Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), has established an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) unit, an assisted reproductive procedure for women battling with infertility. Dr Stephen Hwande, Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, made the disclosure to newsmen on Wednesday in Makurdi.
He said that the establishment of the unit was to make the procedure accessible to women with challenge of infertility, noting that only few public hospitals in Nigeria offer IVF services due to the high cost.
“You may not find up to five teaching hospitals that are involved in IVF in Nigeria. So with this, BSUTH is being put on the map of teaching hospitals that are involved in IVF,” he said.
Hwande said that 25 women with issue of infertility had been scheduled for IVF services in the hospital between April and May, 2024.
“They are the hospital’s first batch of women to access IVF services and we are going to run that at the Muhammadu Buhari annex of the hospital. Gov. Hyacinth Alia has directed that the services should be subsidised for these women in this first batch. They are already in process and it will be completed between April and first week of May. These women will go through assisted reproduction,” Hwande said.
The CMD also appreciated Alia for approving the recruitment of 400 new staff for the hospital, stating that it was in fulfilment of his campaign promises of taking the youths off the streets in order to reduce unemployment.
“Among the new employees are 60 medical doctors, 140 nurses as well as other cadre of staff that will man some critical areas of need at the teaching hospital,” he said.
He further said that among the new doctors were were Neurosurgeons, Plastic surgeons and Pediatric surgeons.
NAN
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