14 DAY TRIAL // Rajo Devi, a 70 year-old Indian woman, gave birth to a perfectly healthy girl on November 28th, the doctor in charge of the procedure announced on Friday. The birth was successful after years of tries failed the couple. In-vitro fertilization was used to produce a viable embryo that was to have any chance of survival in the womb of the post-menopausal female.
The IVF treatment worked like a charm, their doctor said, although he refused to give any details as to whose cells were used to perform the implant. He revealed that the implantation occurred on the 19th of April, 2007, and that the pregnancy was delivered according to plan and without any further complications. Devi has been married to her husband, Bala Ram, for 50 years, before they decided to go ahead and try this risky procedure.
"IVF has revolutionized the way we look at infertility. Infertility is no longer a social taboo or a divine curse. It can be treated scientifically," says Anurag Bishnoi, one of the doctors working at the Hisar fertility center in the Indian state of Haryana. "Rajo Devi and Bala Ram approached the centre for treatment and the embryo transfer was done on April 19. Both the mother and child are in good health."
Ram, the husband, also wed Devi's sister after 10 years of infertility, but the second wife failed to remain pregnant as well. So the family decided to apply for IVF and started the treatment, which has as many chances to succeed, as it has to fail. Fortunately, in their case, it proved to be the correct choice, although many people are wondering as to how exactly will the woman care for her child, as chances of her being alive when the little girl turns ten or fifteen are pretty slim.
Amidst all the controversy, Devi is ecstatic, because her dream of starting a family came true, though a bit late, as she herself admits. She vows that she'll look after her baby the best she knows how.