History of IVF in the UK

Introduction

At 11.47pm on 25 July 1978, the world's first IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born weighing 5lb 12oz at Oldham and District Hospital in Greater Manchester. Thirty years later, more than 12,000 IVF babies are born in the UK each year and many thousands more worldwide.

The following statistics, reports and key events have been brought together to complement the HFEA report "A long term analysis of the HFEA Register data 1991-2006".

The latest information and statistics for individual clinics can be found by using the HFEA's "Find a Clinic" website. An overview of the latest national statistics can be found on our Facts and Figures page.

IVF in the UK - 1985, 1995, 2005

Number of IVF clinics
1985 - 30
1995 - 75
2005 - 72
   
Number of patients
1985 - 3,717
1995 - 22,647
2005 - 32,626
   
Number of IVF cycles
1985 - 4,308
1995 - 29,325
2005 - 41,933
   
Number of births
1985 - 364
1995 - 4,401
2005 - 9,064
   
Number of babies
1985 - 513
1995 - 5,791
2005 - 11,268
   
Live birth rate per cycle
1985 - 8.5%
1995 - 15%
2005 - 21.6%
   
Multiple birth rate
1985 - 24.0%
1995 - 28.5%
2005 - 23.9%
  
Number of singleton live births
1985 - 228
1995 - 3,148
2005 - 6,894
   
Twin live births
1985 - 123
1995 - 1,117
2005 - 2,136
   
Triplet and higher live births
1985 - 13
1995 - 136
2005 - 34
   
Average age of women treated
1985 - no figures available
1995 - 33.7
2005 - 34.9

UK IVF - totals 1978 - 2005

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Notes and sources

The number of IVF clinics as reported in the HFEA annual reports for 1995 and 2005. The 1985 figure is from the IVLA report referred to below.

The HFEA was established on 1st August 1991 and began collecting treatment information from that date. Figures here are calculated from 1992 as that was the first full year the HFEA was in operation. Data collected by the HFEA between 1 August and 31 December 1991 is included in the previous column. 

This figure for the total number of patients treated between 1992 and 2005 has been calculated for this document using data from the HFEA Register. Numbers of patients treated each year are published in the HFEA´s Long Term Data 1991-2006, but the figure shown here takes into account treatments that started in one calendar year but ended in the next. The figure for the total number of patients treated between 1992 and 2005 has been calculated specially for this document using data from the HFEA Register.

Numbers of patients treated each year are published in the HFEA´s Long Term Data 1991-2006, but the figure shown here takes into account treatments that started in one calendar year but ended in the next.

Information about IVF treatment in the UK has been collected by the HFEA since it was established on 1st August 1991. Before that date, information was not comprehensively recorded and may not be strictly comparable. This means that some figures given below for the number of IVF babies etc are ´rough´ calculations and are for illustrative purposes only.    

1978-1984
Statistical information about IVF treatments was not routinely collected before 1985. Data for the numbers of babies and births for this period has been extrapolated from the main source for this period. The main source used for this period is:
Births in Great Britain resulting from assisted conception, MRC Working Party on Children by In Vitro Fertilisation 1978-1987, BMJ v. 300, 1229-1233, 12 May 1990

1985-1991
Between 1985 and 1991 information about IVF was collected by the Voluntary (Interim) Licensing Authority. Information collected by the Interim Authority is now held by the National Archives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The following report was the source of the data used for this period is:
Voluntary (Interim) Licensing Authority ? Statistical Analysis of the United Kingdom IVF and GIFT Data 1985-1990; Professor William Thompson and Miss Veronica English (no link available).

1991-date
Since 1st August 1991, information about IVF treatments has been collected by the HFEA. The information collected and published by the HFEA is a snap shot of data provided by licensed clinics at a particular time and may be subject to change as individual clinics notify the HFEA of amendments. Before publication, a preliminary validation process is performed on the data, and clinics are asked to confirm its accuracy, for which they remain responsible. 

The main source used for this period is:
A long term analysis of the HFEA Register data 1001-2006, version 1, revision 4, extracted 23 Jan 2008. The data in this report is updated periodically and the latest version can be found via the Facts and Figures page.

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IVF babies worldwide

A study by the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology estimated that over three million IVF babies were born around the world between 1978 and 2006.

Read the ESHRE conference 2006 press release

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Parliament and the Law

This timeline outlines the major legal and parliamentary events in the UK. The HFEA started work on 1st August 1991 and was the first regulator in this area. But the UK was not the first country to pass specific legislation around IVF techniques and embryo research.

Following the first IVF birth in Australia in 1980, the Government of Victoria established a review of IVF research and practice which led to the proclamation of the Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act 1984. See Cohen J, Trounson A, Dawson K, Jones H, Hazekamp J, Nygren KG, Hamberger L., The early days of IVF outside the UK. , Hum Reprod Update. 2005 Sep-Oct;11(5):439-59. Epub 2005 May 27.

UK legislation and key parliamentary debates

1982
Warnock Committee Inquiry starts
The Warnock Committee was established in July 1982 "To consider recent and potential developments in medicine and science related to human fertilisation and embryology; to consider what policies and safeguards should be applied, including consideration of the social, ethical, and legal implications of these  developments; and to make recommendations." 

1984
Warnock Report published 18 July 1984.

Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilisation & Embryology 1984, Cm 9314

A summary of the committee's recommendations was published in the British Medical Journal.

1985
Interim (Voluntary) Licensing Authority established as an interim measure to regulate work on human in vitro fertilisation until the introduction of government legislation, based on the recommendations of the Warnock Report into human fertilisation and embryology. It became the Interim Licensing Authority during the period leading up to the start of the HFEA. The records of the Interim Authority are held by the National Archives.

1985
Unborn Children (Protection) Bill
Private member´s Bill from Enoch Powell prohibiting embryo research and only permitting IVF for treatment of a named woman and permission had been given by the Health Secretary. Not passed

1985
Surrogacy Arrangements Act
First law governing surrogacy arrangements. Makes commercial surrogacy arrangements illegal.

1986
Unborn Children (Protection) (No. 2) Bill
Reintroduction of 1985 Bill by Conservative MP Ken Hargreaves. Not passed.

1987 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology: A framework for legislation (Cm 259)
White paper picking up the recommendations of the Warnock Report
(no direct web link available) See http://www.parliament.uk/ for further information.

1989 
Unborn Children (Protection) Bill [H.L.]
A private member´s bill introduced in the House of Lords by the Duke of Norfolk. Withdrawn - not passed.

1990 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act

1991 
HFE Act 1990 comes into force. The HFEA officially starts work 1st August 1991

1991 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period) Regulations 1991/1540
Regulations extend permitted storage periods for gametes

1991 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Special Exemptions) Regulations 1991/1588
The regulations clarify licensing rules for storage of gametes

1992 
Disclosure of information Act
Allows HFEA to disclose information to others with patient´s consent, e.g. to their own GP

1994 
Criminal Justice & Public Order Act
Section 156 makes treatment with cells from aborted embryos illegal

1994 
The Parental Orders (Human Fertilisation and Embryology) Regulations 1994/2767
Regulations allow parental orders to be made in surrogacy cases

1996 
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos) Regulations 1996/375
Regulations extend permitted storage period for embryos

2001 
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001/188
Regulations extend allowable reasons for embryo research to enable research around stem cells and cell nuclear replacement

2001 
Human Reproductive Cloning Act
Makes human reproductive cloning illegal

2003 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers Act)
Allows deceased men to be registered as father of children born through ART after their death

2004 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (Disclosure of Donor Information) Regulations 2004/1511
Regulations allow details about gamete donors registered after 1 April 05 to be passed on to the offspring including the name and last address of the donor (aka removal of donor anonymity)

2005 
Consultation on review of fertility legislation

2006 
Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: Proposals for revised legislation (Cm 6989)
White paper on review of fertility legislation

2007 
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Quality and Safety) Regulations 2007/1522
Regulations to bring the European Tissue and Cells Directive into UK law. Amends the HFEA Act 1990, and requires the licensing of all establishments handling gametes for treatment (e.g. IUI clinics)

2007 
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
Major review of fertility legislation, updating and amending the 1990 Act

2008 
HFE Act 2008 receives Royal Assent
Read the HFEA press release (13 November 2008)

2009
HFE Act  2008 comes into force
New provisions come into force in April and October 2009, additional changes in April 2010. Find out more here

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