The Development of In Vitro Fertilisation

In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF, is a medical treatment to cause a pregnancy. It is most commonly used as a treatment for infertility but can also be utilized to prevent the passing on of genetic problems to a future child. IVF is generally regarded as the most effective fertility treatment available. It is a procedure that includes joining the egg and sperm in a special laboratory outside the body, followed by placing the embryo into the uterus. This is just one type of treatment within a larger category of treatments called assisted reproductive technology, sometimes known as AR T, designed to help people or couples who are having difficulty conceiving a child. V arious AR T techniques can include sperm or egg donation, egg freezing, embryo cryopreservation, among other methods that can increase chances when natural reproduction is unlikely or impossible.

The first attempts to perform in vitro fertilization with animals were performed by scientists in the 1950s, and that was a very important step in reproductive medicine. This pioneering work of achieving the first successful IVF pregnancy in rabbits was done by Dr. Min Chueh Chang working at the W orcester Foundation. His experiment showed that embryos fertilized in vitro could be implanted and carried to term. It was an important discovery which proved the viability of the IVF technique in allowing reproduction. With the success of these experiments in animals like rabbits, and then mice, the focus of the researchers turned to human applications and heralded a new era in fertility treatments. Thus, this early animal research laid the foundation for future successes with IVF, including the first successful human IVF birth in 1978. The research of the 1950s helped establish IVF as a promising option for those facing infertility.

Although animal IVF experiments had proved encouraging, human IVF still had many obstacles to overcome in the 1970s. The very first reported pregnancy in human IVF, in 1973 by a group at Monash University in Australia, turned out to be so short-lived, lasting only for a couple of days, and emphasized the problems to be faced in establishing success with this procedure in humans. In 1976, a further setback came when a pregnancy caused by IVF resulted in an ectopic pregnancy - a situation where the embryo implanted itself outside of the uterus, which is, by definition, non-viable. Apart from these scientific challenges, the decade was also rife with controversy. In 1973, Dr. Landrum Shettles attempted to perform an IVF in secret at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. The experiment was performed without proper medical supervision, calling into question the ethical practices in this still new field. His supervisor stopped the procedure, which again reflected that as the technology of IVF was progressing, the need for clear regulations and strict ethical guidelines would become increasingly necessary.

In spite of these early failures and controversies, these experiments set the stage for the ultimate success of the first birth of a human by IVF in 1978 when Louise Brown was born in the UK, a breakthrough which was hailed as a turning point in fertility treatments and brought new hope to millions of people struggling with infertility. The 1970s were thus a formative decade filled with trial and error but finally productive of a revolution in reproductive medicine.

Written by Nawal

Moderated by Adelene

References

How has IVF developed since the first ‘test-tube baby’?. (2015). BBC News. [online] 23 Jul. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33599353.

Mayo Clinic (2023). In vitro fertilization (IVF). [online] Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/in-vitro-fertilization/about/pac-20384716.

Neal, D.G. (2024). Fertility Center of San Antonio. [online] Fertility Center of San Antonio. Available at: https://fertilitysa.com/fertility-treatment/in-vitro-fertilization/history-of-ivf/.

PFCLA (2024). History of IVF: Origin and Developments of the 20th Century | PFCLA. [online] www.pfcla.com. Available at: https://pfcla.com/blog/history-of-ivf.