Dr.

Kamala Selvaraj MD DGO PhD, Obstetrician and Gynecologist, graduated from

Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. She completed DGO and MD from Madras Medical
College Chennai. She underwent training in 'In vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer
techniques at Monash University, Melbourne in 1985 followed by several training
programmes in Singapore and Monash University. Dr. Kamala Selvaraj commissioned
the First Test Tube Baby of South India in August 1990 and since then has had many
achievements – including several first - in assisted reproduction. In 2002, she was
awarded PhD for her thesis on “Premature Ovarian Failure and its management”. She has
many publications to her credit in several National and International journals as first
author and has authored chapters in textbooks on assisted reproduction. She is also the
recipient of several awards including Best Lady Doctor award (1993), Mahila
Shironmani Award (1995), Rajiv Gandhi Memorial National Integration Award (1995)
and Seva Ratna Award. She constantly updates herself in assisted reproduction by
participating in national and international conferences.

Dr. Kamala Selvaraj has a list of firsts to her credit. To mention a few: –

• She pioneered the first test tube baby in South India in 1990
• In 1992 - For the first time in India she made a surrogate baby possible
• In 1992 - Her clinic performed the first Sperm attached Oocyte Fallopian tube
Transfer (SOFT)
• In 2008 - first Frozen Egg (Oocyte) baby,
• For the first time in South East Asia, under her care, twins were born to a patient
with Mayer-Rokintansky-Kustner-Hauser Syndrome through a surrogate.

She has fulfilled the dream of thousands of couples in India and from countries like
Dubai, UK, US, Australia, Sri Lanka and Canada to have children of their own.
Dr. Kamala Selvaraj with South India's First Test Tube Baby on Her 18th Birthday

Medindia spoke to the doctor at her sprawling GG Hospital in Chennai, India that also
houses an Invitro Fertilization (IVF) lab, equipped with hi-tech state-of-art infrastructure
and heard her speak on her struggles and achievements since her path- breaking foray
into the field of Infertility.

Was there any particular trigger that set you exploring Assisted Reproductive
Techniques (ART)?

I grew up in an extended family with parents and grandparents. I was very attached to my
self-effacing grand aunt Chinnama who never really wished for anything in life, probably
because she was childless. I often wondered what went wrong with her and if she or her
husband ever consulted a doctor. When I started my Fertility Research Center and was
grappling with many issues at the developmental stage she instilled great confidence in
me. It saddened me when she died a couple of years before my first test tube baby was
born.

It must have been an ordeal venturing into infertility treatment nearly 25 years ago.
How did you manage?

Those were very difficult times and each day brought some new learning for me. I did
most of everything by myself. For one I was working on a shoestring budget. Also I am
extremely conscious about being perfect. I believe if you don’t follow a perfect protocol
you can’t be successful at anything—leave alone making test tube babies!
C-Section of Surrogate Twins - Video

The entire process involves a chain of controlled events like calculated stimulation for the
development of Oocyte, exact timing to harvest the pre-ovulatory Oocyte and having a
hi-tech lab with an excellent quality of culture medium, perfect protocol to harvest the
best of the sperms and adding a calculated number of sperms to the harvested Oocytes,
checking for the evidence of fertilization seen as two pro nuclei at the end of 16-18 hours
and then gently placing the embryo into the uterine cavity and waiting for the next 11-12
days for the results with bated breath and butterflies in my stomach……. However, it was
an experience of a lifetime leading to an ecstatic moment when I held my first test tube
baby girl. All the tension and struggle seemed to vanish into thin air.

Where were you initiated into the nuances of ART procedures and how difficult was
it putting your training into practice?

I come from a very traditional South Indian family and I had the support of my parents
and my husband who is also a doctor. In response to my letter requesting guidance in the
field of Invitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer (IVT-ET), Dr. Carl Brown encouraged
me to attend his workshop at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia in 1985. That was
followed by attending other international workshops and conferences.
Learning the Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer GIFT procedure in the US, breeding mice
at home (only if the mice embryos grew up to the blastocyst stage in the culture medium
would the culture medium be certified fit for human Oocytes), painstakingly setting up an
Invitro Fertilization lab with the help of Dr. Farim Irani from Mumbai, the experimental
period until the final breakthrough when the dream of a test tube baby came
true…..Nothing came easy.

Testing for Test Tube Babies

You have people coming from all corners of the world for treatment in your
hospital. Roughly how much would an IVF procedure cost?

An entire IVF procedure including room charges, injections etc, would cost around 1 lakh
to 1.5 lakh rupees (($2000-$3000/1400-3000pounds), depending upon the severity of the
case.

What further progress are you looking at in this field of ART procedures?

We have just got our second pregnancy through Vitrification technique. We are now
focusing on Rapid (Vitrification) and slow freezing of Oocytes, ovarian tissue
freezing and we hope to do research in stem cell therapy.
 Dr. Kamala Selvaraj in the Lab

The media is increasingly reporting a rise in infertility worldwide. Is it just hype or

is infertility really on the rise? If so, for what possible reasons?

Stress and a hectic life are causing infertility worldwide. Besides, changing lifestyles
where both men and women are job oriented, late marriages, family planning, medical
termination of pregnancy, use of Intra Uterine device etc are some reasons. Then there
are other factors such as the effect of pesticides, male factor, Polycystic Ovarian
Syndrome, Premature Ovarian Failure and genetic factors.

Your career must be a sting of memorable moments……

Most definitely. The most poignant moments came after the tsunami that struck South
India in 2004. Women, mostly from the lower socio-economic group who had been
sterilized, lost all their children when the waves crashed into their homes. When tubal
recanalization was attempted elsewhere and failed, the women were referred to our
Fertility Center for ART. It was a moving experience to see the couples clinging to their
newborn babies as if a new lease of life had been granted to them. As a policy ART
treatment given to Tsunami victims is entirely free of cost in our hospital.

In a country like India that is still steeped in tradition in many parts and childlessness
is still seen as a curse, Dr. Kamala Selvaraj stands tall giving hope to couples whose
lives were “barren” until they met her. Medindia wishes her all success in her endeavors
to boost infertility treatment in India.