IVF first 'Pavornvit' shows the way
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IVF first 'Pavornvit' shows the way

Artificial insemination can be used to help ageing Thai society

Pavornvit Srisahaburi, Thailand's first IVF baby, visits Chulalongkorn University to see 'Delta', his first baby. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)
Pavornvit Srisahaburi, Thailand's first IVF baby, visits Chulalongkorn University to see 'Delta', his first baby. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)

Pavornvit Srisahaburi, a 31-year-old engineer and new dad looks like an ordinary guy, although the circumstances surrounding his birth were anything but ordinary.

Thirty-one years ago, Mr Pavornvit was brought into the world by a medical team at Chulalongkorn University.

Mr Pavornvit is known as Thailand's first "test-tube baby" -- a child created by artificial insemination, or in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Thirty-one years later, he stood waiting in the same maternity ward at Chulalongkorn University where he was born.

This time, he had come to see his new son "Delta", who was born last Sunday.

Mr Pavornvit was recently married and Delta is the couple's first child.

Unlike his dad, Delta, who weighed in at 3.223 kilogrammes, was born naturally.

"Delta is in very good health. He loves crying loudly. I am very happy that my son is a normal child. He was born naturally and no artificial method for fertilisation was used," Mr Pavornvit said, adding that he and his wife were already thinking about having a second and third child.

"It can be proven that nothing is wrong with my body even though I was born as a result of a scientific innovation," said Mr Pavornvit.

On Tuesday, a team of doctors from Chulalongkorn University organised a press conference to mark the events.

For the team, the newborn reconfirmed the achievement of the first in-vitro fertilisation that took place at the university three decades ago.

Over the last three decades, Mr Pavornvit has regularly returned to the hospital.

As the country's first "test-tube baby", doctors and scientists kept all of his physical records.

He grew up not only to be a healthy man, but also a person with many achievements.

He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Chulalongkorn University and pursued a master's degree at a university in Australia. He now works as an engineer for a private company.

During his wife's pregnancy, the medical team provided monitoring assistance to make sure the child was both safe and normal.

"Thanks to the medical team for your support. It feels as if we are in the same family," he said. "I have received many good things from Chulalongkorn University."

Mr Pavornvit might be the trailblazer in the brave new world. Yet, in the present time when scientists are editing genetics to "tailor-make" babies, having a baby through in-vitro is now a more normal procedure.

Today, couples can go to artificial insemination clinics and ask doctors to help them have children.

Chulalongkorn University sees around 400 babies conceived through this process each year.

It is estimated that 20,000-30,000 children are born through artificial insemination in Thailand annually, compared with around seven million children worldwide.

Dr Boonchai Uerpairojkit, head of the Maternal-Foetal Medicine Division, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, said Delta is a special case because of the way his father was born, so needs to be carefully monitored.

He explained that doctors have examined the structure of the baby with high frequency sonar waves and used DNA testing to check that the chromosomes of the baby are in good condition.

Meanwhile, Dr Wasant Sereepapong, head of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, said the hospital has moved forward to develop advanced techniques for fertilisation so that any family would be able to conceive when they are ready to do so.

The hospital offers egg and sperm freezing as well as ovarian tissue cryopreservation services.

The ovarian tissue can be kept at the hospital, and as soon as the patient is ready to have a baby, the tissue can be cultured and planted in the body.

"It is the first time in Thailand that we have ovarian tissue cryopreservation available at a hospital. Our purpose is to provide the best treatment for people who want to have kids," Dr Wasant said.

Artificial insemination is now looked at as a way to deal with an ageing society, where birth rates have gradually plateaued.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested that the fertility rate should be at 2.1 children per woman, compared with only 1.5 in Thailand.

The drop in births has already caused a labour shortage in the country, and studies project that half of the Thai population will be over 65 years old by 2040.

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