Infertility Treatment: Artificial Intelligence Cannot Give Individualized Solutions, Say Medical Experts

KuniTyessi in Abuja

With Artificial Intelligence, AI, through science and technology sweeping the globe, medical experts – particularly in the field of infertility treatment – have revealed that AI is grossly limited in administering a human touch to their clients and the challenges they face.

In aiming to educate couples about fertility challenges and available treatment options, they said the friendship, words of comfort, encouragement, and assurance that they give the clients on customized levels are not programmed in AI.

Speaking, weekend, at the May edition of Welcome Forum themed, “Optimizing Fertility on the Journey to Parenthood”, organized by the Bridge Clinic in Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Lagos, on behalf of other personnel, Fertility Doctor, IniubongabasiEtim, said although research is still been carried out on the role of AI in infertility treatment, no one can tell if the inadequacies will be history in the next 10- 20 years.

In explaining that the life span of freezed eggs and semen can last for ten years, Etim revealed that the approximate two million eggs in the system of a female can lose quality due to stress, sickness, infection and age, amongst other factors- hence the need to freeze them from age 35 for future use.

According to her: “There’s still research that is been done and confirming that Artificial Intelligence has taken over a lot of things now. However, it still cannot give a human touch to everything. Although we cannot tell what will happen in the next 10 to 20 years.

“But as it is now, AI will not be able to do what a doctor will do because when patients come, they give their history which is streamlined and we take them through the journey which is distinct from those of other couples, and this is what AI cannot do.”

She said due to the high cost of infertility treatments, the government can consider including it in its National Healthcare Insurance Scheme, NHIS, by paying part of the bills for couples, particularly if it is the cause of several domestic issues which can lead to divorce.

She said: “Some people might not be able to cover the entire process because it is not cheap. But the government can pay 50- 65 percent, then I believe it’s something that a lot of people will appreciate – as cost is mostly what is preventing a lot of people from accessing the alternative care.

“After research and survey, if the government can see that it is affecting couples and responsible for several divorce cases, it can resolve to want to do something. So, it is first for them to want to see it as a problem. However, in Nigeria, we have a problem of over-population already.”

Also, she noted that for every month that a couple tries to conceive, they have a 25 percent of getting pregnant. For this reason, “This is why we give them one year because we are optimistic that there will be no problems because before that time, most people will take in.

“We also encourage them to have regular sex and rest. If after all of these, there’s no conception, then we can zoom in to see what the problem is.”

At the programme, a testifier, Mrs. TitilayoAketi, who spoke about her IVF journey, encouraged couples not to be ashamed to tell the world about the process in which they had their babies.

Aketi said the role of IVF and other fertility care cannot be downplayed in most marriages that have experienced infertility issues, while nothing that though expensive, couples would have faith and be optimistic.