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Unable to bear the humiliation meted out by Jyoti Basu government, the World’s 2nd Doctor to create a Test Tube Baby killed himself on this day.
This is the tragic history of the Pioneer of IVF in India, the creator of India's first and world's second child using IVF,
This is the tragic history of the Pioneer of IVF in India, the creator of India's first and world's second child using IVF,
Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay.
#Punyasmaran.
The son of a Doctor, Subhash was born on 16 Jan 1931 at Hazaribagh.
Subhash earned his medical degree and his 1st Ph.D. at Calcutta University and his second Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1967 in 'Reproductive Endocrinology'.
#Punyasmaran.
The son of a Doctor, Subhash was born on 16 Jan 1931 at Hazaribagh.
Subhash earned his medical degree and his 1st Ph.D. at Calcutta University and his second Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1967 in 'Reproductive Endocrinology'.
Dr Mukherjee’s story is that of a genius. He pioneered in vitro fertilization (IVF) in India with the aid of some general apparatus and a refrigerator in his Kolkata apartment.
He had been drawn to innovative gynaecological surgery from his early days as a medical student.
He had been drawn to innovative gynaecological surgery from his early days as a medical student.
When he returned to India in 1967, he started researching ovulation and spermatogenesis. Within a year, with a team comprising Sunit Mukherji, a cryobiologist, and Saroj Kanti Bhattacharya, a gynaecologist, he announced the birth of the world’s second test-tube baby.
The announcement came only 67 days after the British biologist Robert Edwards had announced the birth of the first test-tube baby in England. But unlike his counterpart, Dr Mukherjee had used a method called cryopreservation to preserve the human embryo & his method is
currently the preferred technique of medically assisted reproduction worldwide.
Instead of applauding his research and award the scientist, Bengal govt set up an enquiry committee to investigate his breakthrough in 1978. The committee concluded that his claims were bogus,
Instead of applauding his research and award the scientist, Bengal govt set up an enquiry committee to investigate his breakthrough in 1978. The committee concluded that his claims were bogus,
flagging off a cycle of ridicule. He was denied permission to travel to Japan, where he had been invited to discuss his work. In a final act of humiliation, he was transferred to the Regional Inst of Ophthalmology, Kolkata, in June 1981. He killed himself within a few weeks.
The Jyoti Basu government defended itself against Dr Mukherjee by claiming lack of documentation, but the truth?
Dr Mukherjee had presented his findings at the International Congress on Hormonal Steroids at New Delhi in 1978; at the Indian Science Congress at Hyderabad in 1979;
Dr Mukherjee had presented his findings at the International Congress on Hormonal Steroids at New Delhi in 1978; at the Indian Science Congress at Hyderabad in 1979;
and had published a paper in the Indian Journal of Cryogenics in 1978. He had even submitted a report, Transfer of In VitroFertilized Frozen-thawed Human Embryo, to the West Bengal government.
The committee that condemned Dr Mukherjee’s procedure reportedly comprised
The committee that condemned Dr Mukherjee’s procedure reportedly comprised
a gynaecologist, a psychologist, a physicist and a neurologist—none of whom had any knowledge of modern reproductive technology. “He couldn’t handle the politics. He was a scientist, not a lawyer," says Dr Mukherji, who has edited Architect of India’s First Test-Tube Baby (2001)
In 1997, as T.C. Anand Kumar browsed through the diary of Subhash Mukherjee, he realized that the title he bore—creator of India’s first test-tube baby—belonged to someone else.
Dr Kumar, a reproductive biologist, was known for having created India’s first test-tube baby.
Dr Kumar, a reproductive biologist, was known for having created India’s first test-tube baby.
His collaboration with gynaecologist Indira Hinduja had resulted in the widely publicized birth of Harsha Chawda in Mumbai on 6 August 1986. But going through Dr Mukherjee’s handwritten notes years later, Dr Kumar concluded that Dr Mukherjee had preceded him by eight years:
India’s first test-tube baby, Kanupriya Agarwal alias Durga, was born on 3 October 1978 in Kolkata. Since the feat had received almost no acknowledgement from India’s scientific community, Dr Kumar had been unaware of it.
It was Dr Mukherji who got things rolling when he
It was Dr Mukherji who got things rolling when he
handed over Dr Mukherjee’s diary— which was in his possession—to Dr Kumar, the man who had the courage to research his predecessors’ findings and scientifically present them to the world, exonerate Dr Mukherjee of the fraud charges.
It was due to Dr Kumar’s efforts, in 2002, that ICMR recognized his work for the first time.
When the media was celebrating Dr Kumar’s supposed breakthrough in 1986, Dr Mukherjee wasn’t around to reiterate his claims. Frustrated by the way the Marxist West Bengal government
When the media was celebrating Dr Kumar’s supposed breakthrough in 1986, Dr Mukherjee wasn’t around to reiterate his claims. Frustrated by the way the Marxist West Bengal government
had neglected his research, and harassed by the strong gynaecologists’ lobby that saw his work as a threat, he had committed suicide in 1981.
#ForgottenLegends
#DrSubhashMukhopadhyay
#IVF
#Punyasmaran
#VANDEMATARAM
#ForgottenLegends
#DrSubhashMukhopadhyay
#IVF
#Punyasmaran
#VANDEMATARAM
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