{"product_id":"fp-01","title":"1969: The first human eggs fertilised in a dish","description":"\u003cstyle\u003e@import url('https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Cormorant+Garamond:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;0,500;0,600;1,400;1,500\u0026family=Source+Sans+3:ital,wght@0,400;0,500;0,600;1,400\u0026display=swap');\n#ivfm-exhibit{--ink:#1b2447;--slate:#5f667f;--paper:#efeee9;--hair:#d6d4cb;--rose:#c0355f;--serif:'Cormorant Garamond',Georgia,serif;--sans:'Source Sans 3',Arial,sans-serif;color:var(--ink);font-family:var(--sans);font-size:18px;line-height:1.65;max-width:760px;margin:0 auto;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .kick{font-size:14px;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--rose);margin:0 0 10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .stand{font-family:var(--serif);font-size:clamp(23px,2.6vw,28px);line-height:1.35;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit figure{margin:0 0 28px;padding:10px;background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--hair);}\n#ivfm-exhibit figure img{display:block;width:100%;height:auto;}\n#ivfm-exhibit figcaption{font-size:15px;line-height:1.5;margin-top:10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .cr{display:block;font-size:13.5px;color:var(--slate);margin-top:4px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit h2{font-family:var(--serif);font-weight:500;font-size:30px;margin:30px 0 10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit p{margin:0 0 18px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit blockquote{margin:28px 0;padding:6px 0 6px 22px;border-left:3px solid var(--rose);font-family:var(--serif);font-size:24px;line-height:1.4;font-style:italic;}\n#ivfm-exhibit blockquote cite{display:block;font-family:var(--sans);font-style:normal;font-size:14.5px;color:var(--slate);margin-top:10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card{background:var(--paper);border:1px solid var(--hair);padding:20px 22px;margin:30px 0;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card h3{font-size:14px;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--slate);margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:600;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card .pt{font-family:var(--serif);font-size:22px;line-height:1.35;margin:0 0 8px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card p{font-size:16px;margin:0 0 6px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit details{font-size:15px;color:var(--slate);border-top:1px solid var(--hair);padding-top:12px;margin-top:24px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit summary{cursor:pointer;font-weight:600;color:var(--ink);}\n#ivfm-exhibit .nav{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;margin:28px 0 8px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .nav a{display:inline-block;padding:10px 16px;border:1px solid var(--ink);color:var(--ink);text-decoration:none;font-size:15px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit a{color:var(--ink);}\n.breadcrumb--product-single,.product-single__media,.product-single__primary-blocks,.product-single__box__block--tab{display:none!important}\n.product-single__content{display:block!important;grid-template-columns:none!important}\n.product-single__secondary-blocks{width:100%!important;max-width:none!important;margin:0!important;padding:0!important;opacity:1!important;transform:none!important}\n.product-single__box__block--description{opacity:1!important;transform:none!important;width:100%!important}\n#ivfm-exhibit h1{font-family:var(--serif);font-weight:500;font-size:clamp(38px,5vw,56px);line-height:1.08;margin:0 0 16px;color:var(--ink)}\n[id^=\"shopify-section-template--\"]:not([id$=\"__main\"]){display:none!important}\n\u003c\/style\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"ivfm-exhibit\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"kick\"\u003eThe Founding Papers · FP·01 · 1969\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003e1969: The first human eggs fertilised in a dish\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"stand\"\u003eIn February 1969 three men in Cambridge and Oldham told the world they had watched human sperm enter human eggs outside the body. The age of IVF had begun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/cdn\/shop\/files\/01_Newly_fertilised_human_egg_Wellcome_A._Handyside_CC0.jpg?width=1600\" alt=\"A human egg a few hours after fertilisation. The two round shapes are the pronuclei: one from the mother, one from the father.\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption\u003eA human egg a few hours after fertilisation. The two round shapes are the pronuclei: one from the mother, one from the father.\u003cspan class=\"cr\"\u003eNewly fertilised human egg. Alan Handyside. CC0. Source: Wellcome Collection.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/figcaption\u003e\u003c\/figure\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe story\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor decades scientists had tried to fertilise a human egg in the laboratory. Some had claimed it. None had convinced their colleagues. Robert Edwards spent years learning how to ripen human eggs in a dish, and in this short paper in \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e he showed that sperm could fertilise them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo co-authors stood beside him. Barry Bavister was a young graduate student whose culture fluid had worked for hamster eggs. Patrick Steptoe was a surgeon in Oldham, in the north of England. It was the first time the two names that would become famous appeared together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot everyone believed it. Three weeks later \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e printed a letter headed “Did Fertilization Occur?”. The three authors replied on the same page. The field came to accept their work as the first true account of human fertilisation in vitro.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e“Human oocytes have been matured and fertilized by spermatozoa in vitro. There may be certain clinical and scientific uses for human eggs fertilized by this procedure.”\u003ccite\u003eThe paper's summary\u003c\/cite\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe paper\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"pt\"\u003eEarly Stages of Fertilization \u003cem\u003ein vitro\u003c\/em\u003e of Human Oocytes Matured \u003cem\u003ein vitro\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobert Edwards, Barry Bavister, Patrick Steptoe\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e 1969;221(5181):632 to 635. Published 15 February 1969. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/221632a0\"\u003eRead the paper\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"nav\"\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/fp-02\"\u003e1970: Steptoe's telescope finds the ripe egg →\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/founding-papers\"\u003eAll the Founding Papers\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdetails\u003e\u003csummary\u003eHow we know\u003c\/summary\u003e\u003cp\u003eCitation and summary from PubMed, Crossref and nature.com, read 6 October 2026. The full text was not re-read, so no figures from the body of the paper are given.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/details\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"IVF Museum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47576828444844,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/ivfmuseum.org\/products\/fp-01","provider":"IVF Museum","version":"1.0","type":"link"}