In vitro pioneer Robert Edwards awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine
October 5th, 2010 - 6:34 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattThe British scientist, Robert Edwards has won this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine for his contribution to the development of vitro fertilization (IVF). However religious groups are in arms against the decision to award Robert Edwards with the prize.
Edwards, 85 years, is professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge. He started working on the concept of IVF as far back as in the 1950s.
The technique involves the removal of eggs from a woman and they are fertilized outside her body. The fertilized egg is then implanted back into the woman. Professor Edwards developed this technique with the help of another British scientist, Patrick Steptoe who died in 1988.
It is estimated that some 4 million babies have been born through this procedure since July 25, 1978 when the first baby was born through this procedure. The first baby to be born through this procedure was the British, Louise Brown. Brown is 32 years now and he has a child of his own. The child was conceived naturally and he paid tribute to the men who gave him the chance to be “born” on Monday.
Since its introduction, the procedure has greatly increased the probability of infertile couples having a baby. The chance that an infertile couple will have a baby is 20%, same as the chance a healthy couple has to conceive naturally.
The Prize secretariat however said Edwards was not in the best of health when the committee tried to reach him on Monday.
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