THE WORLD’S FIRST ‘TEST TUBE’ BABY

In 1977, Lesley Brown – who was struggling with infertility due to blocked fallopian tubes – was put in contact with scientists Dr Robert Edwards and Dr Patrick Steptoe. Steptoe was an expert in obtaining eggs from ovaries and Edwards an expert in fertilising human eggs in a petri dish. Together the two offered Lesley Brown the opportunity – albeit one with a slim chance of success – to artificially fertilise her eggs with her husband’s sperm. Without the use of hormones to manipulate her natural menstrual cycle and increase egg production, the scientists overcame the odds and successfully performed the first in vitro fertilisation and implantation of a single lab-fertilised embryo.

Louise Brown, pictured with her parents Lesley and John, was the first baby born through IVF