By Ikenna Nwokedi
Egg and semen donation in the process of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) does not affect the features of a baby during formation and the point of delivery.
These were the assertions of a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr Joseph Ikechebelu during an interview with Newspathfinder
The assisted birth specialist who is also the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Nnamdi Azikiwe University explained that In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technology aimed at creating pregnancy outside the human body which leads to the formation of an embryo before being transferred into a woman’s body for full development into a baby.
Prof. Ikechebelu stated that egg and semen donation is applied during the IVF process in a situation described as third party reproduction where a woman has passed her reproductive years and cannot produce eggs but still want to produce a baby.
At this point he said “then egg donations can be accepted which is clearly written in the terms and agreement of the practice and is usually the first level of third party reproduction”.
The University don highlighted that the second level of the practice is sperm donation usually from sperm bank facility when it is ascertained that a man’s count is low or zero.
Prof. Ikechebelu disclosed that the third level is Surrogacy which is applied when a woman has no womb, her egg and that the husband’s sperm which forms an embryo in the process of fertilization is planted inside another woman’s womb usually referred to as renting of a womb.
The scholar described the womb as the only incubator for an embryo for a period of development of nine months and medical technology has yet to artificially develop and manufacture a womb which shows God’s supremacy as the Omniscience.
