TheBeyondWoman Magazine Issue#2 | Page 17

third floor specifically for IVF. The first success story for the unit was in 2000 and they are here in high school in Jamaica and doing very well so we know without a doubt that this works … (laugh) TBWM: Can you put a number to the amount of procedures that your unit has done so far? Dr DaCosta: We do on average 120-130 cases per year. TBWM: So a couple tries to conceive unsuccessfully, what happens next? Dr DaCosta: Most of the couples we see are referred to us by local and foreign doctors and one of the problems we find is that they are not being sent to us as early as we would like, because, they are probably thinking, let us just keep trying on our own. So, one of our problems is that we are seeing too many women in their 40’s and as you know the fertility potential for women is age dependent and declines significantly after age 40. For example, women who are at age 20 - the likelihood of getting pregnant each month is 25%, when you get to age 40 it is approximately 10%. Once they come to the unit, we do the necessary tests to ascertain if there are any indications for IVF. If there is, then we discuss the IVF procedures. If we have uncovered no underlying issues then we may suggest that their timing may be off or recommend intrauterine insemination. TBWM: When was this unit started? Dr DaCosta: The Hugh Wynter Fertility vasectomy. Management Unit was started in 1978 with the focus being on Family Planning Services. We started out by providing mainly oral contraceptive, intra uterine and permanent sterilisation namely tubal ligation and TBWM: When did you transition to include in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)? Dr DaCosta: We started to offer the IVF services in 2000. Initially the unit was funded by the German government. However, after that funding arrangement came to an end, we had to start funding ourselves. So we branched out into doing minimally invasive gynae surgery…i.e. Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and the IVF program. Some of our doctors went away to the United Kingdom for further training and in 2000 we had our first successful IVF cycle and the rest is history. Our first success was a set of twin boys who would be about 16 years old now. Generally, we did well in our first cycle which is a huge accomplishment for us here in Jamaica simply because there are other centres outside of Jamaica that did not have the success that we had. In 2000, we started in a very small area and since then we have expanded the Unit significantly. In 2011 we created an entire floor, the TBWM: You mentioned earlier you do an average of 120 cases per month- how prohibitive is the cost if at all, can the average person come to you? Dr DaCosta: The cost may be considered high for some…it is roughly USD$7000 for the complete process and covers medication, counselling, ultrasounds, egg recovery and embryo transfer. The only other fee is JMD$3000 for registration and an additional fee for egg and sperm freezing. When you compare this cost to going to the United States it may double, not counting airfare and accommodations et al. TBWM: Do you see a high case of infertility among women and men here in Jamaica? Dr Dacosta: The rate here is no different from the rest of the world. In all populations you have about 10 to 15% of the population who suffer from infertility and that is significant. We see patients mainly from Jamaica, but, we also see patients from Europe, the United States and the rest of the Caribbean. T h e B e y o n d Wo m a n M a g a z i n e 17