It is difficult nowadays, when the public communication of science is embedded institutionally, to understand how damaging to them this was. The massive press interest of the late s was unabated in the ensuing years, and so Edwards was faced with a choice: either he could keep his head down and allow press fantasies and speculations to go unanswered and unchallenged, or he could engage, educate and debate.
For him this was no choice, regardless of the consequences professionally Gardner and Johnson, His radical political views demanded that he fought the corner of the infertile: the underdog with no voice. The Yorkshireman in him relished engagement in the debate and argument. In Edwards and Sharpe , he sets out his reasons for public engagement and acknowledges the risk to his own interests:.
And risk it was. Edwards feels the need to publicise his work on radio and television, and in the press, so that he can change public attitudes. I do not feel that an ill-informed general public is capable of evaluating the work and seeing it in its proper perspective.
This publicity has antagonised a large number of Dr. The Edwards and Sharpe paper is a tour de force in its survey of the scientific benefits and risks of the science of IVF, in the legal and ethical issues raised by IVF, and in the pros and cons of the various regulatory responses to them. It sets out the issues succinctly and anticipates social responses that were some 13—19 years into the future.
However, the establishment was, with few exceptions, unwilling to engage seriously in ethical debates Edwards, ; Jones and Bodmer, in advance of the final validation of IVF that was to come in with the birth of Louise Brown Figure 13 ; Edwards and Steptoe, Only then did the UK social, scientific and medical hierarchies, such as the MRC, the British Medical Association, the Royal Society and Government move gradually from their almost visceral reactions against IVF and its possibilities to serious engagement with the issues Johnson and Theodosiou, It is evident even from the earliest stages of his late entry into research that Edwards is a man of extraordinary energy and drive, qualities sustained throughout his long career, witnessing his prodigious output of papers between and Gardner and Johnson, This position was understandable given the reality of those concerns, as is demonstrated now in the problem of global warming that is attributable at least in part to a failure to control population growth.
That empathy clearly reflects his under-privileged origins, his espousal of the cause of the junior, the disadvantaged, the ill-informed and the underdog being a thread running through his career. Edwards can be very critical, but I have found no one who can remember him ever being nasty or vindictive. Even when he disagrees with some one passionately, he never loses his respect for them as people. That Steptoe tapped into this sentiment is clear.
The way in which Edwards met Steptoe has been absorbed into folklore, but an examination of the evidence seems to warrant some revision to commonly held later reminiscences.
Thus, it was spermatozoa, not eggs, that were exercising Edwards in , and it was the problem of sperm capacitation, not egg retrieval, to which Steptoe and his laparoscope seemed to offer a solution. The book is the only place that this issue is specifically addressed. Their actual meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine is also re-evaluated: Edwards was an invited speaker lecturing about his work on immuno-reproduction, so, paradoxically, what has been seen as a side track to his main work, was, albeit serendipitously, the reason for their actual meeting.
The early collaboration between them involved the recovery of ovarian biopsies, just like those Rose and others had been providing. However, the attractions of preovulatory follicular egg recovery were already clear to them both by the end of , and became, with embryo replacement, the central planks of their partnership. Steptoe and Edwards were in many ways an unlikely partnership. Their personal styles were very different, and there are clear hints in his writings that Edwards found their early days together difficult.
In Jean Purdy, they also had a partner who smoothed the bumps on the path of their work together Figure His combination of vision and intellectual rigor is evident not just in his work on stem cells, PGD and, with Steptoe, infertility, but also in his pioneering work in the public communication of science, in how ethical discourse about reproduction is conducted, and in consideration of regulatory issues.
I thank the Edwards family for their help in writing this account, for which, however, I take full responsibility. I also thank Sandy Markham and John Webster for allowing me to quote our correspondence, Margaret Wilson for her help with locating books and periodicals, and Kay Elder, Ralph Robinson and Sarah Franklin for their unfailing wisdom and help. I thank Ruth Edwards for permission to reproduce Figures 1—3, 5, 8 and 11, Barbara Rankin for permission to reproduce Figures 6, 7, 9 and 10 , Andrew Steptoe for permission to reproduce Figure 12 , Bourn Hall Clinic for permission to reproduce Figures 13 and 14 , and Peter Williams for permission to include the movie clip in Supplementary material.
The research was supported by a grant from the Wellcome Trust , which otherwise had no involvement in the research or its publication. Declaration: The author reports no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.
This paper is based on research undertaken in preparation for the introductory lecture to the Nobel Symposium held in the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, on Tuesday 7th December to celebrate the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Robert Geoffrey Edwards. He is author of Essential Reproduction seventh edition, Blackwell Science due , co-editor of Sexuality Repositioned , Death Rites and Rights and Birth Rites and Rights , and has authored over papers on reproductive science, history, ethics, law and medical education.
National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Sponsored Document from. Reproductive Biomedicine Online. Reprod Biomed Online. Martin H Johnson. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Martin H Johnson: ku. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Keywords: Edwards, genetics, history, infertility, IVF. Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Figure 2. Family life In Edinburgh, Edwards not only started to map out his scientific career, but importantly also met Ruth Fowler Figure 3 , who was to become his life-long scientific collaborator and whom he was to marry in , their five daughters following between and Caroline, Sarah, Jenny and twins Anna and Meg.
Figure 3. Ruth Fowler in laboratory, Edinburgh s courtesy Ruth Edwards. Figure 4. Figure 5. Figure 6. Glasgow and stem cells Edwards had accepted an invitation from John Paul to spend a year in the Biochemistry Department at Glasgow University. Figure 7. Figure 8. Figure 9. Figure The meeting with Patrick Steptoe Patrick Steptoe —; Figure 12 had been Consultant Obstetrician at Oldham General Hospital since Edwards, , where for several years he had been pioneering the development and use of the laparoscope in gynaecological surgery Edwards, ; Steptoe, a.
Patrick Steptoe — courtesy Andrew Steptoe. Austin, Department of Embryology, Cambridge Edwards, Department of Physiology, Cambridge Mann, Department of Physiology of Reproduction, Cambridge Ivor H. Mills and R. Wilson, Department of Investigative Medicine, Cambridge Ferriman, A. Purdie and M. Corns, North Middlesex Hospital, London 3. Tsapoulis and A. Crooke, Department of Clinical Endocrinology, Birmingham 3. Butler, G. Searle and Co.
Sir Alan S. Parkes, Cambridge 4. Publication Title Type of publication Location in Cambridge; date of arrival Steptoe a Laparoscopy in Gynaecology Book University library; March Steptoe b A new method of tubal sterilisation Conference proceedings Stockholm Physiology library; Arrival date unknown, published in November Steptoe c Laparoscopic studies of ovulation, its suppression and induction, and of ovarian dysfunction Conference proceedings Sydney University library; May Steptoe The fifth freedom BMJ letter 22 January , Physiology library; January Steptoe Gynaecological endoscopy — laparoscopy and culdoscopy Paper in J Obstet Gynaecol Br Commonw 72, — University library; August moved to Clinical School library after The fertilization of the human egg resolved Despite the initiation of the collaboration with Steptoe, the actual solution to the capacitation problem lay nearer to home than Oldham: in the laboratories shared with Austin.
Table 4 Summary of data from Edwards et al. The battles begin But seemed to be a good year for Edwards. Acknowledgements I thank the Edwards family for their help in writing this account, for which, however, I take full responsibility. Notes Declaration: The author reports no financial or commercial conflicts of interest. References Anon, Morris, Prof.
Norman Frederick. In: Who Was Who — Anon, New step towards test-tube babies. Arechaga J. Technique as the basis of experiment in developmental biology: An interview with Denis A.
Ashwood-Smith, M. Robert Edwards at Online 4 Suppl. Askonas B. John Herbert Humphrey. Austin C. Observations of the penetration of sperm into the mammalian egg. Series B. Bavister B. Environmental factors important for in vitro fertilization in the hamster.
Chang M. Fertilization of rabbit ova in vitro. Fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa deposited into the fallopian tubes. Clarke, J. Clarke A. Cole R. Cytodifferentiation and embryogenesis in cell colonies and tissue cultures derived from ova and blastocysts of the rabbit.
Cytodifferentiation in cell colonies and cell strains derived from cleaving ova and blastocysts of the rabbit. Cell Res. Connelly, M. Cook B. JRF — the first volumes. Conference Denver.
A proposed standard system of nomenclature of human mitotic chromosomes. Edwards R. IVF and the history of stem cells. Patrick Christopher Steptoe, C. Edwards, R. Tribute to Patrick Steptoe: beginnings of laparoscopy. Faversham; UK see Supplementary Material : Interviewed in: To Mrs. Brown a daughter. Fertilization of human eggs in vitro: morals, ethics and the law. Are oocytes formed and used sequentially in the mammalian ovary? Uncatalogued; Churchill College Archive: Maturation in vitro of human ovarian oocytes.
Maturation in vitro of mouse, sheep, cow, pig, rhesus monkey and human ovarian oocytes. Meiosis in ovarian oocytes of adult mammals. Social values and research in human embryology. Timing of the stages of the maturation divisions, ovulation, fertilization and the first cleavage of eggs of adult mice treated with gonadotrophins.
In: Edwards, R. Hutchinson; London, UK: Birth after the reimplantation of a human embryo. Fertilization and cleavage in vitro of preovulatory human oocytes.
Did fertilization occur? Early stages of fertilization in vitro of human oocytes matured in vitro. Diffusion chamber for exposing spermatozoa to human uterine secretions. Preliminary attempts to fertlilize human oocytes matured in vitro. Evans M. Establishment in culture of pluripotential cells from mouse embryos. Eve A. Lord Rutherford. R Soc. Ford C. The chromosomes of man.
Fowler R. Induction of superovulation and pregnancy in mature mice by gonadotrophins. Franklin R. Molecular configuration in sodium thymonucleate. Gardner R. Physiology News. Control of the sex ratio at full term in the rabbit by transferring sexed blastocysts. Bob Edwards and the first decade of reproductive biomedicine. Online Reprod. Gardner, R. Robert Edwards. Gemzell C. The induction of ovulation with human pituitary gonadotrophins. Greep, R. Min Chueh Chang. October 10, — June 5, Gurdon J.
The developmental capacity of nuclei taken from intestinal epithelium cells of feeding tadpoles. Adult frogs derived from the nuclei of single somatic cells. Sexually mature individuals of Xenopus laevis from the transplantation of single somatic nuclei.
Hankinson G. Edwards papers uncatalogued; Churchill College Archive: Letter G. Hayashi M. Amsterdam; Netherlands: Fertilization in vitro using human ova. Hazelgrove J. The old faith and the new science. Helsinki Declaration, Henderson S. Chiasma frequency and maternal age in mammals. Himsworth H.
Charles Robert Harington. Holmes, R. B , dated 21 May. University of Cambridge Archives, Horowitz N. My mum, Lesley Brown, went to the doctor suffering from depression.
At the heart of it was her inability to have a child with my dad, John. When they heard about this experiment it gave them hope. Even though it had never worked before it was something to cling on to — and happily led to me being born. Later it worked for them again, with my sister Natalie being born in — by then the 40 th in the world. That same journey is there for couples today and thanks to the pioneers the road is easier to travel than ever.
The moral debate about how far science should go in genetics rages on. IVF is now a multi-billion pound worldwide industry and it depends on where you live as to what help is available — and at what cost. Every day women and men start out on this journey. They must share their troubles with doctors and specialists. Some hide it from their closest friends and family. They may need something simple or they may need operations — as my mum did — before IVF can even be attempted.
Swedish English. The pioneers Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe were behind this success, which evoked attention all over the world. Initially, however, many colleagues as well as voices in the general public were critical. It had taken IVF-treatments to achieve the first pregnancy. Today IVF is the most important method for treatment of infertility. In the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Robert Edwards for the development of in vitro fertilization. The film had been created in collaboration with the world renowned photographer Lennart Nilsson.
Out of the people participating in the research projects leading up to only three people are still working with IVF today.
For a few years in the s the waiting period to receive an IVF-treatment was seven years. There were not yet any private clinics. There have been great developments since the first IVF-baby was born in Sweden in Among the most significant breakthroughs are:.
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