PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsCall to remember 'forgotten' IVF pioneer Jean Purdy

BioNews

Call to remember 'forgotten' IVF pioneer Jean Purdy

Published 18 September 2017 posted in News and appears in BioNews 917

Author

Julianna Photopoulos

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

Jean Purdy, embryologist to the world's first IVF baby, should be celebrated as IVF's third pioneer, says the British Fertility Society...

Jean Purdy, the world's first embryologist, should be celebrated as IVF's third pioneer, says the British Fertility Society (BFS).

It has called for her work to be recognised on the 40th anniversary of IVF next year, alongside that of her colleagues Sir Robert Edwards and Dr Patrick Steptoe.

'Sadly, it is only Steptoe and Edwards that most people remember. So, next year, when we celebrate 40 years since the birth of the first IVF baby, let us ensure it is Steptoe, Edwards and Purdy who are celebrated for their extraordinary achievements,' said the BFS in a statement.

Purdy started work as a nurse and was recruited by Sir Robert Edwards at the Physiological Laboratory in Cambridge in 1968 - ten years before the birth of world’s first IVF baby, Louise Brown. They worked together, along with gynaecologist Dr Patrick Steptoe, until Purdy's premature death from melanoma in 1985. In 1980, she helped to launch fertility services at Bourn Hall Clinic near Cambridge, and was its technical director.

'The more I learn about Jean, the more I am in awe of her achievements. She entered the cutting-edge world of fertility science at 23 years old and carved out a vital role for herself,' wrote Professor Roger Gosden from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in a commentary about Purdy published last week in the journal Human Fertility.

But Purdy's work has largely went unrecognised. Even in the announcement of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which went to Sir Edwards for the development of IVF, her name was not mentioned while Dr Steptoe's was.

Nevertheless, both Sir Edwards and Dr Steptoe acknowledged her role in IVF clinical research and care. She was credited as an author on 26 academic publications between 1970 and 1985.

'It was no longer just Patrick and me. We had become a threesome…[she was] the patient, indomitable helper without whom none of our work would have been possible…,' Sir Edwards wrote in his autobiography, published in 1989.

In 1998, at a plenary lecture celebrating the 20th anniversary of IVF in Marrakesh, Sir Edwards again reminded everyone of Purdy's achievements. He said: 'There were three original pioneers in IVF and not just two.'

Purdy developed tasks and processes that are now a standard part of IVF treatments. She was also the first person to recognise and describe the formation of the early human blastocyst. Under her tenure, 370 babies were conceived using assisted reproduction.

Related Articles

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
12 July 2019 • 2 minutes read

Plaque to finally honour snubbed IVF pioneers

by Dr Yvonne Collins

The Royal Oldham Hospital is commissioning a new plaque to honour Jean Purdy and Sister Muriel Harris who played a pivotal role in the world's first IVF baby...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
14 June 2019 • 2 minutes read

Oldham's health chief vows to redress Jean Purdy plaque snub

by Martha Henriques

An Oldham councillor is urging for Jean Purdy, one of the three people who developed IVF, to be formally acknowledged for her work, after letters revealed how the Oldham Health Authority ignored requests for Purdy to be recognised in the 1980s...

PET BioNews
Comment
24 April 2019 • 3 minutes read

FILM: 40 Years of IVF — Past, Present and Future

by BioNews

This film documents an event that marked the 40th birthday of the world's second ever IVF baby (and first IVF boy), Alastair MacDonald...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Comment
28 January 2019 • 6 minutes read

40 years of IVF: past, present and future

by Sarah Norcross

The Progress Educational Trust event '40 Years of IVF: Past, Present and Future' promised to be a special one, organised as it was to mark the 40th birthday of the world's first IVF baby boy Alastair MacDonald, and it didn't disappoint...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Reviews
6 August 2018 • 4 minutes read

Event Review: IVF at 40 — Science Museum

by Grace O'Regan

Forty years ago last month, the first IVF baby came screaming into the world, after ten long years of pioneering medical trials...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
3 August 2015 • 1 minute read

Dr Howard Jones, IVF pioneer, dies at 104

by Ayala Ochert

Dr Howard W. Jones, a pioneer of IVF in the United States, has died at the age of 104...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Six genes linked to premature birth

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Call to end ban on HIV-positive partner gamete 'donation'

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Melanoma invades new tissues using nerve cell gene

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Exceeding alcohol limits could damage DNA and accelerate ageing

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Blood cell gene mutations affect mitochondria, increasing cardiovascular disease risk

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Jumping gene helps immune system fight viruses

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856