Health Minister Ma. Subramanian Inaugurates SPROUT, Saveetha Medical College Hospital’s New Fertility Centre

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.