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Review
. 2013 Jul;14(3):96-109.

Assisted reproductive technology after the birth of louise brown

Remah Moustafa Kamel  1
Affiliations
Review

Assisted reproductive technology after the birth of louise brown

Remah Moustafa Kamel. J Reprod Infertil. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Public interest in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has remained high since the birth of the world's first in vitro fertilization baby, Louise Brown, in the United Kingdom. ART allows scientists to manipulate the fertilization process in order to bypass some pathological obstacles such as blocked fallopian tubes and non-functioning ovaries in the females, and blocked vas deferens and low sperm count in the males. The purpose was to provide a historical outline and identify the researches that most contributed to ART.

Methods: A review of published experimental and clinical studies of assisted reproduction carried out at the University of Bristol library website (MetaLib(®)). A cross-search of seven different medical databases (AMED-Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, BIOSIS Previews on Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Library, Embase, and the Medline on Web of Knowledge, OvidSP and PubMed) was completed by using the key words to explore the major milestones and progress in the development and implementation of ART.

Results: A speedy advancement in the development of different assisted reproductive techniques makes infertility problem more treatable than it ever had been.

Conclusion: Although no other field in the medicine has integrated new knowledge into the daily practice more quickly than ART yet, there is a need for social research to counterbalance the dominance of biomedical one, in particular the people's actual experiences and expectations of ART.

Keywords: Assisted reproductive technology; History; Infertility management; Louise Brown; Milestones; Timelines.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of major ART milestones (Year 1978–Year 1986)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Timeline of major ART milestones (Year 1987 – Year 1995)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Timeline of major ART milestones (Year 1996 – Year 2004)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Timeline of major ART milestones (Year 2005 – Year 2013)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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