Dealing with not being a dad yet – is IVF always the answer to infertility?
Dealing with not being a dad yet – is IVF always the answer to infertility?
“Little things would set me off. I’d walk into work and a colleague’s car had a baby seat in the back. I’d question myself as a man. I question my masculinity.”
A new survey has been carried out by Infertility Network UK and Middlesex University London looking at the impact upon men of fertility problems. One in six couples in Northern Ireland experience difficulties conceiving a baby.
Two men spoke to the BBC about their own experiences.
Aaron, 42, said he and his wife have been trying to have a baby for eight years. “When people ask why we don’t have kids, it’s like are people that idiotic, that insensitive?” 40 year old James said he and his wife have been struggling to conceive for five years. “The silence is stifling. It’s like someone needs to say something.”
Fertility problems are as common in men as women. Male or female – your body’s fertility is a complex department that relies on total health and wellbeing. With Randox Health, you can find out exactly how your body is performing before trying for a baby.
Common causes of infertility for men
- low sperm count
- problems with the tubes carrying sperm
- problems getting an erection or ejaculating
- diabetes
- being overweight
Is IVF the only option?
Not according to one of the founding fathers of in-vitro fertilisation – Dr Robert Winston. In his book, The Essential Fertility Guide, he outlines fertility treatment options and suggests more than half of people referred to IVF clinics may be treated by alternatives. “There are numerous causes of infertility and the best treatment may be different in each circumstance. Unfortunately, the massive publicity given to IVF has led to most people believing that it is almost the only treatment and the most successful. This is utterly wrong. Couples rush into IVF far too frequently.”
He believes this happens when not enough time is spent investigating the underlying cause of infertility. “IVF is not the only treatment for infertility, and it’s often not the best treatment or the most successful. There are many treatments depending on the cause, and the cause should be established first.”
What you can do
If you’re thinking about trying for a baby, you might want to find out more about your current fertility levels and also whether or not there are any risk factors to consider in the future.
Randox has created one of the world’s most advanced reproductive health checks. Our personalised service involves physical and biological assessments, with 110 tests carried out in total, including DNA-based protein testing.
Dr Peter FitzGerald, founder and CEO of Randox said, “One in every six couples in Northern Ireland will experience difficulty conceiving. Through our research, we know it won’t always be down to a problem with the sperm, eggs and reproductive organs, but could also be a consequence of issues in other parts of the body such as hormone imbalance, obesity or stress.
“We use the very latest in diagnostic innovation to assess your whole body health, which gives clarity on how well you are now and crucially assesses your future health, which can help to boost your fertility levels.
“For many couples, we know that very sophisticated treatment, such as IVF is not always needed. Sometimes a deceptively simple change in lifestyle or diet will deliver positive results.”
Randox and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative share common goal
You may have read in the news this week that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to invest $3 billion over the next decade to help further and advance medical research. Investments will go towards a research facility, named the Biohub, which will focus on developing new tools to research, understand and treat diseases, and of particular interest to us here at Randox, on creating a chip to diagnose disease.
Here at Randox we fully support this drive to further research that is devoted to revolutionising healthcare. We commit up to 16% of turnover to research and development each year and currently over 20% of the world’s major laboratories are using Randox products.
In particular, we invested £220 million into the development of our Biochip Array Technology (BAT). The Randox biochip has revolutionised the diagnostics industry by facilitating the detection of a wide range of markers of disease from a single undivided sample. This not only enhances patient diagnosis but reduces the amount of time spent on individual tests and associated laboratory costs.
Our expertise, highly specialised scientists and world-class ISO accredited manufacturing facilities enables early, accurate, informed clinical decisions in the areas of veterinary testing, molecular research and diagnostics, drug development, food safety and forensic and clinical toxicology.
Our Randox Health clinics use our Biochip to allow people to avail of the complete portfolio of Randox routine and novel tests to empower their health decisions. This new and exciting service provides personalised and preventive health profiling for each individual.
Speaking about the biochip Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Founder and Managing Director of Randox said,
“Many years of development and the expertise of our highly qualified scientists have gone into the creation of Randox Biochip Array Technology. This scientific development will facilitate the simultaneous quantitative or qualitative detection of a wide range of analytes from a single undivided sample. This approach both proteomic and genomic enables an enhanced patient diagnosis, optimum efficiency and consolidation of cost. Our arrays are suitable for use in a wide range of settings including clinical and research laboratories, biopharmaceutical organisations, forensic and clinical toxicology, hospital laboratories, food testing and veterinary laboratories.”
We are delighted that Chan Zuckerberg’s interest in this area brings to the forefront the importance of improving healthcare through innovative diagnostics. It is clear that Randox and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative share a common goal to revolutionise healthcare worldwide and we believe that the Randox Biochip can play an important role in realising this vision.
For further information please contact our Randox Comms Team on 028 9445 1016 or email amy.mcilwaine@randox.com
Gestational Diabetes: The Third Kind
Year upon year, WHO (World Health Organisation) have set a date to raise awareness of various health issues from Food Safety, to Hypertension to Vector-Borne diseases. This year, WHO are setting their goals in raising awareness on Diabetes; those with family and friends affected and those diagnosed. The RX series take a closer look at a type of Diabetes we don’t often talk about to raise awareness for the #BeatDiabetes campaign by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Diabetes is a life-long condition, featuring in the top 10 causes of death globally, responsible for approximately 1,497,371 deaths worldwide and 6,088 in the UK alone yearly. As a major non-communicable disease, diabetes claims on average around 8% of total health budgets in developed countries.
As many know, diabetes can come in 2 common forms: Types I Diabetes; where the pancreas does not produce insulin and Type II Diabetes; where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin/the body’s cells do not react to insulin. Not very often, however, do we hear the term Gestational Diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects pregnant women, usually in their third trimester. The good news is, the condition usually disappears soon after the baby is born, but what are the risks, how serious is it really and what are the chances you may find yourself dealing with the condition?
Pregnancy puts extra demands on the body, as it demands higher level of nutrition, and energy. Gestational Diabetes (GDM) occurs when the body can’t produce enough extra insulin to meet these demands.
The condition is surprisingly common, with 15% of all pregnancies resulting in the mother suffering from GDM. Whilst it only occurs in pregnancy; it is estimated that over 50% of women who have had gestational diabetes will go on to develop type II diabetes within 5-10 years of delivery which is a startling statistic.
A study carried out at JSS Medical College aimed to investigate the biochemical parameters that could be used to diagnose GDM. Levels of serum creatinine, uric acid and the albumin were studied in GDM patients and unaffected pregnant women to consider any correlation between these biochemical markers and certain clinical parameters. The RX daytona, a clinical chemistry analyser from Randox’s RX series range was used to analyse the samples. The conclusion was that biochemical parameters such as serum creatinine, uric acid and albumin, can help in predicting the early onset and progression of GDM.
The study also stated that early diagnosis was paramount as it could help in the proper treatment of gestational diabetes and its associated complications for mother and baby, thus helping to improve the quality of life of the GDM patients and their offspring.
There are measures women can take before and during pregnancy to prevent the likelihood of Gestational Diabetes occurring. One study shows that increasing fibre intake to 10g per day reduces the risk by 26%. Also, women who exercise before pregnancy have a lower risk of gestational diabetes, the more intense the exercise, the lower the risk. However, this doesn’t have to mean extremely strenuous exercise, anything as simple as walking at a brisk pace, rather than at a leisurely pace will reduce your risks.
This year on World Health Day, we urge you to share your stories and give support for those affected by diabetes and use the hashtag #BeatDiabetes to get involved with the conversation.
Randox offers high quality tests for the diagnosis of diabetes and the monitoring of its complications.
To find out more about the RX series range of clinical chemistry analysers and how we tackle Diabetes with accurate and early diagnosis, take a look at our brochures below.
Questions? Speak to the RX team: theRXseries@Randox.com
Global healthcare provider Randox Health to become Official Partner of the Grand National Festival
Global innovative healthcare company, Randox Health, will become the new Official Partner of the world’s greatest race, the Grand National, and the three-day Grand National Festival staged at Aintree Racecourse.
Randox Health is a world leader in healthcare diagnostics; today more than 5% of the world’s population – in excess of 370 million people across 145 countries – receives medical diagnosis using Randox products each year.
Offering the world’s most advanced preventive health screening in their clinics, currently in London and Belfast, Randox Health plans to roll out clinics nationally and internationally over the next 12 months, including in Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. The Randox Health checks aim to prevent illness and enhance wellbeing by running hundreds of tests from one simple patient sample. These unique tests give an extraordinary insight into every aspect of a person’s health.
Founded in 1982 in County Antrim by leading medical scientist and keen horseman, Dr. Peter FitzGerald CBE, Randox Health is dedicated to improving health and enhancing lives, worldwide. To achieve their goals the company is committed to an extensive research programme, investing more than £220m since 1992. The company currently employs more than 1,400 people of 44 different nationalities.
This research has also led to the establishment of a number of successful subsidiary companies supporting forensic toxicology, food safety and veterinary care, as well as leading developments within the pharmaceutical industry.
With around 9 million people tuning in each year in the UK, the £1 million Grand National currently attracts one of the largest live TV audiences in sport and Channel 4’s largest audience of the year. From 2017, the first year with new partner Randox Health, the race will be broadcast on ITV. Worldwide the event attracts an estimated television audience of around 600 million, with more than 150,000 people enjoying the action live from Aintree Racecourse in Merseyside over the course of the three-day racing festival.
Randox Health also becomes the Official Healthcare Partner of The Jockey Club. Founded in 1750 and today British Racing’s largest commercial group, The Jockey Club runs many of the sport’s most iconic assets which as well as the Grand National Festival include the Cheltenham Festival, The Investec Derby Festival and The National Stud, with all profits going back into the sport thanks to being a company incorporated by Royal Charter.
Crabbie’s, Title Partner for the 2016 Grand National Festival being held 7th to 9th April and the previous two runnings, will retain its association with the Jump Racing spectacular, moving from 2017 to become sponsors of the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle on the Friday’s Ladies Day.
Dr. Peter FitzGerald CBE, Founder and Managing Director of Randox, said:
“The Randox Health team is extremely pleased to partner the world’s greatest race. The Grand National offers us a major public platform to raise awareness of preventative healthcare and to encourage people to take control of their health and wellbeing. We see this partnership as a natural fit, as both organisations invest heavily in the future and we aim to use our partnership to promote a positive lifestyle and to bring enjoyment to millions of people. We care about people’s health and this is the people’s race.
“Crabbie’s sponsorship of the Grand National will be a hard act to follow, but we look forward to rising to the challenge and sharing our vision for Randox Health further once the 2016 Crabbie’s Grand National has drawn to a close and our rights for the world’s greatest race come into effect.”
John Baker, North West Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses, who runs Aintree, said:
“I am delighted to welcome Randox Health as our new partner from after the 2016 Crabbie’s Grand National Festival. This is an incredibly exciting time to join forces with Randox because they are highly ambitious as a company and share our aspiration to promote the Grand National to the maximum number of people in the years ahead.
“We are already working closely with Randox Health and are excited both about their plans for the future and how they see the role of our partnership within that. Their vision, people and operation are very impressive, they love their racing and I am confident they will prove fantastic partners for our crown jewel.
“I should also like to thank Crabbie’s brand owner, Halewood International, and in particular Judy Halewood and Peter Eaton, for their very generous and beneficial support of the Crabbie’s Grand National these past three years. I am very pleased they will remain involved and associated with Aintree through sponsorship of the high value Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle and of course before that the important 169th running of the world’s greatest steeplechase in April under their banner.”
For more information contact Randox PR on 028 9445 1016 or email nicola.mchugh@randox.com, or amy.mcilwaine@randox.com
For further information on Randox Health, please visit www.randoxhealth.com