500 women in Arusha conceive through IVF

Arusha. A 50-year-old woman in Arusha whose identity has been protected has given birth to twins after she conceived through the In vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure.
With that feat, she became the 500th woman to conceive through the IVF procedure which was done at Avinta Care Medical in the City.
IVF is a complex series of procedures used to help with fertility or prevent genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child.
Speaking to reporters in Arusha earlier this week, the centre's obstetrician and gynecologist, Nicholaus Mazuguni, said they were currently performing the service in collaboration with specialists from Muhimbili National Hospital.
He said they started providing the service to address fertility challenge that has plagued many families and as a result had to go for the service abroad, saying they currently see 100 patients a week.
"We started providing the IVF service in 2017, more than 500 women have been able to conceive and managed to have more than 250 children. The response is huge because people were spending a lot of money going abroad"
At a rate that begins at Sh7 million, he says they are still cheaper than the option of going abroad for such services.
"There is a 50-year-old woman who conceived twins and she has managed to deliver without any problems. Many are happy as they have suffered and faced many challenges trying to conceive,” he said.
Hildegarda Aloyce, a gynecologist from Muhimbili, said they have been working with the Avinta center to address fertility challenges as the problem is still huge in the community where out of 10 patients who have been received 4 to 6 patients have gynecological problems.
One of the beneficiaries from Simanjiro district, Martha Sangwa said that she is very happy with the service which enabled her to have twins as she had waited for 16 years without any hope, so the presence of the center is a great comfort to them and urges women to come out in large numbers to access the service.