In vitro fertilization - from concept to first child Commemorating the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Abstract

Since the birth of the world’s first test-tube baby in 1978, more than 4 million babies have been born worldwide with the help of in vitro fertilization (IVF). In Slovenia, the first babies were born in 1984. In 2005, the percentage of babies born with biomedically assisted reproduction was 3.9 % and was the highest in Europe. IVF is nowadays a widely available and accepted method for helping infertile couples. However, the path to success was long and difficult. In this article, we present the development of IVF from the first ideas about fertilizing eggs outside the body from the end of the 19th century, followed by experiments on different animal species, the first human pregnancy and finally the birth of the first child in the United Kingdom. Many pioneers from other countries, particularly Australia and the United States of America, were instrumental in developing IVF as we know it today. Unfortunately, covering the history of IVF would greatly exceed the purpose of this article. During its history, the method was modified with innovative improvements. In its beginnings, there was a great deal of scepticism and opposition from certain public as well as scientific circles, an attitude that changed radically. The fact that the pioneer Robert Edwards received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2010 is proof of the growing acceptance of the method. Surely, IVF is a complex medical field, which raised and still raises ethical and legal questions. But from a merely human perspective, it is simply a method which gave infertile couples the opportunity to fulfill their lifetime dream.