Very sadly, Raul Margara, inspirational teacher, compassionate doctor, and skilled surgeon has passed away.
Raul spent his life helping patients to create families, but one of the most enduring and meaningful families he built was the community he nurtured within the IVF Unit at Hammersmith Hospital – a family of students, junior doctors, nurses, clinical researchers, embryologists, counsellors, administrative support staff and visiting fellows from around the world who worked alongside him over many years.
Raul Margara was born in Argentina to an influential family and emigrated to Paris to train under Raoul Palmer, the pioneer of laparoscopic gynaecological surgery. Under Palmer's mentorship at the Université de Paris, Raul became deeply involved in the development and clinical adoption of laparoscopic techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. This experience not only honed his surgical skills but also placed him at the forefront of minimally invasive reproductive technologies.
Raul moved to London to join Robert Winston, forging a highly successful professional partnership and a lifelong friendship. Together they established a reproductive surgery team at the Hammersmith and one of the first NHS IVF units in the United Kingdom. This clinic became the model for many fertility centres across the country, attracting leading scientific minds and inspiring generations of young clinicians and scientists eager to train in its unique and collaborative environment.
Raul could be seen at 7am every morning, opening the clinic to patients in rain or shine. He led by example, ensuring his trainee doctors not only learned and performed all the techniques associated with IVF but also the more difficult decision-making skills of endocrine cycle management. Raul was a master of that sometimes-considered old-fashioned quality of patronage. He ensured all his trainees went on to pursue their careers with experience and confidence, becoming leaders of fertility services in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford, Edinburgh and as far afield as Iceland, Italy, Spain, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.
Raul was a skilled microsurgeon who not only could perform surgical 'miracles' with 8/0 nylon and an operating microscope, but somehow managed the more difficult task of being able to teach and pass on these skills to others.
He was sustained in his busy clinical and academic career by his passions for theatre, opera, horse-riding and hunting. His retirement celebration at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park was a wonderful evening of fine dining, opera singers and a gathering of his trainees from all over the world, who came to confirm his legacy, acclaim his achievements, and to say 'thank you'. He spent his retirement walking the hills of Marlborough, with frequent visits to Covent Garden, Garsington, Glyndebourne and the Edinburgh International Festival.
We thank you, Raul, for your kindness, your loyalty, your patience and your inspiration. Your patients, friends and your fertility family will always be eternally grateful.
Raul Margara was a giant of our specialty, and a true gentleman.