Dr. BB Sinha (1934-2000) was an FRCP and MRCP from India. He is noted for his contribution to low cost treatment of common diseases like Hepatitis, Malaria and Kalazar.

Biography

Dr. BB Sinha was born at Motihari in Bihar in 1934. After his early medical education at Darbhanga in Bihar, he went to UK for his advanced medical education in Great Britian in the late 1950s. After listening to an inspiring talk by Nehru at India House London in early 1960s, he chose to return to India. He first served in a few government jobs - PMCH, speciality hospital of Durgapur Steel and as medical administrator with the Govt. However, he soon felt frustrated by the environment there and started working with private hospitals and his own private practice in his native Bihar in 1966 and worked there until his death.

Work

Sinha was instrumental in nurturing the Holy Family Hospital at Kurji, Patna and was well respected by the Catholic community for his work there.

By education and training, he was a cardiologist, and he had a chance in the 1970s to pursue nephro-cardiology in Canada. However, once he decided to dedicate himself to the poor patients of Bihar, he knew that he would not have much occassion to pursue his specialization due to lack of modern facilities. He would joke that he must be one of the few super-specialists to become a general practitioner.

He took up the challenge of providing mass treatment for some commonly prevelant diseases in Bihar to the under-previleged. He did pioneering work in low cost treatment of Malaria and Kalazar among the poor of Bihar. The treatment of Hepatitis B by Gama Globin that he pioneered was widely recognised and is now considered standard low cost treatment for this desease.

One of his notable contribution that he was most proud of was his weekly clinic at his native Motihari. For over thirty years, he treated up to 500 patients in a single day. He believed that the privilege to treat so many suffering masses was his weekend relaxation.

Sinha, with his other medical colleagues, was also one of the founders of the Nalanda Medical College Hospital at Patna. However, he and his colleagues lost interest when the college was taken over by the state government and there was constant interference in their work.

Death

Sinha passed away in 2000, in an airplane crash while returning to Patna after attending a medical conference at Calcutta.[392]