In-Vitro Fertilization. The Pioneers' History

1. A brief outline of the history of human in-vitro fertilization John D. Biggers and Catherine Racowsky
2. The track to assisted reproduction: from animal to human in-vitro fertilization Jacques Cohen
3. The American roots of in-vitro fertilization Frederick Naftolin, Jennifer Blakemore and David L. Keefe
4. The story of Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards, Jean Purdy, and Bourn Hall Clinic Peter R. Brinsden
5. Professional hostility confronting Edwards, Steptoe, and Purdy in their pioneering work on in-vitro fertilization Martin H. Johnson
6. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Australia Alex Lopata and Gabor Kovacs
7. The Joneses and the Jones Institute Charles C. Coddington, III and Sergio C. Oehninger
8. The development of in-vitro fertilization in North America after the Joneses Matthew Connell and Alan H. DeCherney
9. The Brussels story and the eureka moment of intracytoplasmic sperm injection Andre Van Steirteghem
10. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Austria Wilfried Feichtinger
11. The development of in-vitro fertilization in France Rene F. Frydman
12. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Italy Luca Gianaroli, Serena Sgargi, Maria Cristina Magli and Anna Pia Ferraretti
13. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Scandinavia Lars Hamberger, Torbjorn Hillensjo and Matts Wikland
14. The Development of In-Vitro Fertilization in Spain Antonio Pellicer
15. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Greece, Germany, and The Netherlands Basil C. Tarlatzis, Klaus Diedrich and Bart Fauser
16. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Israel Zion Ben-Rafael
17. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Latin America Fernando Zegers-Hochschild
18. The development of in-vitro fertilization in India Rina Agrawal and Elizabeth Burt
19. The development of in-vitro fertilization in China Daimin Wei, Jianfeng Wang, Yingying Qin and Zi-Jiang Chen
20. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Africa Willem Ombelet
21. The development of in-vitro fertilization in Russia Vladislav Korsak and Anatoly Nikitin
22. The application of in-vitro fertilization in the management of the infertile male David M. de Kretser
23. The development of preimplantation genetic diagnosis for monogenic disease and chromosome inbalance Leeanda Wilton
24. The development of embryo, oocyte, and ovarian tissue cryopreservation Debra A. Gook and David H. Edgar
25. The development of ovarian stimulation for in-vitro fertilization Colin M. Howles
26. The development of microsurgery for male and female infertility Sherman J. Silber
27. The application of embryonic stem cells for in-vitro fertilization Ariff Bongso
28. The regulation and legislation of in-vitro fertilization Louis Waller and Sandra Dill
29. Research on assisted reproduction families: a historical perspective Susan Golombok
30. The commercialization of in-vitro fertilization G. David Adamson and Anthony J. Rutherford.

The birth of Louise Joy Brown - the world's first baby born following in-vitro fertilization - heralded a medical revolution. Forty years later, many thousands of babies are born each year following IVF. Assisted reproduction is a global industry with a multi-billion dollar turnover. It is a complex mix of science, clinical management, bioethics, and commercial imperatives. Many of the pioneers of IVF are still with us and have a fascinating tale to tell. Here, they relate the story of the development of IVF and related technologies in a way that will prove invaluable to future generations of practitioners seeking to understand the genesis of the specialty. This is not an academic history: rather it takes an informal and anecdotal approach; informing and entertaining for generations of past, present and future medical and scientific specialists of IVF, alongside the millions of parents, who celebrated the successes of IVF treatment worldwide.

• Timely publication in connection with the 40th anniversary of the birth of Louise Brown (the world's first 'test-tube baby') on 25 July 2018
• Fulfils the need for a record of the early days of in-vitro fertilization and assisted reproduction technologies
• Explores the memories and first-hand experiences of global pioneers of IVF, written by those remaining from the early days of the specialty

Gabor Kovacs, Monash University, Victoria
Gabor Kovacs, A.M., is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Australia. He was a foundation member of the Monash IVF team and International Medical Director of Monash IVF until his retirement in 2015. He is an Honorary Member of International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS) and Life Member of The Fertility Society of Australia as well as Family Planning Australia.

Peter Brinsden, Bourn Hall Clinic, Cambridge
Peter Brinsden is a Consultant Medical Director of Bourn Hall Clinic. He has Honorary Professorships at the Capital Medical University, Beijing, Peking Union Medical College, and China Southern Medical University, Guangzhou. He served as President of the British Fertility Society from 2009 to 2012.

Alan DeCherney, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
Alan DeCherney has been Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale University, Connecticut, and has chaired the department at Tufts University, Massachusetts, and University of California, Los Angeles. Dr DeCherney has been an Associate Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of Fertility and Sterility. He has been president of American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) and Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART). He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.