Test-tube baby pioneer Robert Edwards dies
11 April 2013 7:54 AM IST
Robert Edwards, a British Nobel prize-winning scientist known as the father of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for pioneering the development of ‘test tube babies’, died on Wednesday aged 87 after a long illness, his university said.
Edwards, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2010, started work on fertilisation in the 1950s, and the first so-called test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 as a result of his research.
Edwards began his work on fertilisation in 1955 and by 1968 had been able to achieve fertilisation of a human egg in a laboratory. He then started to collaborate with Steptoe. Together they founded Bourn Hall, the world’s first IVF clinic, in Cambridge, eastern England, in 1980.
Mike Macnamee, chief executive of the Bourn Hall IVF clinic that Edwards co-founded, said he was ‘one of our greatest scientists’ whose inspirational work led to a breakthrough that has enhanced the lives of millions of people worldwide.
Peter Braude, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at King’s College London, said few biologists had been able to have such a positive and practical impact on humankind.
‘Bob’s boundless energy, his innovative ideas, and his resilience despite the relentless criticism by naysayers, changed the lives of millions of ordinary people who now rejoice in the gift of their own child,’ he said. ‘He leaves the world a much better place.’
However, the story of developing in-vitro fertilisation also has a tragic India chapter. While Edwards was working out the scientific intricacies of developing a test tube baby in 1960s-70s England, Subhash Mukhopadhyay, a Calcutta-based doctor was also delving into the slippery slopes of a damaged fallopian tube in order to achieve fertilisation of the human sperm and egg outside the conducive environment of a womb.
Unlike Edwards, Mukhopadhyay used HMG for ovarian stimulation of IVF, and he was also the first to use transvaginal approach for ovum pick up, along with cryopreservation of human embryos. Mukhopadhyay’s efforts succeeded when the first test tube baby ‘Durga’ was born in India 67 days after Louise Brown was born in the UK, yet he was shunned by the Indian scientific community, which failed to recognize the originality and enormity of his achievement, pushing him towards depression and eventual suicide. In fact, it was contested that Edwards’ 2010 Nobel should have been shared with Mukherjee, who would have received it posthumously, had he been awarded the ultimate recognition.
Edwards, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2010, started work on fertilisation in the 1950s, and the first so-called test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 as a result of his research.
Edwards began his work on fertilisation in 1955 and by 1968 had been able to achieve fertilisation of a human egg in a laboratory. He then started to collaborate with Steptoe. Together they founded Bourn Hall, the world’s first IVF clinic, in Cambridge, eastern England, in 1980.
Mike Macnamee, chief executive of the Bourn Hall IVF clinic that Edwards co-founded, said he was ‘one of our greatest scientists’ whose inspirational work led to a breakthrough that has enhanced the lives of millions of people worldwide.
Peter Braude, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at King’s College London, said few biologists had been able to have such a positive and practical impact on humankind.
‘Bob’s boundless energy, his innovative ideas, and his resilience despite the relentless criticism by naysayers, changed the lives of millions of ordinary people who now rejoice in the gift of their own child,’ he said. ‘He leaves the world a much better place.’
However, the story of developing in-vitro fertilisation also has a tragic India chapter. While Edwards was working out the scientific intricacies of developing a test tube baby in 1960s-70s England, Subhash Mukhopadhyay, a Calcutta-based doctor was also delving into the slippery slopes of a damaged fallopian tube in order to achieve fertilisation of the human sperm and egg outside the conducive environment of a womb.
Unlike Edwards, Mukhopadhyay used HMG for ovarian stimulation of IVF, and he was also the first to use transvaginal approach for ovum pick up, along with cryopreservation of human embryos. Mukhopadhyay’s efforts succeeded when the first test tube baby ‘Durga’ was born in India 67 days after Louise Brown was born in the UK, yet he was shunned by the Indian scientific community, which failed to recognize the originality and enormity of his achievement, pushing him towards depression and eventual suicide. In fact, it was contested that Edwards’ 2010 Nobel should have been shared with Mukherjee, who would have received it posthumously, had he been awarded the ultimate recognition.
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