Interview Times had a great conversation with Dr Sujata Kar, MD of Kara Hospital. She spoke about the myths surrounding IVF and Test Tube Babies and also conversed about the growth of Kara Hospital over the years. This is how the interview went-

Can you brief us about yourself to our readers?

Hello everyone. My name is Sujata Kar. I am a professional gynecologist. Also, I am thoroughly trained in laparoscopic surgery and advanced IVF integers. I have been practicing in Bhubaneshwar for almost 28 years.

Have you always been passionate about being a doctor, or was it a spur of the moment thing?

No, it was never spur of the moment. Both of my parents were surgeons. Morever, my father was a surgeon in the army. When I was a child, I used to go with my father to the war sites and witness him performing surgeries. He had a big influence on my professional life. He inspired me to be a surgeon. So I have not been acquainted with any other profession other than the medical one. However, if not a doctor, I would have been an astrophysicist as I was equally passionate about physics.

Did you plan to open your hospital, or was it a spontaneous decision?

I and my husband had planned to open our hospital from very early on. My father-in-law was the one to pitch the idea of opening a hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was a renowned ophthalmologist, so the CM granted him land to construct a hospital. So after I was married to my husband, my father-in-law interested us in the opportunity of building a hospital. We opened our hospital way back in 1995.

What is the USP of your hospital?

We have never advertised our hospital. Any patient who walks through our doors comes of their own accord because they have been recommended to our hospital by our previous patients. We started with four rooms, but today I am proud to say that we now have almost 120 rooms in our hospital. We have diverse treatment centres and continue to expand even now. We are still dependent on patients to advertise us to their acquaintances, and that’s how we have survived.

Can you bust about the myths surrounding around IVF and Test Tube Babies?

To begin with, we started our IVF center in 2005, and ours was the first IVF centre in Bhubaneshwar. Most patients are concerned about the success rates and the price, and then some movies propagate more myths about IVF techniques. To the patients, I would suggest come prepared and get every aspect of their treatment clarified.

Do you have any suggestions to give to the common people about being patient with the doctors during these testing COVID times?

In a developed country, a regular doctor sees about 4-5 patients a day. However in our country, a private practitioner like myself, sees about 40-50 patients a day, so I can’t give all my time to a single patient. So if the patient has not come prepared, it might consume more of my time to explain to them all the procedures and the techniques. Therefore, I would suggest that the patient come prepared with the list of their illness so that the doctors can work smoothly in a short period.

There should be an understanding between the patient and the doctor that medical treatment doesn’t always work out, and the human body is unpredictable. Some patients come to the hospital expecting miracles, but it always doesn’t work out that way, and they lose their faith in medical treatments.

Image Source- Dr Sujata Kar

Interview By- Sayak Karmakar, Resident Editor, Interview Times