Development of In Vitro Fertilization Essay

Robert G. Edwards was born on September 27, 1925 in Batley, Yorkshire, UK. Before he got into the medical field, he served in World War II before studying biology at the University of Wales in Bangor and Edinburgh University in Scotland. There, he received a PhD in 1955 with a thesis on embryonal development in mice. In 1958, he became a staff scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research in London and initiated his research on the human fertilization process. Five years later, he began his academic career in the reproductive physiology department was spent in Cambridge, UK, where he and gynecologist, Patrick Steptoe started the world’s first In Vitro Fertilization centre, the Bourn Hall Clinic. Edwards was the research director for the clinic for several years and had also edited many leading scientific journals on fertilization. He currently teaches at the University of Cambridge. As early as the 1950s, Edwards envisioned that In Vitro Fertilization could be a very useful treatment for infertility. He worked in steps – from systematically determining his goal, discovering principles for human fertilization, and succeeding in accomplishing fertilization of human egg cells in test tubes, or cell culture dishes. First of all, infertility, a medical and psychological problem, affects 10% of all couples in the world. This causes lifelong psychological trauma for these couples and the fact that medicines have limited opportunities to help them, there is little hope for them to conceive. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an established therapy when sperm and egg cannot meet inside the body. After previous research had shown that egg cells from rabbits could be fertilized in test tubes when sperm was added, giving rise to offspring, Edwards decided to investigate further if similar methods could be used for humans. In experimental studies conducted together with several different co-workers, he made a great deal of encouraging discoveries. Findings proved how human eggs mature, how different hormones regulate their maturation, and the time in which eggs are susceptible to the sperm. In 1969, his efforts met with success when a human egg was fertilized in a test tube. In spite of his success, the fertilized egg did not develop more than a single cell division. He suspected that eggs had matures in the ovaries before they were removed for IVF would work better, and looked for different ways to obtain eggs in a safer way. While Steptoe used the laparoscope to remove eggs from the ovaries, Edwards put the eggs in cell culture and added sperm. Embryos started to from after the egg cells divided several times. Though the studies were promising, the Medical Research Council did not fund a continuation of the project. However, a private donation allowed the work to continue. By analyzing the patients’ hormone levels, they could determine the best time point for success. In 1977, Lesley and John Brown arrived at the clinic after nine years of trying to have a baby. IVF treatment was carried out and once the fertilized egg had developed into an embryo with eight cells, it was returned to Lesley Brown and on July 25, 1978, a healthy baby girl named Louise was born through C-section after a full-term pregnancy. It was then that IVF moved from a vision to reality and a new era in medicine begun. Gynecologists and cell biologists from different countries trained at the Bourn Hall Clinic and the original methods of IVF were refined. By 1986, a thousand children had been born after IVF in the world. To this day, IVF is an established therapy throughout the world and has undergone several improvements, including single sperm being microinjected directly into the egg cell in the culture dish. IVF is safe – 20-30% of fertilized eggs lead to the birth of a child. With most procedures and attempts, there are risks of complications, such as premature birth, but they are very rare. As of 2010, approximately four million individuals have been born thanks to IVF. Louise Brown and many other IVF children have even given birth themselves, adding to the success and safety of this therapy. A new field of medicine had emerged, with Edwards heading the process. â€Å"His contributions represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine. †