•Last Year’s Beneficiaries Express Joy, Laud
Initiative
Chioma Umeha
It was indeed a joyous moment for Mrs. Alice
Soyemi, 47 and Mrs. Vivian Eshiet, 33 both beneficiaries of free Fertility
Treatment Support Foundation (FTSF) as they narrated the success story of their
conception to an enthusiastic audience.
Giving her narrative at a press briefing recently,
to herald this year’s edition FTSF free fertility treatment programme for
couples, Mrs. Soyemi has lost hope of ever becoming pregnant.
For a decade, she has moved from one hospital to the other within the country,
even abroad, seeking help to no avail. Some of the hospitals told her she had
endometriosis, a debilitating disorder in which the tissue lining a woman’s
uterus (the endometrium) grows outside it (endometrial) implants. It involves
the ovaries, bowel or the tissues lining the pelvis. Endometriosis has no cure,
for now, and it can lead to infertility in women.
She said; “I was told endometriosis only stops
when you attain menopause so I told myself ‘what again?’ and placed my hope in
God.”
Her dreams of becoming pregnant became true when
she saw an advert by FTSF last year, offering free IVF treatment for couples in
need. She applied and received the free IVF treatment. Today, Mrs Soyemi is
pregnant. The visibly excited expectant mother could not hide her joy while
sharing her sweet experience to journalists recently, in Lagos.
The story of Soyemi is not different from that of
Mrs. Vivian Eshiet, who has had challenges in conception after five years of
marriage.
In order to conceive, she made several efforts by
visiting many hospitals and taking herbs without positive results. Finally, her
next option was IVF which Vivian and her husband, Okon Eshiet could not afford.
“The fund was an issue. We needed to save and plan
before trying it,” she said.
However, her story changed when a friend told her about free IVF
treatment organised by FTSF.
Vivian said; “My friend told me about the free IVF
treatment organised by FTSF, when my husband came back I told him about it and
he said we should try it, and then we registered.
“We registered and qualified for the treatment.
After going through all the required tests, the doctor said I needed to do a
hysteroscopy to check and see if everything was okay, it was done and I started
the treatment.
“I did the first circle, it was not successful
after the egg retrieval, I was sad, but calm when they told me that I had
another chance. They did the second one and the same thing happened again. I
was completely sad.
“One day the doctor called that I have to go for
the third circle. But, I told him next time, he insisted, I went for it last
December and started another treatment. But, the quality of the egg was far
lower than the ones used for the first and second cycles.
“The news was not palatable, but the next day they
called and told me that the egg that was not looking good had suddenly become
good. Two days later, they invited and informed me that we now have an embryo
from the egg, but that they can’t transfer it into my uterus. I was advised to
wait for my next circle.When the time came, I went and they put it inside my
uterus and after few weeks I went for pregnancy test and was confirmed
pregnant.”
Speaking at the media briefing with journalists in
Lagos, a Trustee of the Foundation Dr. Abayomi Ajayi and Mr. Onuora Molokwu, an
Executive Member of the FTSF stated that the foundation this year, will be
giving 20 free treatments to deserving couples with a compelling infertility
story, but are unable to pay for the treatment.
According to them, the high cost of fertility
treatment globally, has remained a burden for many fertility challenged
couples.
Dr. Ajayi added that this has denied them the
opportunity of accessing fertility treatment and the joy of having children.
He also said FTSF was encouraged by the results from
its previous interventions in this area of free fertility treatment since its
inception in 2008 which has resulted in over 150 couples receiving free
fertility screening and treatment.
On his part, Mr. Molokwu enjoined interested
couples to visit the foundation’s website or its social media handles to obtain
information on how to qualify for the free treatment programme.
He further urged well-meaning individuals and
corporate bodies to collaborate with FTSF so as to support the initiative which
he believes has the potential of assisting needy couples to experience the joy
of parenthood.
FTSF commenced operations as a non-profit
organisation in 2008 with a mandate to provide free fertility screening and
treatment to couples with a compelling infertility story, but are financially
challenged.
He said; “Last year it embarked on its annual call
for entries and got five couples to receive free treatment.
“From this number, two of them have confirmed
pregnancies, while one is scheduled to have a pregnancy test this week.
“This year, we are planning to do 80 free
screenings, from where we will select five couples every quarter, making a
total of 20 for the year that will qualify for free treatment,” he added.
