This Sunday 25 marks 42 years since Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy achieved the first human birth through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), one of the most transformative technologies of the 20th century in terms of reproduction.
Like many great feats of science and medicine, the story of the Steptoe and Edwards collaboration had years of disappointment and failure, such as a positive IVF pregnancy in 1976, but which turned out to be ectopic or tubal; however, on July 25, 1978, they succeeded after 102 failed embryo transfers, with the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s so-called “first test-tube baby”.
The first human pregnancy by IVF was in 1973, reported by Carl Wood and John Leeton in Melbourne, Australia; however, it ended in early embryonic death (less than a week), a situation that was followed by a period of much controversy and criticism about human embryo transfers.
By the time Louise Brown celebrated her 10th birthday, more than 10,000 families had used this new technology. In 1990, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority of the United Kingdom created standards of treatment to protect the ethics of these new advances, and in 2010 Robert Edwards received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of IVF plus embryo transfer (IVF /TEA).
On the other hand, the birth of Louise Brown also marked the creation of the World Day of the Embryologist, the specialist in reproductive medicine who works in an assisted reproduction clinic or in the reproduction department of a hospital. An embryologist can also engage in research on reproduction or stem cells, such as cell therapy or bioengineering.
The reality is that this specialist is part of the medical team and the most hidden face of the treatments, since he works mainly in the IVF laboratory performing various tasks, among which the following stand out:
- Processing of oocytes collected by follicular aspiration
- Semen washing and spermiogram
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
- Preparation of samples for artificial insemination
- Assisted hatching
- Embryo biopsy
- Embryo transfer
- Monitoring of embryonic development
- Vitrification and devitrification of oocytes and embryos
“Most of these specialists are biologists, who work in the embryology laboratory and are a fundamental pillar of the work team at IVI Santiago; They are in charge of choosing the sperm to inject into the ovule, of taking care of the embryos in full treatment, of choosing the good embryo to transfer, and of controlling the multiple laboratory parameters so that the embryo feels like it is in the womb. In addition, they are in charge of keeping the gametes and embryos that remain cryopreserved in good condition, ”says Dr. Andrés Carvajal from IVI Santiago and a specialist in reproductive medicine.
It is estimated that around eight million people have been born through IVF, and the first of them, Louise, is turning 42 years old. She is currently married with two children, who were conceived naturally, and leads an ordinary life in her birthplace, Bristol. As a curiosity, Louise has a sister, Natalie, also a baby in vitro. His parents were so satisfied with the first experience that 4 years later, in 1982, they ventured out with another. In 1999, Natalie became the first woman born using this technique to give birth to a naturally conceived baby.
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