MUMBAI: The 140-year-old Cama and Albless Hospital, the city’s first and only women’s hospital, has recorded a sharp rise in patients seeking fertility treatment, with registrations at its government-run Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinic more than doubling from 1,492 in 2024 to 3,286 by September 11 this year. However, only 26 women have undergone IVF at the facility since it received a licence to perform the procedure in December 2025.
The surge has continued this year. The consultations form part of the new registrations and are not an additional category over and above the total cases. The numbers, however, do not represent IVF procedures alone. Six women have also had their embryos frozen at the hospital’s egg and sperm bank. Some patients who cannot stay in Mumbai for long travel to the hospital for surgical procedures such as laparoscopy and return to their hometowns for recovery.
The hospital, which houses the city’s only government-run IVF facility, recorded 1,492 cases in 2024, including 418 new registrations and 1,074 follow-ups. The number rose to 2,827 in 2025, comprising 567 new registrations and 2,260 follow-ups. Till September 11, 2026, the ART clinic had registered 3,286 cases — 515 new registrations and 2,771 follow-ups. The figure is already 459 higher than the total number recorded in the whole of 2025, even though the 2026 data covers only about eight-and-a-half months. The clinic, which began functioning in April 2024, had recorded 379 consultations in its first five months. Since the ART clinic received its licence to perform IVF in December 2025, only 26 women have undergone IVF procedures, according to the hospital. A much larger number — 337 women — have undergone intrauterine insemination (IUI) and ovulation induction, which are secondary-level assisted reproduction procedures.
Medical superintendent Dr Tushar Palve said the number of registrations at the ART clinic reflects the broad range of fertility-related services and consultations offered by the facility, rather than just patients undergoing IVF. A large number of women also travel to Cama Hospital from the hinterland of Maharashtra for consultations and second opinions, following which they continue their treatment in their hometowns, Dr Palve said.
