The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
In the seventies and eighties of the last century, Zhang Lizhu, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Peking University Third Hospital, led her team to "blatantly" study IVF. [China Like]
"Fewer births, better births, a happy life", looking at the overwhelming family planning propaganda slogans on the mainland, Zhang Lizhu fell into deep thought.
Zhang Lizhu feels that this is only the main part of the publicity, and there should be some attachment notes that must be seen very carefully.
Not to mention, she really found out, and after reading the relevant policies, Zhang Lizhu, who did not give up, found that in addition to promoting family planning, there was also a word she wanted to see the most: "Help infertile patients get pregnant".
This sentence undoubtedly gave Zhang Lizhu a reassurance, since it has been written, then boldly carry out the experiment!
This great obstetrician and gynecologist is the "mother of China's IVF" in the mainland, which not only makes infertile mothers happy to have a child, but also makes the name of Chinese medicine in the world.
01
IVF is also the flower of the motherland
At that time, some people in the medical community raised the question of IVF, but due to the limited medical conditions, IVF technology was difficult to achieve.
As the director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhang Lizhu can understand the feeling of patients who have failed to conceive children for many years, she thought of IVF and wanted to realize IVF.
Zhang Lizhu led the team to do what they said, because only a few people knew this additional information, so they didn't dare to be too vocal during the research process.
Even so cautious is still known by the public, and in the face of the pressure of public opinion, Zhang Lizhu only wants to contribute to the country and seek benefits for infertile families.
At that time, the experimental conditions were difficult, Zhang Lizhu's experiment did not apply for scientific research funds, and there was no professional medical equipment to observe the whereabouts of cells, and even the only egg retrieval needle was ground by them so that the needle was almost invisible.
There was no petri dish suitable for the survival of eggs, so Zhang Lizhu put the follicular fluid in the thermos bucket and ran back and forth, and the most difficult thing was their small laboratory that could only stand five people.
Countless failures make it to success, and Zhang Lizhu has failed a total of 12 times before the embryo transfer project, and there are countless expert consultations.
The successive failures did not dampen Zhang Lizhu's determination to study IVF, and finally in 1988, after Zhang Lizhu's unremitting efforts, China successfully ushered in the first IVF.
Women understand women better, and obstetricians and gynecologists understand women's unspeakable secrets better.
In 1944, Zhang Lizhu graduated from St. John's University in Shanghai after obtaining a doctorate in medicine, and as a member of the Communist Party of China, she wanted to use her life's learning to make a little contribution to the country's medical level.
After graduation, Zhang Lizhu chose to go abroad to continue her medical studies, and went to the United States and the United Kingdom, where she was hired to the obstetrics and gynecology department of a hospital with her superb medical professional knowledge and skills.
In 1951, Zhang Lizhu, who had achieved great academic success, returned to Shanghai with her "treasure", and after a few days of rest, Zhang Lizhu returned to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Affiliated Hospital of her alma mater as an associate professor.
When Zhang Lizhu took the students, she knew everything and taught her everything, and when she saw patients, she treated patients as relatives and considered them everywhere.
02
A successful medical operation
In order to carry out medical observation on more subjects with different physiques, the radio was promoting the news that the country was studying IVF during that time, and encouraging women with related problems to come to the hospital to cooperate with the treatment.
In 1987, after hearing the radio, Zheng Guizhen announced in her family that she was going to Beijing for IVF.
Zheng Guizhen's home is 108,000 miles away from Beijing, and a single road fee was a big expense in those days, so naturally Zheng Guizhen's idea was rejected by his family.
"I've never heard of IVF, what if you go so far to see this, what if it's a liar? Besides, the child born with technology is not naturally conceived, even if the child is successfully born, is the child healthy?" This is everyone's question about Zheng Guizhen.
No matter what others say, Zheng Guizhen, who saw the hope of pregnancy, had to go, and didn't let her go, she cried, made trouble and hanged herself, and in the end, the family couldn't help Zheng Guizhen, so they could only let her go.
Why Zheng Guizhen has to have this child, it has to start after she married her husband.
After marrying her husband until Zheng Guizhen was 40 years old, the two did not have children, and over the years, not only Zheng Guizhen herself was worried, but also suffered from cynicism from all over the neighborhood.
Zheng Guizhen thought that although she was advocating family planning, she couldn't give birth to any of them, so many years of seeing the "miracle doctors" in the mountains but all of them died of illness, Zheng Guizhen saw what kind of thing she could do, so she heard the radio and wanted to treat the disease without hesitation.
When they arrived in Beijing, where they were not familiar with their lives, the couple visited and asked which hospital had a cure for infertility.
In the end, the two finally found out that Peking University Third Hospital was doing relevant research.
After diagnosis, the cause of Zheng Guizhen's infertility for many years was the blockage of fallopian tubes on both sides of the body and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Left: Zheng Mengzhu, right: Zhang Lizhu
Zheng Guizhen actively cooperated with the treatment plan given by Zhang Lizhu, and after recuperating for a period of time, Zhang Lizhu did the 13th IVF "experiment".
In August 1987, a great news was that the clinical pregnancy of IVF was successful!
In March 1988, Zheng Guizhen got her first child, and the excited Zheng Guizhen gave her daughter the name "Zheng Mengzhu" in order to thank Zhang Lizhu, "Meng" is the newborn sprout, and "Zhu" is taken from Zhang Lizhu's words.
After Zheng Mengzhu was born, this not only represents a new breakthrough in China's medical technology level, but also marks the beginning of IVF technology.
However, this can't help but make people worry about whether this baby can live for a long time and whether there will be any sequelae when he grows up.
Zheng Mengzhu's birth has received national attention, and as Zheng Mengzhu grows up, she lets everyone know that the original worries are just unfounded.
Zheng Guizhen said that her daughter is not only very healthy, but also has a very smart head, and there is no sequelae on her body.
In 2013, Zheng Mengzhu graduated from Xijing University in Xi'an, and after graduation, she returned to Zhang Lizhu to work side by side with her in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
In 2019, Zheng Mengzhu gave birth to a newborn, and this child was also the first "IVF 2.0".
It can be seen that through the unremitting efforts of Zhang Lizhu's team, the medical level of the mainland has been effectively improved, and Zheng Mengzhu's life is also very happy now.
03
For the benefit of humanity
At this stage, the mainland has developed three generations of different programs, and different treatment options can be selected for different groups of people.
The earliest IVF technology is called the first generation, that is, the same treatment process as Zheng Guizhen.
After checking that there is no problem with the man's fertility, but infertility caused by the woman's fallopian tube problem will be treated with a generation treatment.
The first step of treatment is to take out the woman's eggs completely and culture them in vitro, and then take the man's sperm to combine, and then successfully cultivate the embryos into embryos and then artificially re-implant the embryos back into the woman's body, so that the first generation of IVF surgery is completed.
The second-generation IVF surgery was made by Mr. Zhang Mingjue, a Chinese scientist, through experiments, and Zhang Mingjue is also the "father of contraceptives" in the mainland.
The second-generation IVF surgery is mainly designed for men with poor sperm quality, because the sperm does not survive long in vitro and the fertilization rate in vivo is too low, so the first artificial combination of eggs cannot be done.
At this time, scientists thought of manually sorting out some of these high-quality sperm and injecting them into the egg to "force" the sperm to complete fertilization, which is the second-generation IVF technology.
With the extension of medical technology, the mainland has developed the third generation of test-tube baby technology, and the third generation is aimed at genetic diseases or bad genes, chromosomal ectopy and other problems.
In order to prevent offspring from inheriting these genetic defects, it will not only hinder the child's future life, but also lead to miscarriage in serious cases.
At this time, the embryos should be screened, and the embryos carrying the bad genes should be artificially processed to retain the normal embryos, and then implanted into the female body, including subsequent derivation technology.
On the evening of April 23, 2000, the first third-generation test-tube baby in mainland China was successful, which was the first "high-tech baby" in mainland China.
IVF is the hope of many infertile families, and now the incidence of infertility in mainland China is 7~10%, and many families can regain their integrity through IVF and its derived medical technology.
Infertility is never a shameful thing, you should actively seek the help of a doctor when you encounter a problem, and it is best for both husband and wife to do a comprehensive examination, and you can't "blame" infertility as a unilateral problem of either spouse alone.
IVF not only achieves eugenics, but also fills the regrets of countless families.
IVF is a modern medical technique that helps couples who are unable to conceive naturally to achieve their dream of having children. With in vitro fertilization, the doctor can nurture the fertilized egg to a certain stage and then implant it in the mother's uterus.
This technology has given hope and joy to many couples, and the development of IVF technology has brought the miracle of life to many families and added new possibilities for human reproduction.
Resources:
[1] China Medical Journal Network: Zhang Lizhu: Create life with innovation
[2] CCTV News: A lifetime of love: "The Mother of Shenzhou IVF" Zhang Lizhu
[3] China Science Network: Science Star Shine | Zhang Lizhu: The creator of China's first test-tube baby
[4] China Science News: The mother of Shenzhou IVF: except for the motherland, everywhere can not be home
[5] Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Museum: Carry forward the spirit of scientists in the new era | Zhang Minjue: "The Father of IVF" and "The Father of Contraceptives"