NAGPUR: Busy building career or marrying late, a large number of women in metro cities like Mumbai and Pune are preserving their eggs for future conception or pregnancy using assisted reproductive technology (ART). Though it is just the beginning of a trend like sperm bank, that has been there for some years now, egg preservation is being looked as the first step towards the concept of egg banks in near future.

Dr Rishma Pai, who is a consultant gynaecologists at Jaslok and Lilavati Hospitals in Mumbai, definitely sees this as a positive step towards giving women the power of becoming mothers at a later age. "Yes, we do get 25 plus to 35 plus women who come on their own demanding cryopreservation of their eggs. The concept is relatively new even in metros but we do get at least 3-5 women every month approaching us for the purpose," she said.

Dr Pai was in the city for the first nodal conference of Maharashtra Chapter of the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (MSR) on ?Infertility-future challenges'.

Agreeing with Dr Pai, the general secretary of the conference from Pune Dr Sunita Tandulwadkar said she too has women as young as 25 to 27-year-old wanting egg preservation as they know that the "ovarian reserves or eggs in the ovary" begin to deplete and lose their quality after a certain age. They do not want the risk of not becoming mothers or having children with birth defects, diseases or syndromes, Dr Tandulwadkar added.

The gynaecologist duo says though this section of women voluntarily and consciously go for egg preservation since their first priority is career, the technology is also very useful for women suffering from certain diseases like breast cancer who may require surgery or chemotherapy. "One can also preserve the eggs of such women before chemotherapy so that they are not denied the right to become a mother. Besides this, it also reduces the trauma and anxiety in a patient," said Dr Tandulwadkar.

Dr Sadhana Desai, former president of Federation of Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) and a senior practitioner from Mumbai, relates the increase in use of ART to increased awareness in society. However, the level of awareness as well the fertility rate and reasons of infertility in urban and rural women are different. In rural women, infections like tuberculosis and other sex-related infections like gonorrhoea which come them mainly from husband are responsible for infertility. In urban women, infertility is increasing because of occupational and professional hazards, late marriages and changing lifestyle. It can vary from types like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, and blocked tubes. However, Dr Desai just does not see third party treatment methods like surrogacy as solutions to infertility. "I wouldn't encourage this personally," she added.

But, Dr Desai sees in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or test tube baby as the solution only in cases of absolute infertility. Infertility treatment, she says, has improved in the past few years because of availability of better diagnosis like sophisticated ultrasonography (USG), endoscopy, newer drugs which help women ovulate (release of egg) better, better methods of hormone management like use of anti-mullerian hormone as a tool for detection of diagnosis of ovarian reserve, use of USG and other ART for treatment.

Who attended the conference

The conference was inaugurated by MSR chairperson Dr Hrishikesh Pai. General secretary Dr Sunita Tandulwadkar, organizing chairperson Dr Managla Ketkar, secretary Dr Sadhana Patwardhan, Dr Chaitanya Shembekar, Dr Padma Jirge, Dr Sushma Deshmukh, Dr Anita Mankar and other organsiers of the conference from city were present

Earlier in the day, two international faculty, scientists Togas Tulandi from Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, and Maurizio Nordio from Italy delivered two orations. While Tulandi spoke on ?Why, when and how of gnRH agonist in gynaecology', Nordio spoke on modern approach to PCOS and metabolic syndrome.

