Ernestine Gwet Bell | |
---|---|
Born | 1953 Sackbayémé |
Citizenship | Cameroon |
Education | University of Paris 5 |
Occupation | Gynaecologist |
Notable work | Enabling birth of Cameroon's first IVF baby |
Ernestine Gwet-Bell (born 1953) is a gynaecologist from Cameroon, who supervised the first successful in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Cameroon.
Gwet-Bell was born in 1953 in Sackbayémé, in the department of Sanaga Maritime, Cameroon.[1] Her father was initially a Catholic priest, but converted to become a Protestant pastor; her mother was a nurse and midwife.[2] One of six brothers and sisters, she studied medicine at the University of Paris 5.[1] Her first job was at the Council of Baptist and Evangelical Churches Hospital in Bonabéri, which was affiliated to the church she attended; she also worked at the Laquintinie Hospital.[1]
In 1987 she opened a private practice, the Odyssey Clinic, in Douala, which as of 2020 was one of Cameroon's most respected gynaecological medical facilities.[1] Alongside five other colleagues she founded Cameroon's first assisted fertility centre: Centre des Techniques de Pointe en Gynécologie-Obstétrique; her co-founders are: Berthe Bollo, Guy Sandjon, Monique Onomo, Nicole Akoung and Christian Pamy.[1] In 2016, the first public IVF centre opened in Yaounde.[3] Gwet-Bell was its director in 2020.[4] In
In 1998, Gwet-Bell supervised the birth of the first Cameroonian child born through in vitro fertilization.[1][5] The baby was called Thommy.[6] In 2004, her team were able to successfully practice Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), an innovative technique designed in 1992 to fight against male sterility in the context of IVF.[7][6] As of August 2007, she a'nd her team were responsible for the birth of 500 babies through in vitro fertilization.[8] She is President of the Inter-African Fertility Study, Research and Application Group, as well as the union of private doctors in Cameroon.[9][6]
In 2019 she chaired the organisational committee of a conference which brought together gynaecologists and neonatal specialist from across Cameroon together.[10]
One of her nephews has autism and in 2005 she founded Orchidée Home, which is designed to support autistic children and their parents.[1] Two years later, in 2007, she organized the first autism congress in Cameroon.[1]
Gwet Bell is married and has two daughters and a son.[1]