In vitro fertilization involves clinicians collecting eggs from a woman's ovaries and allowing sperm to fertilize them outside of the womb. The fertilized eggs are then put back into the woman's womb in the hope that a successful pregnancy will follow. Arguably one of the most significant developments in reproductive medicine, it has been used for infertile couples the world over with more than a million babies born via the technique. Today, in vitro fertilization continues to be controversial in medical, legal, and moral terms, but it has gained wider social acceptance.
The story begins with Chinese reproductive biologist Min Chueh Chang (1908-1991), who went to the United States to work with the eventual pioneer of the oral contraceptive pill Gregory Pincus after World War H. Pincus had claimed to have successfully used in vitro fertilization with rabbits in 1935. His claims were met with disbelief and neither scientist was able to successfully repeat the procedure.
However, Chang did discover that sperm must incubate inside the female before it has fertilizing capacity. It took until 1959 for Chang, in competition with others, to finally demonstrate in vitro fertilization in rabbits by transferring fertilized eggs from black rabbits into the uterus of a white rabbit, which gave birth to black young. Further work by Chang and others led to knowledge of the conditions needed for in vitro fertilization in other species.
In England, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards applied this knowledge to humans. After years of trials and opposition, they produced the world's first "test- tube baby in 1978 with the birth of Louise Brown.
