•As Nordica Lagos marks 20th anniversary

By Sola Ogundipe

There is a bright future for  assisted conception in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

The application of assisted reproduction techniques,  generally, is growing fast and is expected to expand even further and faster.

The Medical Director/CEO of Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos, Dr Abayomi Ajayi, who made the observation,  said the application of popular fertility treatment procedures such as Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) was already extending beyond  infertility.

Speaking at the flag-off of the 20th anniversary celebration  and unveiling of the anniversary logo of one of Africa’s leading fertility centres – Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos – Ajayi stated that part of the secret of the success of the Centre was its ability to manage people properly.

His words: “The assisted conception industry is growing in leaps and bounds,  everyday we can now see that it is not just for infertility anymore. Indeed the uses are more widespread.

“In Nigeria we can use this more, in fact it is likely that the application of IVF is likely to increase more and more, hence the future is very bright, and even for medicine generally.”

Nordica Lagos has successfully enabled thousands of fertility challenged couples from all walks of life and all geographical locations within and outside Nigeria to complete their families, resulting in the birth of  over 5,000 babies and still counting.

Ajayi  said the 20th anniversary was a milestone in the history of the brand.

“For me, this journey which started as the dream of a man who felt that fertility challenged Nigerian couples needed to avail themselves of the latest technology in the fertility management space at the time.

“The pioneering efforts of a few of us then has led to the evolution of a world class practice in Nigeria comparable to any leading fertility centre in developed cities of the world.

‘We are proud to say that our thrust to bring the latest technology, techniques and skills to bear on the fertility management landscape in Nigeria has seen us chart a course for innovative solutions to the benefit of our esteemed clients over the past 20 years.”

Among its notable firsts, Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos introduced various male factor treatments including IMSI and PICSI to help men with low or immotile sperm parameters achieve assisted conception.

Others include the introduction of a very successful freezing facility to help women achieve conception at later dates which may be attributable to medical or lifestyle reasons such as cancer treatment.

A review of the brand’s  2022 report showed a post thaw survival rate of 92.2 percent. It also cofounded the Oncofertility Specialists Association Nigeria to promote Oncofertility awareness and research in Nigeria.

The investment of Nordica Lagos in the  minimally invasive procedures to resolve a myriad of fertility and non-fertility related challenges especially for female clients, is acknowleged

Nordica Lagos introduced the first non-invasive solution for fibroid management on the West African sub region and the third on the African continent, with the High Intensity Focussed Ultra Sound (HIFU). This is the latest technology globally which allows women to treat fibroids without any surgical procedure.

According to Ajayi, Nordica Lagos has partnered with a number of organisations to give access to free IVF treatments to deserving Nigerian couples.

“Some of these organisations include the Fertility Treatment Support Foundation ( FTSF ), Fertility Awareness Advocate Initiative (FAAI), Access Bank, The IbidunniIghodalo Foundation and  the Ali Baba January 1st Concert to mention a few.”

He said that the centre was currently exploring partnerships which will assist  to  enable it give more free treatments to infertile couples.

“We have vigorously pursued a knowledge transfer initiative through our Physicians Roundtable which is our special purpose vehicle to help with continuous professional development of specialist and general practice doctors to improve knowledge in the area of fertility management via virtual and physical training programmes.

“This year we also want to do more for our medical community partners. We Will be hosting a number of training initiatives across our operational centres in Lagos, Asaba and Abuja.”