World IVF Day: NDRI to impart training on ovum pick-up-IVF to vets

Karnal, July 25

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Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan, Director, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), today said the NDRI had received a proposal to provide training at 30 embryo transfer technology (ETT) labs with IVF facility established under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission by the Union Government with the aim to conserve and develop bovine population.

These labs have a target to produce 3,000 high-yielding indigenous breed bulls to meet the requirement of semen in the country.

Talking to mediapersons on World IVF Day, Dr Chauhan said: “By 2023-24, as many as 50 ETT labs will be established. We will provide training to not only veterinarians of these labs, but also to all veterinarians of the country on ovum pick-up- IVF.”

The NDRI today celebrated World IVF Day for the first time. In human, Louise Brown was the first test-tube baby born through IVF technique on July 25, 1978, and thus, the day is marked as World IVF Day.

He said the NDRI was the first institute to produce world’s first buffalo calf named ‘Pratham’ with the help of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) technique in 1990. Later, six more calves were produced using IVF.

The scientists of the institute had also produced India’s first ovum pick-up-IVF female Sahiwal calf named ‘Holi’ on March 7, 2012, adding that the institute had also started IVF in goat in India during the 1990s.

Dr Chauhan laid emphasis that on how ovum pick-up was one of the recent and remarkable technologies in the field of reproductive biotechnology, which allowed the collection of oocytes from ovaries of live animals of known pedigree. He added that it additionally decreased the interval between generations.

“Normally, from a cow, we can get five to eight calves in her life time, but using the ovum pick-up-IVF technology, a cow can produce more than 50-80 calves. It is one of best technologies in multiplying the superior indigenous germplasm such as Gir, Sahiwal, Red-Shindi. Uses of sexed semen also give a potential use of this technology,” he added.

He said the government had given permission to use the cloned animals’ semen for field purpose. A village near Haridwar has been identified, where they will provide 50 hiffers for multiplication of quality animals.

“We will use the semen of cloned animals for the production of quality animals. It will help in making residents self-reliant in the dairy sector,” he added.