Valedictory of Prof Dr Paul Devroey, Brussels, 10/2011

On 13 October in Brussels, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) University Hospital held the valedictory ceremony for one of the towering figures in reproductive medicine, Professor Paul Devroey. Leaders of the field — friends, former students and collaborators — returned to Brussels for one day for an event that took on the dimensions of a major congress, with more than 500 attendees.

The Centre for Reproductive Medicine at VUB, where I worked from 2000 to 2005 and completed my Master’s and doctoral thesis, has been at the forefront of reproductive medicine for more than three decades. It was where intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and testicular sperm extraction (TESE) were first applied, where the first pregnancy from recombinant FSH was achieved, and where preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for monogenic disorders was first performed.

For all of us whose path in reproductive medicine began in Brussels, it was a remarkable day — full of emotion, gratitude and admiration for those who innovated in the management of infertile couples, who led research in reproductive medicine and built a school of reproductive medicine — while at the same time offering us substantial impetus for the further development of our subspecialty.