British in vitro pioneer wins the Nobel Prize in medicine

NEW YORK - The Nobel Prize in medicine went to a man whose work led to the first birth by in vitro fertilization, an achievement that helped bring four million infants into the world and raised challenging questions about human reproduction.

Robert Edwards of Britain, now an 85-year-old professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, lived to see the far-reaching ramifications of his controversial early work.

"Today, Robert Edwards' vision is a reality and brings joy to infertile people all over the world," the Nobel committee said in Stockholm, Sweden. It began with the first birth by the procedure on July 25, 1978, of Louise Brown to a couple who had been trying to conceive for nine years.

With in vitro fertilization, or IVF, an egg is removed from a woman, combined with sperm in a laboratory, allowed to divide for four or five days, then implanted in the womb to grow into a baby. Today, the odds of a couple having a baby after a single cycle of IVF treatment are about 1 in 5, roughly the same as a fertile couple trying to have children naturally.

Edwards and research partner Patrick Steptoe, who died in 1988, faced opposition to their IVF experiments. Some religious leaders called it morally wrong. Some government officials thought it more important to limit fertility than treat infertility, and some scientists were worried about the safety of embryos.

"In retrospect, it is amazing that Edwards not only was able to respond to the continued criticism of IVF, but that he also remained so persistent and unperturbed in fulfilling his scientific vision," the Nobel committee said.

Society still wrestles with issues that arose from his work:

Is it appropriate to obtain stem cells from embryos created through IVF? Some people object because the embryos are destroyed to get the cells.

Should women who donate eggs be paid? The Vatican's top bioethics official, Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, said Monday that Edwards opened "a new and important chapter in the field of human reproduction." But he also said IVF was responsible for the destruction of embryos and the creation of a market for donor eggs.

Should there be an age limit on women using IVF? In 2006, a Spanish woman, 67, made headlines when she gave birth after using the technology to conceive twins. The uproar continued when she died only two years later.

Even so, Edwards' research deserves a Nobel, said bioethicist Laurie Zoloth of Northwestern University. "For millions of families, it created the possibility of a truly joyful and extraordinary event."

William Ledger, head of reproductive medicine at Sheffield University, said, "The only sadness is that Patrick Steptoe has not lived to see this day because it was always a joint team effort."

The Nobel is not given posthumously. It was not immediately clear why it took so long to honor such groundbreaking work. Initially, there was concern about the health of babies born as a result of IVF, "so it was, of course, very, very important that Louise Brown was healthy and that subsequent babies also were healthy," prize committee member Christer Hoog said.

A statement from Bourn Hall in Cambridge, England, the world's first IVF clinic, founded by the two researchers, said Edwards was too ill for interviews.

"I spoke to his wife, and she was delighted," committee secretary Goran Hansson told reporters in Stockholm after announcing the $1.5 million award. "And she was sure he would be delighted, too."

Lori B. Andrews of the Chicago-Kent College of Law said making embryos in a lab created a host of ethical issues that have never been fully resolved.

For one thing, clinics routinely fertilize more eggs than are implanted, at least at first. The resulting extra embryos can be frozen for storage, Andrews noted, but couples can change their minds about what they want to do with them.

These days, she said, a child can have up to five parents: the sperm donor, the egg donor, a surrogate mother who brings the child to term in her womb, and the couple intending to raise the child.

In Bristol, England, Louise Brown, the first IVF success, is now 32. In a statement issued by the Bourn Hall clinic, she said she and her mother were "so glad that one of the pioneers of IVF has been given the recognition he deserves." Brown gave birth in 2007 to a son conceived naturally.