A SAVIOR OF FERTILITY
Alfred Otto Mueck, 71, is helping a Beijing hospital develop a bank for ovarian- tissue preservation. Liu Xiangrui reports.
When local colleagues jokingly call him “a real friend of Chinese women”, Alfred Otto Mueck smiles and says it is an honor to help Chinese women resolve their health issues. After all, the 71- year- old German specializes in obstetrics.
Over the past few years, Mueck’s ties to China have grown. He continues to serve as a visiting professor at the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital and as an honorary director of its endocrinology unit.
“It is my second home now,” Mueck says, during a recent visit to the Beijing hospital.
He has been to China some 40 times so far.
Mueck, who studied biochemistry, pharmacology and medicine, has had a long career in obstetrics and endocrinology. He is a founding member of the European Menopause Society and chairman of the German Menopause Society. He also serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals.
In 2008, when he came to Beijing to attend an international conference, Mueck established connections with medical experts here. He then invited a few Chinese doctors to conduct research at Germany’s University of Tuebingen, where he teaches.
“I was impressed by their diligence,” Mueck says of the visiting Chinese doctors.
After he started to work for the BOGH in 2011, he helped launch a project on women’s reproductive conservation.
As part of the project, Mueck has played a major role in helping the hospital establish China’s first ovarian- tissue cryopreservation bank. The project aims to preserve women’s reproductive abilities that may have suffered damage due to removal of ovaries or during the treatment of cancer.
In some Western countries, it is increasingly the norm to look at preserving a patient’s reproductive abilities during cancer treatment. The cryopreservation of embryos, oocytes and ovarian tissues are three possible methods.
Although technologies relevant to the cryopreservation of embryos and oocytes are relatively advanced, they aren’t able to preserve the endocrine functions of women, and are considered unsuitable for adolescent girls, Mueck says.
Compared with the first two technologies, ovarian tissue cryopreservation has big advantages, though relevant technology is still being improved, he says.
Using the technology, a part of the patient’s ovarian tissue is taken out and frozen to be transplanted back after she has recovered from a disease such as cancer. It allows the patient to retain her reproductive and endocrine functions.
Although there have been many cases of babies born globally with the help of such technologies, it remained unexplored in China before the BOGH project started. A special lab for the project opened last year, and more than 35 cases of ovarian- tissue cryopreservation have been carried out.
To help boost the project and improve the cryopreservation bank, Mueck also invited other German experts to China. The bank maintains the viability of tissues and organs by freezing them.
“They were generous to provide us with research results that took them more than 10 years to get,” says Ruan Xiangyan, Mueck’s Chinese partner at the BOGH.
Mueck says promoting Chinese people’s awareness of the technology will be the focus of their collective work in the future.
In September, Mueck received the Friendship Award from the Chinese government for his work. The annual awards are given to foreigners who have made significant contributions to China’s social and economic development.
Mueck still excitedly recalls the award ceremony, during which he had a chance to shake hands and speak with Premier Li Keqiang.
Mueck, who is interested in Chinese culture and started learning Chinese two years ago, even prepared an introduction of himself and his job in Chinese on a piece of paper.
“I told the premier in Chinese that it’s not only an honor for myself, but the entire hospital ( BOGH),” Mueck says.
The award has boosted Mueck’s confidence in his work. He now wants to make more contributions to medical development in China. He has also become involved in other forms of cooperation with China.
He has co- authored dozens of scientific papers with Chinese partners in the past few years.
He has also helped the BOGH establish a comprehensive center to deal with climacteric or premenopausal problems — a first in China.
Besides, Mueck has guided a research team dedicated to the study of the relationship between hormone- based therapies and the pathogenesis of breast cancer.
Through his personal connections, Mueck has encouraged other experts, including his friend Thomas Rabe, a German professor of gynecological endocrinology, and Markus Montag, founder of a German ovarian tissue conservation bank, to carry out cooperation projects in China.
In November, the Chinese-German Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology was established with the efforts of Mueck and other experts from both countries.
“It will boost all- round collaboration between the two sides in the field of obstetrics and gynecology,” says Mueck.
During his visits to China, Mueck also helps Chinese medical students with their research papers.
“He usually arranges mentoring time after clinical consultations and carries out discussions with students while enjoying simple food with them,” says Mueck’s colleague, Fei Xiuzhen.
Mueck’s relationships with his Chinese colleagues and students often get him invited to karaoke sessions.
“The work environment here makes me comfortable. I had cooperation programs with many other countries before, but I’m the happiest working in China. And I have seen my greatest achievements while partnering with Chinese colleagues,” says Mueck.