words of Edwards, It is hard to put into words what the occasion of her birth meant to me, and to our wonderful supportive team Today, IVF is recognized as an established therapy throughout the world To date it is estimated that some four million children have been born as a result of this procedure. Louise Brown and several other Ivf children have become mothers themselves, to-date all conceiving naturally, thus providing evidence of the safety and success of IVF therapy. Today, Robert Edwards vision is a reality which continues to bring joy to infertile couples all over the world. It is regrettable that patrick Steptoe was not able to share the honor of receiving the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine together with his colleague Robert HIGHLIGHT OF IVF MILESTONES The path to achieving the first successful human IVf procedure was paved with a rich history of novel scientific achievements. Once established as a viable procedure, IVF technology advanced rapidly. The next decade witnessed many robust innovations. Cryopreservation was introduced in the early 1980s The birth of the first cryopreserved embryo baby was reported in 1983. During he same year, the first successful delivery following embryo donation occurred By 1985, there were many other "firsts'"in the field, including the first pregnancy by IVF using sperm aspirated from the epididymis, the first description of culture media(first published as a formula entitled Human Tubal Fluid) designed to mimic the in vivo environment to which the embryo is exposed, and the first delivery resulting from gestational surrogacy Micromanipulation of human oocytes and embryos was introduced in the late 1980s, leading to the first reported pregnancy after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI CURRENT IVF STATUS Worldwide, more than 70 million couples are afflicted with infertility Since the first successful Ivf procedure in 1978, the use of this and related technologies has expanded to become commonplace around the globe. Over the past decade, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) services has increased at a rate of 5-10% annually The transfer of multiple embryos in a single cycle increases the rates of multiple births. Because of the increased social costs and health risks associated with multiple births, legislation or guidelines from professional societies have been introduced in many countries restricting the number of embryos that may be transferred per IVF cycle in an effort to limit the incidence of multiple gestations FUTURE OF IVFwords of Edwards, “It is hard to put into words what the occasion of her birth meant to me, and to our wonderful supportive team.” Today, IVF is recognized as an established therapy throughout the world. To date it is estimated that some four million children have been born as a result of this procedure. Louise Brown and several other IVF children have become mothers themselves, to-date all conceiving naturally, thus providing evidence of the safety and success of IVF therapy. Today, Robert Edwards’ vision is a reality which continues to bring joy to infertile couples all over the world. It is regrettable that Patrick Steptoe was not able to share the honor of receiving the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine together with his colleague Robert Edwards. HIGHLIGHT OF IVF MILESTONES The path to achieving the first successful human IVF procedure was paved with a rich history of novel scientific achievements. Once established as a viable procedure, IVF technology advanced rapidly. The next decade witnessed many robust innovations. Cryopreservation was introduced in the early 1980s. The birth of the first cryopreserved embryo baby was reported in 1983. During the same year, the first successful delivery following embryo donation occurred. By 1985, there were many other “firsts” in the field, including the first pregnancy by IVF using sperm aspirated from the epididymis, the first description of culture media (first published as a formula entitled Human Tubal Fluid) designed to mimic the in vivo environment to which the embryo is exposed, and the first delivery resulting from gestational surrogacy. Micromanipulation of human oocytes and embryos was introduced in the late 1980s, leading to the first reported pregnancy after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). CURRENT IVF STATUS Worldwide, more than 70 million couples are afflicted with infertility. Since the first successful IVF procedure in 1978, the use of this and related technologies has expanded to become commonplace around the globe. Over the past decade, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) services has increased at a rate of 5–10% annually. The transfer of multiple embryos in a single cycle increases the rates of multiple births. Because of the increased social costs and health risks associated with multiple births, legislation or guidelines from professional societies have been introduced in many countries restricting the number of embryos that may be transferred per IVF cycle in an effort to limit the incidence of multiple gestations. FUTURE OF IVF