THE AMAZING STORY OF IN VITRO FERTILISATION

IVF THEN

IVF was far more demanding for patients than it is today

Women were required to spend two to three weeks as inpatients, staying in the grounds of their clinic, and even had to collect urine samples every three hours as this was the only way doctors could monitor their hormone levels

As it was believed that gravity might increase chances of embryos implanting, the women were required to crouch forward with their bottoms in the air for an hour or two after embryos had been transferred

IVF TODAY

Today, IVF is a far more streamlined process. Women are treated as day patients, and there are no three-hourly urine collections, no hours of crouching after egg collection. Although moral and ethical questions still surround new advances, for the most part it has become an everyday treatment

THE LATEST IN IVF

This week it was reported the first IVF baby to be screened using a procedure that can read every letter of the human genome had been born in the US. The birth of Connor Levy in Philadephia in May suggests next-generation sequencing, which was developed to read whole genomes quickly and cheaply, is poised to transform the selection of embryos in IVF clinics

It was reported the cost of IVF could be cut dramatically from thousands of pounds to around £170 in what could mark start of a ‘new era’