The history of “test tube babies” goes back to the 1955 when in-vitro fertilization (IVF) started developing. The first IVF baby born in UK in 1978 under the supervision of IVF pioneer Sir Robert Edwards.
"Nothing is more special than a child" - Sir Robert Edwards after he won his Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010.
Nowadays, infertility and consequent involuntary childlessness are a common medical problem affecting 10% of couples during their reproductive years. IVF is the most extensively used form of assisted reproduction techniques (ART), where oocytes (eggs) are fertilized and embryos cultured in vitro and then transferred to mother uterus. According to European statistics, almost a half a million of ART cycles are performed annually, resulting in the birth of 100,000 newborns, which account for nearly 5% of all babies in some countries.