Chance and Commitment

Some discoveries have changed forever the fight against disease or the treatment of a medical condition: penicillin, a vaccine against polio, the bionic ear, and ... iodized salt. Dr Basil Hetzel's work as a research scientist and public health advocate has prevented millions worldwide from being born intellectually disabled. Hetzel and his team discovered in the 1960s that a single dose of iodized oil given to pregnant women could forestall many potential birth defects. Later he began his crusade to persuade the governments of Indonesia, Nepal, Tibet, India, the People's Republic of China and many other affected countries to add iodine to salt in order to eliminate this centuries old 'scourge of mankind'.

Chance and Commitment: Memoirs of a medical scientist traces the life and work behind Dr Hetzel's iodine crusade and his many other endeavours in the cause of public health. It tells the story of a medical student who wanted no more than to be a good physician like his father and became a renowned research scientist. Basil Hetzel has travelled from Adelaide to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, from working at the laboratory bench to being named a Living National Treasure.