A specialist IVF clinic located at Mediclinic Windhoek is one of only two clinics in Namibia that provide services for those struggling to conceive. It offers in vitro fertilisation (IVF), complex laparoscopic surgery, as well as storage and donation of eggs and sperm.

The Windhoek IVF Clinic at Mediclinic Windhoek is a partnership between Windhoek IVF cc and Aevitas Fertility Clinic in Cape Town, the oldest IVF clinic in South Africa. It’s run by a multidisciplinary team comprising fertility specialist Professor Ingo Siebert from Aevitas; specialist gynaecologist and the clinic’s main partner Dr Riaan van der Colf; and gynaecologist and obstetrician Dr Melanie Smit, an expert in laparoscopic surgery.

Aevitas has been providing IVF and laparoscopic services to Mediclinic Windhoek patients since 2006, but to meet the need for IVF in Namibia, the Windhoek IVF Clinic formally opened in 2017. The clinic was the brainchild of partners Professor Siebert, Dr Van der Colf and Dr Smit. Another fertility specialist, Dr Tome Honing, is currently using the Windhoek IVF laboratory, along with a qualified embryologist from Aevitas. Professor Siebert and his co-directors at Aevitas visit Namibia regularly to conduct laparoscopic surgery and training.

Specialised fertility services

The Mediclinic Windhoek IVF clinic is one of two clinics in Namibia to offer fertility-related services. The clinic’s specialists can provide patients with basic assessments as well procedures such as IVF, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), intrauterine insemination (IUI) and semen analysis.

“We pride ourselves on our holistic approach to fertility complications,” says Professor Siebert. “We help the doctors with IVF and IUI, as well as complicated laparoscopic surgical procedures.” The clinic also provides laboratory services for the freezing and storage of donor eggs and donor sperm. Donors hail from Namibia, as well as from South Africa, if an adequate donor cannot be found locally, he explains.

Increasing the chances of success

While fertility treatments are not failsafe, the younger the recipient, the greater the chance of conception. The clinic provides ICSI in combination with IVF to increase the odds of conceiving, says Professor Siebert. A special microscope was acquired a few years ago that has increased the spectrum of services tremendously. “In addition, with technology that enables the harvesting and storage of donor eggs, we can really help patients older than 43 conceive more regularly.” Professor Siebert cites IVF success rates as follows:

  • General IVF success rate – ±40%
  • Younger than 35 years – ±54%
  • Older than 38 years – ±25-30%

Region-wide services

Mediclinic Windhoek IVF Clinic provides fertility services to patients in Namibia, as well as from neighbouring countries Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola, which do not have such services.

For more information, call the Mediclinic Windhoek IVF Clinic on +264 (0)61 234 424 or email windhoekivf@gmail.com