Baby born after embryo is frozen for six years, makes history in Terengganu

KUALA TERENGGANU, Oct 8 -- A baby boy, the product of a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) procedure using an embryo frozen for six years, was born at Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ) here yesterday, creating historic success for the hospital's In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) efforts.  

The test-tube baby weighing 3.34 kilogrammes was a "gift from God", said proud mother Noor'adn Muhammad, 38, who told reporters she and her husband, Mohd Yuhairi Haniff Yoon, 37,  had waited for 13 years to have their first child.

Having endured two short-lived IVF-assisted pregnancies comprising a two-month pregnancy in 2012 and twin foetuses who survived for five months in 2013, Noor'adn said the couple made a decision to give themselves a five-year rest "in order to be ready mentally and physically to undergo future treatment". 

The Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Kampung Baru Serada teacher who expressed her thanks to hospital staff, in particular, the team of specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists led by Dr Nasuha Yaacob, said after resuming treatment in December 2018, she was certified pregnant on Jan 27, 2019.

"Since then, I took no-pay leave, had a healthy diet and avoided walking long distances to ensure the baby was safely born," she said today.

According to Dr Nasuha, the infant who has not yet been named, was the 20th test-tube baby born at the hospital since the inception of its reproductive treatment unit in 2009.

The couple was fortunate to have had an embryo that was of good quality despite being frozen for six years, she said, adding that normally, FET procedures were conducted between one and three years, after embryos were frozen, with a maximum limit of five years.

There are only four government hospitals in Malaysia offering IVF treatment, and these comprise HSNZ (east coast zone), Hospital Kuala Lumpur (central zone), Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah (northern zone) and Hospital Wanita dan Kanak-Kanak Sabah (Sabah and Sarawak).

-- BERNAMA