UK based Bourn Hall to open first clinic in India at kochi

Kochi, Apr 14: UK based Bourn Hall, world's first assisted conception clinic established by IVF pioneers Prof Robert Edwards and Dr Patrick Steptoe, will be opening its first clinic in India here on Friday, Apr 15 and has plans to set up clinics in at least 16-18 other centres in the country in five years time with a total investment of Rs 200 crore.

Each of the clinics in India would be set up with an investment of Rs 16 crore to Rs 20 crore. The Kochi clinic is the first by Bourn Hall outside UK. India was a very un serviced market for IVF, Dr Mike Macnamee, Chief Executive, Bourn Hall Clinic told reporters here.

The new assisted conception clinic in Kochi will provide a range of fertility treatment services, world class treatments and individualistic care of the same quality standards at Bourn hall Clinic in UK, he said.

Bringing Bourn Hall treatment services here, is a step forward towards the dream of our founders, of making fertility treatment widely available to all who need it, he said.

The second clinic will be in Delhi, Gurgaon and there are plans to open 16-18 clinics across India in the next few years. ''Supported by the team in UK, we will be investing over rs 200 crore in the next 3-4 years'', Dr Macnamee said.

The locally recruited staff would be given intensive training and effort would be make all centres autonomous within 2-3 years.

There was a huge need for IVF services throughout India, and Kerala was chosen as it has a high level of literacy and affordable in terms of price, which would be around rs 2.25 lakh, including cost of drugs.

Asked about countries other than India they were looking at for opening such IVF clinics, Dr Macnamee said they would be opening a clinic in Dubai shortly and then spread to GCC countries. Plans to start IVF clinics in North Africa has been put on hold for now, he said.

Dr Praveen Kini, CEO Bourn Hall Clinic India, said they were focussed on providing the best possible chance of becoming a parent to all patients. IVF was a difficult procedure and worldwide the success rate was only 50 per cent, he said.

The new assisted conception clinic here will provide a range of fertility treatment services to the same high ethical and quality standards set by Bourn Hall clinic in UK. In the patient friendly and state-of-the-art IVF clinic at Kochi, patients would be benefitted from the world class treatments and individuali care'', he said.

Dr Macnamee said it was Prof Edwards pioneering work with Patrick Steptoe that led to the birth of first ''test-tube'' baby Louise Brown on July 25, 1978. In 2010, Prof Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the development of the IVF technique.

PTI