It was in France, in the Parisian hospital of Tenon, under the supervision of Professor Salat-Baroux. Julien, Aurelie, and Melanie came into the world at one in the afternoon, after a 35-week pregnancy, and weighed between two kilos, the smallest, and two kilos, 200 the largest.
The “in vitro” fertilization method was carried out by Dr. Michele Mendelbaum, from the Necker hospital, also in the French capital. The term “in vitro” is a Latin term meaning “in glass” and refers to any biological procedure that is performed outside the body where it would normally take place.
Thanks to the work of doctors Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards, in 1978 the first birth by this technique was achieved. The baby, Louise Brown, was born on July 25 of that year at the Royal Oldham Hospital in Lancashire, near Manchester, in the United Kingdom. Reproductive physiologist Robert Edwards later received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the successful development of the “in vitro” method.
The first birth through this technique in Spain occurred in April 1984, by gynecologists Pedro Barri and Ángel Sopeña, and Dr. Marisa López Tapia. The first baby in Latin America was born in Colombia the following year, in the laboratory of Doctor Elkin Lucena, thanks to the scientific collaboration of several experts from Madrid.
As the years passed and research in the reproductive area progressed, the effectiveness of the treatments increased, although success can never be 100% assured, as explained by specialist Mario Brassesco.
As with the birth in 1985 of the first European triplets, in assisted fertilization treatments the chances of a multiple pregnancy are greater, as explained by doctor Enrique Salamana.
Currently, there are more than six million births by “in vitro” fertilization and it is estimated that, per year, about 250,000 test tube babies are born.
Screenplay by Javier Pasaragua and voice over by Jimena Moyano.
by Radio Profile
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