It seems incredible that 28 years have passed since the arrival of Louise Brown, the first “test tube baby” (photo) and the inevitable controversy that was born with her.
From that first baby conceived by in vitro fertilization until today, three million couples have made their dream of becoming parents possible thanks to assisted reproduction. A population equal to that of a city like Madrid, for example. Amazing, right?
And that is only the figure that was released from 52 countries, but there is nothing less than the number of births of most Asian and African countries, which are unknown.
The United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, in that order, are the countries that have carried out the most treatments, and they represent almost 50% of the world total. It is estimated that 200,000 babies are born by the method of in vitro fertilization every year, a technique that has been perfected day by day to reduce risks and adverse effects and to allow more and more pregnancies to occur.
And the result is encouraging. According to the latest data, 25% of in vitro fertilization treatments end in one or several births, and even in some countries the success rate amounts to 40.5%, even more so than natural conceptions.
In vitro fertilization, the palpable sample of science at the service of life.
