Patrick Steptoe 1913 - 1988

With Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, Patrick Steptoe 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 an obstetrician and gynaecologist, Steptoe researched infertility and reproductive health. He developed techniques for keyhole surgery using laparoscopes. This allowed for the collection of eggs without abdominal surgery. At the same time, Edwards was researching how to fertilise human eggs in a lab. In 1968, they joined forces to try to develop IVF and were soon joined by 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.

Steptoe, Purdy and Edwards went on to set up the world’s first IVF clinic, Bourn Hall, in 1980, with Steptoe serving as the medical director.

Steptoe died in 1988 aged 74. 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.