Pandora's Baby - How the first Test Tube Babies sparked the Reproductive Revolution

Although this is a factual book it contains personal stories of patients, scientists and clinicians involved in the development of IVF. It features a rather eccentric American Gynaecologist, Landrum Shettles, whose early attempts at IVF were obstructed by a senior colleague. On the receiving end of his work was a patient, Doris Del-Zio, who would have done anything to achieve her dream of a child. Unfortunately, her dream did not materialise, and many similarities can be drawn between Del-Zio and our patients today, as the success rates for IVF remain around 25-30% per cycle. One of the main themes running through the book is the court case brought by Del-Zio against the hospital chairman who ordered the disposal of a test-tube containing her eggs and her husband’s sperm which she claimed contained her potential baby. The case, which was won by Doris Del-Zio, attracted much publicity as it coincided with the birth of Louise Brown in the UK in 1978.