Transcript

EMMA ALBERICI: The world's first so-called "test-tube baby" is about to turn 30. Louise Brown, from the south west of England, was the first child to be conceived using IVF, in-vitro fertilisation.

Since then, more than three million babies have been born worldwide using the technique.

Jayne Margetts reports on how far IVF technology has come in the last three decades.

JAYNE MARGETTS: Louise Brown is a living example of a remarkable breakthrough in medical science. But she told the BBC that being the world's first IVF baby hasn't affected her much at all.

LOUISE BROWN: Where I live I've lived since I was sort of 11 months old, so everybody knows me.

The odd sort of people if they're new to the area come up and say, “Are you Louise Brown?” It's just sort of everyday life, I just say, “Yeah” and we just sort of say hello nice to meet you, and things like that.

JAYNE MARGETTS: She says her parents explained to her how she had been conceived when she was four-years-old.

LOUISE BROWN: Mum and Dad showed me a video of my birth before I went to school in case sort of other children mentioned anything. I can't actually remember that they did, and I think I sort of just started to understand as much as sort of a four-year-old can.

JAYNE MARGETTS: On the 25th of July 1978, Louise Brown's birth made headlines around the world. Since then three million IVF babies have been born.

LOUISE BROWN: Just to think that I'm the first out of all of them is a bit, that's why I don't think I tend to think about it because I think, “Ooh”.

JAYNE MARGETTS: She says she still has a close relationship with the clinical staff involved in her conception.

LOUISE BROWN: It sounds weird but they were like grand sort of father figures, as I suppose they were sort of a bit older than mum and dad.

So … and we just sort of, I mean we used to send them birthday cards and they used to send us birthday cards, and whenever we could see each other we would.

JAYNE MARGETTS: Dr Rick Porter from IVF Australia says the technology has come a long way in the last 30 years.

RICK PORTER: Well I am fortunate to have been involved in IVF for about 26 of those 30 years.

So I go back a long way and we've seen magnificent changes in that time. Success rates have gone up in from a scientific point of view and ease and comfort and accessibility to the patients have increased dramatically.

JAYNE MARGETTS: To what extent has success gone up?

RICK PORTER: Well, in the early days we were talking about success rate in single digits. In other words five per cent, a couple of per cent per cycle. Now we are talking for women under the age of 35 undergoing this technology of close to 40 to 50 per cent chance of success each time they try.

We've also made it more easier, easier for the patient in terms of their drugs that they use, the number of visits that they need to make to a fertility clinic, the amount of monitoring we do. It's become a safer technology, which is other good news.

JAYNE MARGETTS: Dr Porter says that success has led to a dramatic increase in the number of IVF babies born in Australia.

RICK PORTER: Close to one in 30 babies are now IVF conceptions. Which means there's about one baby in every class room in Australia is really in IVF pregnancy.

Now, they were few and far between and counted on one hand back in the early 80s in Australia of course. So that's been a dramatic improvement.

JAYNE MARGETTS: But he says IVF shouldn't be relied upon as a way of getting pregnant later in life.

RICK PORTER: Unfortunately it's this misguided perception that IVF will give them a baby in their late 30s, early 40s and that's just not the case. It's certainly improving and it's certainly a good technology.

But it's not designed to get, you know, people who are just getting older, pregnant. It's designed to overcome fertility issues.

JAYNE MARGETTS: How likely is it that the cost of IVF will come down in the future or that it will become available on Medicare?

RICK PORTER: The cost of IVF is always coming down because Medicare in Australia, we're fortunate, does provide quite a substantial financial assistance to women undergoing IVF in this country, as opposed to some other countries in the Western world.

So we're very fortunate the Government sees this as a condition that's worth supporting and it’s cheaper now IVF in 2008, than its ever been. It's more accessible to more people.

EMMA ALBERICI: Dr Rick Porter from IVF Australia ending that report by Jayne Margetts.