Belgian doctors have developed a low-cost version of test-tube baby technology for use in developing countries in which sophisticated Western systems are unaffordable for most couples.
The researchers said yesterday their simplified process costs about $260 (R2650) a cycle of treatment and delivered results that were not much different to those achieved with conventional in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) programmes.
The price is only 10% to 15% of that for conventional IVF, suggesting that infertility treatment will one day become universally accessible, Elke Klerkx, of the Genk Institute for Fertility Technology, said.
About 5million IVF babies have been born since the birth of the first test-tube baby in 1978.
"Infertility [treatment] is probably the most neglected healthcare problem of developing countries, affecting more than 2million couples according to the World Health Organisation," Klerkx said.
In order to slash the price, Klerkx and her colleagues used an embryo culture method that removes the need for much of the expensive laboratory equipment used in European or North American IVF clinics.
A study showed that the success rates of the standard and low-cost systems were similar - and two-thirds of the top-quality embryos from 35 cycles, as assessed by an independent expert, came from the simplified system.
"[It's] proof that a simplified culture system designed for developing countries can offer affordable and successful opportunities for infertility treatment," she said.
"This is a major step towards universal fertility treatment."
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