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Funding for research in reproduction in the European Union

Nature Medicine volume 14, pages 1218–1220 (2008)Cite this article

On 25 July 2008, Louise Brown, the world's first person to be born from in vitro fertilization (IVF), turned 30. In January 2007, she had given birth to a healthy son, Cameron Mullider. The original pioneering work of Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe 30 years ago started the age of assisted reproduction technology in Europe and the rest of the world. It is now estimated that more than 3 million babies have since been conceived through IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection worldwide.

However, IVF does not always work, and, quite often, success is only obtained after several attempts. Moreover, even though the policy of single-embryo transfer seems to be successful in places where it has been implemented (such as Belgium), multiple-embryo transfer is still the rule in many countries, carrying the risk of post-IVF morbidity—intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and preterm birth—not to mention the economic costs of multiple IVF cycles and the psychological stress imposed on the mother.

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  1. Gérard Chaouat is head of Equipe Implantation and Dialogue Cytokinique Mère Conceptus in Unit 782 INSERM, Université Paris sud Orsay and Assistance Publique, 3é rue des Carnets, 92141 Clamart, France. gerard_chaouat@wanadoo.fr,

    Gérard Chaouat

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Chaouat, G. Funding for research in reproduction in the European Union. Nat Med 14, 1218–1220 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1108-1218

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