Brief history of hematology care and research in West Bengal, India

The hematology care, research, and development in West Bengal had a glorious past. Dr. J.B. Chatterjea represented the pioneers in hematology practice and research from Calcutta, West Bengal. Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM) is considered as the birthplace of Hematology not only in India but also in whole of Asia. Dr. J.B. Chatterjea single handedly took the Hematology Department to a new height and made it a center for learning and advanced research in hematology. Subsequently, many of his able disciples spread out elsewhere in the country expanding the mission of research in hematology. The tragic untimely death of Dr. Chatterjea in 1972 was an irreparable loss to the development of hematology in this country. The glory and glamor of hematology care and research in West Bengal faded way over time. In the recent years, with the establishment of new hematology care and research units at other Government Medical Colleges, private sectors and enormous contributions from the basic scientists have helped to rescue the lost glory and shaping the present day comprehensive hematology care and research in West Bengal, India. In this brief review, the present author tries to give an overview of the past and present of hematology care and research in West Bengal and the author in the present review does not claim to have described every bit of hematology development in this part of the country.