Milestones in the history of IVF

 Most of us are all aware that the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 and the success and development in the field of assisted reproductive techniques continue thereafter till date.

But, did you know that the inception of this goes back to 1890’s? Yes, that’s right! In the 1890’s, a professor and physician, by the name Walter Heape, at the University of Cambridge, England, used to conduct research on reproduction in animal species. In those times, he was the only one to report the first case of embryo transplantation in rabbits and bear in mind, this was ages before the use of IVF and Embryo Transfer (ET) in humans.

Pincus and Enzmann first demonstrated successful pregnancy in unmated animals by isolating rabbit ovum, fertilizing and culturing it in a watch glass and later transferring it in a doe. They published a paper at Harvard University which indicated the possibility of in vitro development of mammalian eggs.

Around 14 years later, in 1948, Miriam Menken and John Rock published a paper in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, sharing their experience of IVF of human oocytes retrieved during operations for various medical conditions.

There on, professionals from cell biology, anatomy and bio-medical engineering joined hands for further developments in IVF by improving the laboratory equipment quality, refinement of procedures, improved culture media, dishes, and embryo biopsy, which was also backed by social and scientific interactions from worldwide industry leaders for further research and possible developments in the following years.

Year 1965

At John Hopkins Hospital in the USA, Robert Edwards along with Georgeanna and Howard Jones attempted in vitro human oocyte fertilization.

Year 1973

In Monash, Australia, Carl Wood and John Leeton reported the first IVF pregnancy, but unfortunately it resulted in early miscarriage.

However, in the same year, there was a report in “The Lancet” published by Steptoe and Edwards on an ectopic pregnancy following transfer of a human embryo.

Year 1978

Decades of research finally had a fruitful result! The first ever IVF birth was reported in Oldham, England, by Steptoe and Edwards.

While the medical fraternity had just begun to celebrate this magnificent achievement, there was yet another milestone – Lopata in Melbourne reported the first ever clomiphene citrate-stimulated cycle.

Year 1979

The first tracking of the growth of follicles by ultrasound was documented and so was the relationship between the echo-graphic and laparoscopic observations. In the same year, the use of ultrasound in identifying the growing follicles was documented for the very first time.

Year 1980

Just two years round the corner, the first IVF birth in Australia was reported by a joint team of specialists from Monash and Melbourne. Culture medium was also introduced in the same year.

Year 1981

Howard and Georgeanna Seegar Jones reported the first IVF baby in the USA delivered by using hMG (human menopausal gonadotropin.

The “Clamant Group” in France developed the first luteinizing hormone (LH) assay to detect initial rise in LH so as to monitor accurate timing for oocyte retrieval.

Year 1982

There was a series of experimentation and discoveries as follows:

The first French IVF baby was delivered in Clamant, France by the group of Frydman and Testart. Sweden also reported their first IVF birth and this was followed by the birth of first Austrian test tube babies (twins).

Use of GnRH was introduced in the same year, to avoid premature luteinization to get better control on ovarian stimulation.

The need to delay insemination in order to allow the collected oocytes to complete their maturation over the next 2-4 hours was discovered and published.

Following these, there were many more inventions and discoveries that have led to the present revolutionary treatments that have transformed the entire process of assisted reproduction. Scientists and researchers are still experimenting many more possibilities, working on more and more probabilities that can simplify the process to the core level.

To learn more, enroll today for the Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine at Medline Academics and get trained by industry experts like Padma Shri Dr. Kamini Rao have her own IVF Hospital in Bangalore and some of the leading professionals in the field of reproductive medicine.