New Delhi: One of the pioneers in IVF research, Dr Baidyanath Chakrabarty, passed away at the age of 94 after a prolonged illness, in Kolkata on Friday, the hospital where he was admitted said.
The hospital said Dr Chakrabarty, who had also contracted pneumonia, was undergoing treatment at the Salt Lake hospital since mid-March after a massive cardiac arrest.
"He was diagnosed with several illnesses, most of which were age-related. He breathed his last in the morning," news agency PTI quoted an official of the hospital as saying.
His body was brought to his residence in the afternoon and from there, it was taken to his old clinic on CIT Road, where people paid their last respects to the doctor.
Expressing grief, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that his demise has caused irreparable damage to the field of medicine and research.
"He was a pioneer in the field of IVF or artificial insemination research and treatment in India. The Institute of Reproductive Medicine, founded by this veteran physician, has helped countless childless couples to have children," CM Banerjee said in a statement.
Dr Chakrabarty founded the Institute of Reproductive Medicine (IRM) in the year 1986 for artificial insemination research. He had handed it over to the ICMR in 2019.
The state government had also given him a Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 2019.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process in which an egg is combined with the sperm in vitro or in an artificial environment for fertilization. After that, one or more fertilized eggs can be transferred into the woman's uterus where they may implant in the uterine lining and develop.