IVF pioneer wins Nobel prize three decades after groundbreaking work

Yesterday's announcement that a pioneer of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for humans has won the Nobel prize for medicine three decades after his groundbreaking work adds new historical perspective to advancements in reproductive medicine, a sharp reminder of how a once-feared technology has transformed into a highly popular and routine treatment for infertility, said one of Southern California's earliest fertility doctors.

"By helping bring the first IVF baby into the world in 1978, Dr. Edwards and Dr. Steptoe sparked a worldwide wave of opposition to the new technology," said Rifaat Salem M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director and Founder of Pacific Reproductive Center, based in Torrance, California. "Yet none of the fears of cloned humans and so-called genetically engineered super humans have ever become reality." Instead, Dr. Salem noted, parents worldwide have used the IVF technique to give birth to more than 4 million babies.

"There remains reason for healthy skepticism about misuse of any technology, and there should always be such caution," he said. "At the same time, advancements in fertility medicine have brought joy to millions without ethical compromise, while improving pregnancy-success and healthier babies."

The 1978 birth of Louise Brown, the first "test-tube baby, caused outcries from parties as diverse as the Vatican and British politicians. Just as IVF was becoming more mainstream, Steptoe died in 1988. In Stockholm Monday the Nobel Committee announced Edwards its prizewinner for Physiology or Medicine.

This century, IVF pregnancy rates soar far beyond those in the first decade of IVF, when women had a 5 to 10 percent chance of conceiving. Today, the national average is better than one in three; at PRC in 2008 the chance was 40 percent for women of ages 35 to 37.