As the world's very first test tube baby celebrates her thirtieth birthday experts are warning that the growth of 'reproductive tourism' is becoming an increasing problem which is putting women and babies at risk.
In 1978 Louise Brown became the first child to be born who was conceived by assisted reproductive technology or in vitro fertilization (IVF), with the help of University of Cambridge fertilization experts Dr. Robert Edwards and Dr. Patrick Steptoe.
Her birth on July 25th caused controversy around the world and comments at the time accused the scientists involved of 'playing God'.
Since then more than 3.5 million children around the world have been conceived in the same manner.
IVF treatment involves surgically removing eggs from a woman's ovaries and combining them with sperm in the laboratory, doctors then select the best embryos - usually one or two - and implant them in the woman's uterus.
IVF enables millions of women who are unable to conceive naturally to have children but the technology is not without risks. Most treatments involve women aged between 30 and 39.
Multiple births increase the odds of low birth-weight and complications during delivery and more than 30 percent of successful IVF pregnancies result in mothers giving birth to twins, triplets or greater numbers of babies.
In the last three or four years, cheap flights, open borders and medical advances have made it much easier for infertile couples to seek in vitro fertilisation treatments in countries where such procedures cost far less.
But experts say there are no international set of standards which might help people choose a safe place to go, with the result that many couples are taking risks at clinics that may not have adequate standards.