IVF son for single Indian father

IVF son for single Indian father
By Subir Bhaumik BBC News, Calcutta

Banerjee had not heard of surrogate motherhood until a year agoA 45-year-old Calcutta accountant is thought to be India's first single man to father an in-vitro fertilised baby.
Amitava Banerjee has called his two-day-old son Arjun, after the mythical Hindu warrior.
Mr Banerjee says he always wanted to father a child. Legal experts say he faces hurdles to keep the boy.
Neither the woman who provided the egg fertilised by Mr Banerjee's sperm, nor the surrogate mother into whom the egg was implanted, was his wife.
Mr Banerjee's marriage ended in divorce many years ago.
'Tricky case'
On Sunday, Mr Banerjee's dream came true when he held his son, who weighs 2.8kg (6.1 pounds).
Banerjee's parenthood will not be recognised by Indian laws unless the court allows him to adopt the boy
Lawyer Gitanath Ganguly
"A child is always an extension of the self. I wanted to see myself through a baby," Mr Banerjee told journalists in the eastern city of Calcutta.
He says he will be able to adopt his child under Indian laws. But legal experts say that is not going to be easy.
"The legal status of the baby should be determined by the courts as the woman who gave birth to the baby and the one who donated the ovum were not married to Mr Banerjee. So both can claim the baby, like Banerjee," says Gitanath Ganguly, a lawyer and judge in a family counselling court.
"It is tricky case because three people were involved in the birth of a child. Banerjee's parenthood will not be recognised by Indian laws unless the court allows him to adopt the boy."
Mr Banerjee was unfamiliar with the concept of surrogate motherhood until a year ago, but a conversation with friends gave him the hope he required.
The tax consultant met up with Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, Calcutta's leading in-vitro fertilisation specialist, who runs a fertility research institute in southern Calcutta.
'Social responsibility'
The institute advertised in newspapers and invited applications for a surrogate mother, willing to be implanted with an egg from another woman fertilised by Mr Banerjee's sperm.
Twenty applications came, three were selected for clinical trials, says Dr Ghosh Dastidar. Finally one woman was selected after extensive tests and questioning.
Arjun should never feel ashamed to disclose his identity
Amitava Banerjee
"The surrogate mother was not paid to bear the child but given medicine and transport and whenever she came to my clinic, she was accompanied by her husband. I had to make sure she was not donating her womb for money," said Mr Ghosh Dastidar.
"When I realised she was fulfilling a social responsibility, I went ahead with the fertilisation.
Amitava Banerjee stayed in touch with the clinic until the child was born.
The egg from an unidentified donor and sperm from Mr Banerjee were fertilised in a test tube and implanted in the womb of the surrogate mother.
"Dealing with someone else's wife was not easy but I am delighted she has delivered a healthy baby on Sunday and I am close to becoming a legal father," said Mr Banerjee.
"Arjun should never feel ashamed to disclose his identity. I will tell him about it when he is old enough."

Single Indian man has IVF child by surrogacy

Single Indian man has IVF child by surrogacy
Dr. Kirsty HorseyProgress Educational Trust15 October 2005
[BioNews, London] An Indian man has become the country's first single man to have a child using IVF and surrogacy. Amitava Banerjee, a 45-year old accountant from Calcutta will now have to overcome a number of legal obstacles before he can be recognised as the father of the child, who he has named Arjun after a mythical Hindu warrior. Mr Banerjee, who was previously married but had no children, said that the birth of Arjun was a dream come true for him. 'A child is always an extension of the self', he said, adding 'I wanted to see myself through a baby'. He hopes to be able to adopt the baby, but lawyers say this may not be as easy as he thinks. 'The legal status of the baby should be determined by the courts as the woman who gave birth to the baby and the one who donated the ovum were not married to Mr Banerjee. So both can claim the baby, like Banerjee', said Gitanath Ganguly, a family lawyer. Until the child is adopted, Ganguly continued, he will be treated as an orphan and have a guardian appointed by the Juvenile Welfare Board. Mr Banerjee came up with the idea after a conversation with friends a year ago introduced him to the concept of surrogate motherhood. He approached Calcutta's leading fertility treatment specialist, Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, whose institute advertised for a woman to act as a surrogate. They sought a woman who would be willing to be implanted with an embryo created from another woman's egg and Mr Banerjee's sperm. The clinic received twenty applications and three women were chosen for clinical trials. After medical tests and interviews, one of the women was chosen to be the surrogate. Mr Dastidar said that he went ahead with the arrangement after being convinced that the motives of the surrogate were good. 'The surrogate mother was not paid to bear the child but given medicine and transport', he said, adding 'I had to make sure she was not donating her womb for money'. He continued: 'When I realised she was fulfilling a social responsibility, I went ahead with the fertilisation'.

OUR ACHEIVEMENTS

Against all odds, a successful clinical IVF program was developed in Kolkata from a very humble beginning with lot of improvisation during 1982 to 1986. This could be a role model to our juniors intending to take up medical research as a career.Most commonly practiced ART procedures are IVF and ICSI After the birth of 1st IVF baby in 1978, ICSI is the single most major breakthrough in ART research since it is very efficient in all varieties of male infertility where conventional IVF is unsuccessful.Current research is directed towards:(i) Improving implantation rate(ii) Reduction in the incidence of multiple pregnancy (as it is associated with higher Incidence of neonatal morbidity and mortalityOur results suggest that pregnancy and delivery rate is comparable in IVF and ICSI. ICSI appears to be the preferred mode of ART whenever there is an associated male factor present. However as seen in our comparative data, ICSI has a relatively longer leaning curve (1-2 years).