Researchers have found that over eight million IVF babies have been born in the past 40 years. The astounding figures were shared at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting in Barcelona.
“Based on ICMART’s annual collection of global IVF data, it is estimated that since Louise Brown’s birth in 1978 over eight million babies have been born from IVF around the world,” said Dr David Adamson of The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology.
Speaking of their findings, Dr Gillian Lockwood said: “I think eight million is probably quite a conservative estimate because we know there’s a huge amount of IVF going on in China and India that isn’t necessarily reported, or recorded.”
The first IVF baby was born in the July of 1978. Louise Brown was known as the ‘first test tube baby’. She was born at Oldham General Hospital in Manchester.
Since Louise’s birth, millions of families have benefited from IVF, including celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and Izzy Judd, who have always been open and honest about their IVF experiences.
The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology said approximately half a million babies are born each year thanks to IVF.
The team added that IVF was most popular in Spain with 119,875 treatments recorded. They also revealed that there were over 110,000 cycles of IVF, ICSI and egg donation in Russia, followed by 96, 512 in Germany and over 93,000 in France.
