Robert G Edwards 1925 - 2013
- occupation:
- Physician, Physiologist, Writer
- Nationality:
- British
- born in:
- Batley, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
With Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy, Robert Edwards was part of the team which developed in vitro fertilisation (IVF). In vitro is the Latin for ‘in glass’ and refers to an egg being fertilised with sperm in a laboratory rather than in the womb.
As a physiologist, Edwards researched how human eggs matured and were fertilised. This included developing how to fertilise them outside the human body. At the same time, Steptoe was researching how to use keyhole surgery to collect eggs. In 1968, they joined forces to try to develop IVF and were soon joined by Jean Purdy as their laboratory technician. The trio embarked on a decade of clinical trials involving more than 282 women. On 25 July 1978, Louise Brown became the first baby to be born after being conceived by IVF.
Edwards, Purdy and Steptoe went on to set up the world’s first IVF clinic, Bourn Hall, in 1980.
In 2010, the development of IVF was recognised when Edwards – the only remaining living member – was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is not possible for Nobel Prizes to be awarded posthumously. Edwards died in 2013 aged 87.