Test tube baby fame Dr Indira Hinduja spent her childhood in Belgaum

Dr Indira Hinduja has created what perhaps is the biggest gift for childless couples — India’s first test-tube baby, Harsha Chevda. What she started in 1988, has led today to a plethora of invitro fertilisation (IVF) clinics across Mumbai. But Dr Indira Hinduja, who first made it all happen, has rightfully earned herself a place in Indian medical history. Most cannot forget that sense of wonder when they heard about the birth of Harsha. For Dr Hinduja, it was a culmination of a three-year-long painstaking research in IVF and embryo transfer. Dr Hinduja has successfully delivered more than 1244 test-tube babies in India.

Dr.Indira Hinduja was born at Shikarpur, (Pakistan) and during the Partition, her family migrated to Mumbai. Indira was only a few months old then.

After living in Belgaum (now Belagavi) for some years, they moved back to Mumbai in 1963. And ever since, it’s been her home. She studied in Mahila Vidyalaya Belgaum and stayed near Kelkar bag (this is from sources). During her childhood she was unsure of what she wanted to do. She decided to take up medicine when she was in high school. Earlier, she wanted to be a musician. Medicine was decision that came after much thought.

Dr Indira Hinduja is an MD in Gynecology and Obstetrics and she was awarded a Ph D degree for her thesis entitled Human In vitro Fertilisation and Embryo Transfer from Bombay University when she was a full-time practicing obstetrician and gynecologist on the clinical faculty of the Seth G.S. Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. This significant contribution lies in combining her basic successful surgical skills with those of experimental embryology, endocrinology and cell biology, which led to the first ever, scientifically documented ‘test-tube baby’ in the country on August 6, 1986. This creditable achievement was the result of the collaborated efforts of the KEM Hospital and Institute for Research in Reproduction (ICMR).

She is also credited for developing an acolyte donation technique for menopausal and premature ovarian failure patients, giving the country’s first baby out of this technique on January 24, 1991.

For her outstanding performances, she has been felicitated on many occasions. She is the recipient of many awards— Young Indian Award (1987), Outstanding Lady Citizen of Maharashtra State Jaycee Award (1987), Bharat Nirman Award for Talented Ladies (1994), International Women’s Day Award by the mayor of Mumbai (1995; 2000), Lifetime Achievement Award by Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society of India (1999) and Dhanvantari Award by the governor of Maharashtra (2000) are a few.