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WOMEN OF THE WEEK

Hope in the test tube

Destiny can be overcome by intellect, believes Dr. Kamala Selvaraj, gynaecologist

MANY FIRSTS TO HER CREDIT Dr. Kamala Selvaraj

The moment had arrived. DD cameras reeled and visitors waited expectantly as she performed the C-section on Ponna. Heart pounding, eyes misting, she picked up the baby — her creation and memento of success after years of lonely struggle. Those watching the miracle at GG Hospital would have understood if she had screamed in triumph. Dr. Kamala Selvaraj held South India's first test tube baby in arms, and wept. That August 1, 1990 morning would put the doctor, her Infertility Research Centre and Chennai in the forefront of the science of making babies.

To get a sense of that breakthrough in the most enduring of mysteries, read Dr. Kamala's first-person account "My Dream Come True". In emotion-choked prose, she describes her difficult, often cash-strapped journey through the alien landscape of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

She had to train in different segments of the procedure — from the preliminary testing to preparing the culture medium, fertilisation and embryo transfer. She had to practise instrument handling.

After weeks of observing processes in Monash University, Australia and the National University Hospital, Singapore, she had to travel to the U.S., the U.K. and Singapore for supplies. "The buildings were huge, the Australian accent was difficult to follow, food was inedible and I thought my trip was a waste and I had lost every penny I had struggled to save," she writes.

Research on mice

Dr. Kamala had thought she would only be dealing with edgy women and embarrassed husbands. She was wrong. She first had to deal with mice, which she bred at home ("they bred, multiplied and grew into hundreds!"). She had to find feed, cages and learn to inject them without throwing up. And when her in-laws landed suddenly, had to find a place to house them! Successes were slow in coming. There were no trained lab technicians, no local peers to help. Disappointment often led to depression as she took those "toddler steps".

Surrogate baby

Today, Kamalaratnam, a 15-year-old school topper, is only one of Dr. Kamala's firsts. The PROST baby, the GIFT twins, the TET and the SOFT babies, all firsts for South India came in grand succession in 1992. India's first surrogate baby stepped into history in 1994 and a 49-year-old gave birth to an IVF ET baby the same year. South India's first ICSI arrived in 1997, the frozen ET triplets in 1998. Dr. Kamala delivered a FROOTI baby in 1995, IVF quadruplets (all girls) in 1996 and ICSI triplets in 2005. In December, out of the 54 births at GG, 33 started life in a test tube. That is one test tube baby a day! "Oh, that's because many women go to their own gynos after they get pregnant here." The doctor counts India's first surrogate baby and Asia's first baby born through a surrogate to a woman without a uterus as big achievements.

There is a hopeful line of 75 women waiting to see her this noon. Is infertility on the increase? "Numbers spurt with the population," she explains. "Sadly, male infertility is on the rise, especially among software engineers working across day and night. There are women who have lost their child/children at perimenopausal stage, there are sterilised women who lost their kids to tsunami. There are plenty of reasons to go for test tube babies."

Tremendous drive

She zips out to attend to a patient, solves a kitchen problem, ticks a woman off with "Get your priorities right!" and checks on an offering to a temple. After consultation, counselling, lab work, surgeries, hospital administration, reading, writing, publishing technical papers, attending conferences, delivering lectures, taking part in public functions and receiving awards, is there time she can call her own? Not much, but "I sometimes drop everything to play with my grandchildren." Where did she get this go-go-go drive? "My parents. They taught me multitasking and time management. Their advice: Work today like there is no tomorrow."

But she's preparing for tomorrow. Her daughter works with her to make sure that the procedures she has perfected will be continued. "I'm proud of her. She is having her third baby. We are manufacturing manpower for the hospital," Dr. Kamala smiles. "My three-year-old grand-daughter comes here wearing cap, mask and theatre slippers." She has plans for creating awareness among women on AIDS, nutrition, family planning and physical fitness. At first look, Dr. Kamala is a saviour who puts a smile on childless couples' faces. Look closer, you find a woman who inspires others into chasing their dreams. But step back, you see a committed scientist, driven to replicating a natural phenomenon and determined to do it first. It's this scientific temper and the belief "destiny can be overcome by intellect" that reserve Dr. Kamala's place in the hall of fame.

GEETA PADMANABHAN

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