MUMBAI: Almost 30 years ago, a Chembur couple welcomed their only son into the world with a “scientific breakthrough” that found a solution to male infertility. The child, Luv Singh, became India’s first ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, baby — two years after a Belgian baby was born similarly, and almost eight years after the birth of India’s first test-tube baby, Harsha Chavda-Shah.
On Jan 28, Luv Singh, who is now a property lawyer, became a father when his son was born at Jaslok Hospital on Pedder Road, the same hospital where he was born. As a tribute to the infertility specialist, Dr Firuza Parikh, who brought ICSI to India and treated his parents, Luv and wife Harleen chose her to deliver their son. “They had a natural conception but wanted me to be their obstetrician as they consider me family,” Dr Parikh, who has attended several of Luv’s birthday parties and his wedding in 2019, said.
The couple waited till Harleen completed her MCom to have a baby, a son who was discharged from hospital on Thursday.
In 1989, when Dr Parikh returned from Yale University, she acquired equipment to perform an experimental technique called micromanipulation. The practice is to use numerous sperm, but ICSI made it possible for doctors to achieve fertilisation with one sperm. “We didn’t have ready-made micropipettes required for this insertion, and would grind glass pipettes several times thinner than human hair to insert it into the egg. Their learning curve extended over four years,” she said.
While Luv Singh was the first ICSI baby of Southeast Asia, infertility treatment has evolved since. Now, artificial intelligence is being used to pick up the best embryo for fertilisation.
As for Luv, he is happy at the moment planning multiple family get-togethers to welcome the latest addition to the family.