Five millionth 'test tube baby'
7 July BBC
Five million "test tube babies" have now been born around the world,
according to research presented at a conference of fertility experts.
Delegates hailed it as a "remarkable milestone" for fertility
treatments.
The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in the UK in July
1978. Her mother Leslie Brown died last month.
However, delegates at the conference in Turkey warned couples not to
use fertility treatment as an "insurance policy" if they delayed
parenthood.
The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive
Technologies (Icmart) presented its latest data on children born to
infertile parents at the European Society of Human Reproduction and
Embryology conference.
It said official figures up to 2008, plus three years of estimates,
put the total number of test tube babies born at five million.Icmart
chairman Dr David Adamson said: "This technology has been highly
successful in treating infertile patients. Millions of families with
children have been created, thereby reducing the burden of infertility.
"The technology has improved greatly over the years to increase
pregnancy rates."About 1.5 million cycles of IVF, and similar
techniques, are performed every year, resulting in 350,000 babies,
Icmart said.Stuart Lavery, a consultant gynaecologist and director of
IVF at Hammersmith Hospital, said: "IVF is now part of the mainstream,
it is no longer something couples are ashamed of."However, he cautioned
that the great success of assisted reproduction techniques should not
lull people into thinking they could wait to have children."The subtext
is that if people delay childbirth they may view IVF as an insurance
policy that they can access at any stage.
"Unfortunately the facts still suggest that IVF success rates in
women as they get older are not fantastic."Dr Allan Pacey, senior
lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: "I think
it's significant that we've got to five million. It's far more socially
acceptable than it has been over the last 10 or 20 years."One word of
warning, we should make sure that couples understand that IVF isn't a
guaranteed solution and if they're in a position to have their children
earlier in life then they should try and do that.
"IVF really is something that should be preserved for those people
who really need it." |