Prof S S Ratnam
IHF-SG Excellence Award For Medical Contribution
The late Emeritus Professor Sittampalam Shanmugaratnam known as SS Ratnam, is the man who placed Singapore on the map for his expertise in pioneering Asia’s first test-tube baby by introducing IVF into Singapore.
The list of Professor Ratnam’s achievements is by no means exhaustive. From placing Singapore on the world map to performing the first sex change operation, Ratnam’’s tenure is best remembered at the Singapore’s General Hospital for the worldwide recognition it received.
At the peak of his career, he represented Singapore as the secretary general of the Asia and Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AOFOG) and was a member of the executive Board, president and helped place Singapore in the international medical circuit after establishing himself as a prominent figure in the O&G world.
Sex reassignment surgery for transsexualism was his research interest for three decades and his forte. He performed Singapore’s first sex-change operations in 1971.
Ratnam is also known as the founder of the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programme in Singapore. In 1983, he led a medical team to produce Asia’s first test-tube baby by introducing IVF in Singapore, bringing hope to many childless couples. During Ratnam’s tenure with the 0& G department at National University of Singapore (NUS), the department was designated as one of 13 World Health Organization Collaborating Centers for Research in Human Reproduction in 1972, and gained worldwide recognition and international funding. In 1996, Ratnam was appointed as Emeritus Professor, one of the highest Honours at NUS. In 2000, the Shan S. Ratnam Professorship endowment was set up to award internationally recognized O& G specialists annually.
He was posthumously awarded the Honorary Fellow of the College of Family Physicians on 26 August 2001.
In memory of the late Professor Ratnam, he is immortalized by the Young Gynecologist Awards of the Federation after him. The Shan Ratnam Young Gynecologist Award is given to selected young gynecologists from developing countries in AOFOG.
In 2002, in recognition of Ratnam’s commitment to teaching and training in AOFOG, the SSR foundation was established in Singapore to provide obstetric ultrasound teaching in member states of AOFOG. A Professor S.S. Ratnam Memorial Fund was also set up to help needy children. And in 1977 he was conferred with the Singapore Public Administration Gold Medal.