India’s first IVF baby, Luv Singh, was born to a Chembur couple in 1994. He has now become a father.
A Chembur couple welcomed their only child about 30 years ago after a “scientific breakthrough” that solved male infertility. The child named, Luv Singh, was India’s first IVF baby.
On January 28, Luv Singh, who is now a property lawyer, became a father to a child at Jaslok Hospital on Pedder Road, where he was born. As a tribute to the infertility specialist who treated his parents, Luv and his wife Harleen Singh selected Dr. Firuza Parikh to deliver their son.
Dr. Firuza Parikh, who introduced ICSI to India and treated Luv’s parents said, “They ( Luv and Harleen Singh) conceived the child naturally but wanted me to be their obstetrician as they consider me family.” Dr. Parikh had also attended Luv’s birthday parties and 2019 wedding.
After returning from Yale University in 1989, Dr. Parikh bought micromanipulation equipment. Scientists struggled to insert a single sperm into the egg to induce fertilization, she said.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) enabled doctors to fertilize with one sperm instead of many. We grinded glass pipettes several times thinner than human hair to implant them into the egg because we didn’t have ready-made micropipettes.
Before the acci dental discovery of ICSI in a Brussels lab, males with low sperm counts had to use donor sperm or adopt. “Today, ICSI is used not only for male infertility but also for elderly women, women with fewer eggs, and unexplained infertility in couples,” said Indian Society For Assisted Reproduction president Dr. Ameet Patki.
ICSI is routinely used in IVF, but Dr. Patki said there have been concerns about a small percentage of kids born using this method having genetic or epigenetic problems. “This only means ICSI is not for all and we must be more careful in choosing patients who need it,” Dr. Patki added.
Conclusion
India’s first IVF baby, Luv Singh, was born to a Chembur couple in 1994. He has now become a father. On January 28, Luv Singh’s wife, Harleen Singh, delivered their son at Jaslok Hospital on Pedder Road, Luv was born at the same hospital.
