INTERVIEWER: SHAZIA PATEL
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What is your role in Sandton Fertility Clinic (SFC)?
Goolam H Mohamed: I started SFC and I am also the Director of the Clinic. I practiced there as the sole clinician for many years.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Are you still the only clinician working there?
Goolam H Mohamed: No. At present there are several clinicians working at Sandton Fertility Clinic. Part of the plan to expand SFC included reaching out to a more diverse patient base. To facilitate this, we incorporated clinicians with varying strengths, interests and experience.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Does SFC deal with HIV positive patients?
Goolam H Mohamed: Yes. With advances in modern medicine, HIV has gone from being a dreaded disease with a shortened lifespan to a chronic illness with a fairly normal morbidity and mortality profile. That means that HIV positive individuals on anti-retroviral treatments and undetectable viral loads are not more likely to suffer from illnesses nor will they be expected to die earlier than HIV negative individuals. So withholding infertility treatment from these individuals is a violation of their democratic right and is challengeable by law. Besides, the probability of a completely healthy pregnancy and a healthy HIV negative baby make the treatment absolutely worthwhile for all concerned. In addition, to this general principal, we apply when dealing with HIV positive concordant and discordant couples. SFC has a unique facility to deal with our positive and negative patients, ie: A separate embryology laboratory to deal with HIV positive patients. This means that contamination between samples is kept to an absolute minimum.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you treat same sex couples and what are some of the challenges you face dealing with such patients?
Goolam H Mohamed: Again, with same sex couples, withholding treatment has legal consequences. In one’s personal capacity, though, one is allowed the luxury of not doing the treatment, but one is expected to facilitate the treatment or refer a patient on. SFC does treat same sex couples. We also facilitate treatments with sperm and egg donors, both of which from part of Artificial Reproductive Techniques (ART) in same sex couples.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Are there not ethical dilemmas involved with egg and sperm donations too?
Goolam H Mohamed: Yes, there are some very obvious dilemmas and other more subtle ones. Anonymity of the donors and recipients are of the utmost importance and there are systems in place to ensure that this is not compromised. There are also registers that are meant to record the number of successful pregnancies from a specific donor (to a maximum of five pregnancies from one donor). Obviously, donors and fertility centers could fall short of expectations in this regard, and the consequences are frightening. One can imagine that the selection of a donor is also very challenging for the patient. They would have to choose specific physical features like skin and eye color to incorporate a child into a family unit and they would also be interested in good health profiles. However, for example, people could be tempted into choosing donors based of qualities like IQ and sporting prowess. This idea of designing a human being is a moral dilemma, as is gender selection. Some very unique sentiments exist amongst patients regarding sperm and oocyte (egg) donations and our clinicians and supporting staff have to be aware of and sensitive to these egg. There are some religious sects that don’t allow sperm and egg donation egg our Muslim patients.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: On that note, does SFC practice gender selection?
Goolam H Mohamed: Gender selection other than for sex related genetically inherited medical conditions are not only frowned upon, but it is illegal. Despite that some centers practice it behind closed doors, SFC only practices gender selection for genuine and legitimate medical reasons.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What comment can you make about the availability of ART to all South Africans?
Goolam H Mohamed: As you know, unfortunately, here in South Africa, historically due to imbalanced socio-economic and political factors, health care is structured into the state (public) and private
Sectors. The enormous differences that exist between the two cannot all be addressed here. The public sector is more third world, while the private sector is definitely first world. Even basic medical care in the state (public) sector is to a large extent out of reach of the average person ie: Secondary health care facilities are not abundant. Traveling and waiting in queues means a day’s salary lost. These people are also less informed and aware about their health, and, so, they delay seeking medical help. By the time they do present themselves to a medical facility, the condition is mostly in its advanced stage. Factors that further perpetuate the health problems come in the form of alcoholism, drug addiction, domestic violence, overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate health education, promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases – the roots of which stem from a mismanaged expenditure by government on less important issues for those who are less in need. Unfortunately only the affluent minority have the luxury of access to the private health care system. Seventy five percent of the South African population is too poor to afford private medical care. All the challenges of general health care in the two sectors pertain to women’s health and fertility as well. It’s a shame that in this day and age, in a country like ours, challenges contributing to infertility in the public sector like tubal obstruction and HIV are potentially avoidable by simple health education.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What does it mean to be Black Economic Empowerment compliant and is Sandton Fertility Clinic BEE compliant?
Goolam H Mohamed: To be BEE compliant one has to have 75% black employees in ones employ. In addition to that they have to occupy management positions. Yes , SFC, and indeed the clinic in which we are located ie The Centre Of Advanced Medicine (CAM) are both BEE compliant.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What are the advantages of being BEE compliant?
Goolam H Mohamed: A company has the advantage of standing in line for government tenders and assistance with expansion projects in the future. At present CAM has a day theatre with day beds servicing a wide variety of medical specialist with minor operative procedures; e.g. dental, urological, gastroenterological, general gynecological and aesthetic medical procedures. In the future, we hope to expand to include somewhat more involved surgery and overnight stay facilities.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Thank you so much for sharing this great information wit us Dr.
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