Your Gametes – Your Life and Future
May 23, 2024
In the popular global sport of cricket, very early in the history of the game it comes to light that the first ever protection that a batsman took cover against the menacing pace bowlers is for his abdomen in the form of an Abdomen Guard and much later it dawned on him that his brain is equally critical when he started wearing protective gear for his skull. Just goes to show the propensity of Humans to protect their proliferation instincts even far outweighs other instincts. This story can be interpreted in different ways although the idea here is to stress the importance of staying aware of and protecting your Gametes especially in the light of alarming rise in Infertility.
According to recent (2015) statistics on Infertility in India, there are more than 2 crore (20million) people who are trying to come to terms with their infertile condition. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, One in every four couples in developing countries had been found to be affected by infertility and although several factors contribute to this including Male Factor, the most scrutinised has been the women’s fertility. Reduced child seeking behaviour globally is another factor that can’t be ignored as statistics are built up and to that extent these statistics maybe still skewed one way or the other. Nevertheless, the absolute number of couples affected by infertility globally increased from 42.0 million in 1990 to 48.5 million in 2010 and that shows ever increasing incidence of infertility.
Anybody who is considering motherhood or fatherhood and is reading this must consider having a tab on their fertility status and it also leads to the question – why not men and women who may consider marriage in a few years from now, also think about their fertility status. Most certainly Yes, they certainly need to consider and understand better about their gametes and have a fair idea about where they stand on their vital fertility parameters or Fertility Vitals (FV). It just makes sense from two aspects:
a) You are into a Preventive mode as you discover your Fertility parameters ahead
b) It gives one sufficient time perhaps to do some interventions (Lifestyle, Medical or otherwise) whereever possible
So checking your FV with the above data of prevalance of infertility that we are staring at – is no more an option but rather a necessity in any young man and woman’s life if they are serious about being a Parent.
Today a couple visits an Assisted Reproduction Center (ART) only when they discover they have trouble conceiving. Andrologists and Embryologists are the go-to-people to whom you need to discuss if you wish to have a clear picture about your gametes. It appears that knowing about your gametes is critically important if one is serious about attaining parenthood and more importantly knowing them as early as one can. There were times where you have to necessarily go to a IVF center to undergo the tests, but today due to advancement of tools and specialised focus given to Andrology and Embryology, men and women can visit Specialised and Independent Embryology and Andrology services centres (also called as ART centres) and have a counselling session where you dont receive just a report but also some expert advise on state of your Gametes. Embryologists and Andrologists are trained to read your gametes and play a very critical role working closely with IVF Physicians to treat infertility. These specialists handle your gametes and as such understand your gametes at a cellular level and pretty much can talk to you and clarify a whole lot to you.
Go Ahead, Talk to your Embryologist at the earliest. Your Gametes are your Life and your future.
