Paper short abstract:

The paper examines practices of proof in In-Vitro Fertilization clinics in India with regard to genital tuberculosis and analyzes the transformation of clinical experience into scientific evidence.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on practices of proof in In-Vitro Fertilization clinics in India with regard to genital tuberculosis (TB). Genital TB constitutes a major cause of infertility in India and the suitability of different diagnostic measures is a highly debated issue among physicians. Diagnostic tests available differ starkly in their perceived adequateness in terms of sensitivity, specificity, rapidity and affordability. Further, many scientific publications are considered to be inadequate for a region with high numbers of latent TB infection. Some clinicians therefore contest the seeming universality of scientific data and undertake own efforts to produce locally meaningful evidence.

Based on ethnographic fieldwork in hospitals and a case study of a medical conference, the paper will discuss (1) practices revolving around the clinical detection of TB and (2) the production of scientific evidence from clinical data. How are TB infections made evident in fertility clinics in India? What kind of diagnostic measures count as appropriate evidence of genital TB? Further, how is the local production of evidence organized and debated in biomedical settings? How does clinical experience figure in these accounts? And how is clinical data translated into scientific evidence?