Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital appoints first Guyanese Embryologist -as institution aims to become leading Infertility Centre in the Caribbean

Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital appoints first Guyanese Embryologist –as institution aims to become leading Infertility Centre in the Caribbean

Aug 10, 2019 News

In its quest to become the leading Infertility Centre in the Caribbean, Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital has appointed the first Guyanese embryologist in the person of Ganesh Persaud.

Guyanese Embryologist, Ganesh Persaud

Embryology is the field of medicine concerned with the study and development of embryos.
The India-trained embryologist will work in the East Street, Georgetown-located private hospital’s in vitro fertilisation [IVF] lab under the supervision of Dr. Madhu Singh, Guyana’s only infertility specialist.
Persaud’s appointment, which was first announced on Thursday, is expected to help boost the hospital’s goal to expand its IVF operation. But his elevation to this post was not unexpected.

Ganesh Persaud in work mode

Originally from Essequibo, Persaud, at the age of 17, moved to Georgetown to commence studies at the University of Guyana. He completed his Bachelor’s in Medical Technology there, after which he began working in the laboratory at Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital. He worked there for six years before being appointed Head of the Lab.
He was privileged to work with a number of visiting embryologists at the institution and was also tasked with doing preparations for the infertility procedures at the hospital. This exposure caused him to become inspired to specialise in the field of Embryology.
Persaud, moreover, decided to apply to Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital for a scholarship, which he received. This allowed for him to complete training at the Craft Hospital and Research Centre in Kerala, India. Just returned from India a few weeks ago as an Embryology specialist, Persaud is expected to lend support to the hospital’s agenda to grow tremendously over the coming years, with a view of it having the largest Infertility Centre in the Caribbean.
Infertility is said to be the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 or more months of unprotected sexual intercourse. The most common factors causing infertility are a low sperm count, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome [PCOS], other hormonal disorders including endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes, and waiting to get pregnant or delaying infertility treatment.
According to Persaud, “in Guyana it is very common for patients to delay infertility treatment, and to wait until they are in their late 30s or early 40s before they start the process.” He noted that “with increasing maternal age, the quality of eggs released by the ovary decreases and this makes pregnancy very hard.”
Before the hospital began to advertise its infertility services, Dr. Singh had started to speak on the issue, and found that a number of patients would never seek treatment, and weren’t even attempting to deal with this issue through the proper channels.
Persaud said that “patients who are not getting pregnant with simple treatments like clomiphene, can move on to more advanced treatments like intra-uterine insemination and in vitro fertilisation.” IVF is a process whereby fertilisation of an egg and sperm is completed in the laboratory, after the eggs have been harvested by the gynaecologist.
The new embryologist’s specific area of speciality is in vitro fertilisation-intracytoplasmic sperm injection [IVF-ICSI]. In vitro fertilisation is a process in which the eggs from a woman are retrieved and then combined with the sperm in a laboratory. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection involves directly injecting the sperm into the egg, and this is a highly technical procedure, which is still only being offered by the most advanced IVF clinics around the world. The success rates with IVF-ICSI are higher than those with IVF alone, where it is indicated.
According to Persaud, “Dr. Madhu’s infertility clinic has brought relief to many Guyanese, and is now frequented by patients from neighbouring countries like Suriname, and the neighbouring islands, because for the Caribbean, this hospital offers the best price”.
“The success rates produced by the clinic are on par with that of the clinics in Barbados and Trinidad, and the price is a fraction of that being quoted at those clinics,” added Persaud, who is optimistic that with his help, “the IVF lab will continue to grow and eventually become the largest in the Caribbean”.