Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay . Ek Doctor Ki Maut . IVF: Did India miss a medicine Nobel? ========================= “On 11th april, 2013, when I heard a news about the death of the great British physiologist Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards, a pioneer in ‘In-vitro fertilisation (IVF)’, which led to the birth of the first test-tube baby, I became suddenly sad. The media all over the world was covering his death. No doubt he was a great physiologist : he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of in vitro fertilization. “But I am not sad about his death. Actually I just remembered one of the my favourite Hindi Movie ‘Ek Doctor Ki Maut’, directed by Tapan Sinha, and the tragic story of Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay, on whose life the movie is based.” Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay was born on January 16, 1931 in Hazaribagh, now in Jharkhand. He graduated in 1955 with an honours degree in physiology and later, in 1958, earned a doctorate in reproductive physiology. In 1967, Dr Mukhopadhya obtained a second doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in reproductive endocrinology. Kanupriya Agarwal aka Durga, the first test tube baby of India, was brought to life by Dr Subhas Mukhopadhyay on October 3, 1978, just 67 days after the world’s first test-tube baby, Marie Louise Brown, was born. In their procedure, Dr Edwards had collected the ovum by using a laproscope. But Dr. Mukhopadhyay did not; instead, he increased the number of ovum collected by using a hormone, to enhance the probability of fertilisation. But the country failed Dr Mukhopadhya. In November 1978, an ‘expert committee’ was appointed by the Government of West Bengal under the State medical association to decide over the fate of a “convict” named Dr. Subhas Mukhopahyay. None of committee members had a clue about modern reproductive technology; none had ever seen an embryos in their lifetime. Dr Mukhopadhya was charged for having claimed that he was the architect of a human test tube baby named Durga. The great Doctor denounced the Committee’s report in the media. He had made the impossible possible with few general apparatus and a refrigerator, in his small Southern Avenue flat. He never bowed before the bureaucracy and his straightforwardness always evoked jealousy among his peers. Committee’s Verdict : “Everything that Dr. Mukhopadhyay claims is bogus.” Thanks to inimical peers and disinterested bureaucrats, he suffered the punishment of being transferred to ophthalmic department, which sealed his prospect to work on hormones. Facing social ostracization, bureaucratic negligence, reprimand and insult from the State government, and refusal of Government of India to allow him to attend international conferences, Dr Mukhpadhyay remained in a state of shocked and depression and finally committed suicide on June 19, 1981. “ Termite – in the form of corruption, ignorance, and arrogance of our bureaucrats and politicians – mercilessly finished one more ‘treasure of India’. ” I want to pay a tribute to him by sharing his triumph with you and also I want to share my sadness for the ‘Indian Peaple’ that lost ‘A Great Visionary in the field of Medical Science’. ” Please share this with all your friends, and let every Indian know about this great physiologist.” by - Ashok Khemka
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 17:32:59 +0000
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