021 (ART Bill) was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 1. First introduced in September 2020, the Bill ensures that every ART clinic and bank must be registered under the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India. It will act as a central database for providing provision of ART services in India. The Bill ensures that the ART clinics are appropriately equipped with essential facilities and a team of medical practitioners. All the practitioners must be registered with the National Medical Commission for carrying out the procedures related to ART. ART Banks are the establishments that supply sperm or oocytes to ART clinics or their patients. 

The fertilization of a human egg outside the woman’s body, the growth of the embryos in the laboratory, and the transfer of embryos to the uterus has assisted many couples worldwide to embrace parenthood. There has been an increasing trend of infertile couples and Fertility services providers throughout India. Earlier, the assisted reproductive facilities were available mostly in metro cities in limited number. Today, even the Tier II and Tier III cities also have IVF centres with all the increasing facilities and treatment has become easily approachable and accessible to all. The technology of ART is great and provides success stories.