By Sola Ogundipe

A STATE-OF-THE-ART IVF facility known as the Institute of Fertility Medicine has been set up at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by the nation’s first assisted conception centre – The Bridge Clinic, Lagos.

The aim is to offer IVF services at subsidised rates to couples faced with conception challenges.

At the opening of the facility, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said there was no doubt that top of the range services would be delivered to every woman who walked through the doors of the new facility.

• Dr. Richard Ajayi

“The purpose of partnering with The Bridge Clinic is to ensure the goal of restoring the joy of families is achieved at a subsidised rate, ” he assured.

Also speaking, Managing Director of The Bridge Clinic, Dr. Richardson Ajayi, noted that the well being and happiness of the Nigerian woman and the community at large was ofutmost importance and concern to the Clinic, hence the provision of quality fertility services as the same global standard .

”This is why at The Bridge Clinic we have found it necessary to collaborate with the Lagos State Government to set up this clinic as part of our CSR initiative, to reach out to more needing families to help them experience the joy of childbirth, and also try to give back to the community that has given us so much.”

• The Bridge Clinic/LASUTH Institute of Fertility Medicine

Ajayi also said that since the IVF procedure involves the employment of expensive resources, such as highly trained staff, expensive equipment and consumables, the cost especially in a developing economy like Nigeria can be high.

“This, therefore, makes it unaffordable for the average woman. However, The Bridge Clinic has consistently been in the fore front of closing the gap between having a child and economic status.”

Recently, the Clinic launched the ASPIRE programme, which is an attempt to provide indigent couples access to free IVF services.